Frequently Asked Questions
A list of frequently ask questions has been complied by our technical support experts to help you find answers quickly to your technical enquiries.
Fire Panels
F220
Fire Relay: Single form C contact, rated at 2.0 A @ 30 Vdc resistive load, normally de-energised.
Defect Relay: Single form C contact, rated at 2.0 A @ 30 Vdc resistive load, normally energised.
Bells Relays: Two normally-open contact, rated at 5.0A @ 30 Vdc, protected by a 3A blade fuse, and monitored by a 10kΩ End of Line resistor.
Aux Relay: Single form C contact, rated 2.0 A @ 30 Vdc resistive load, normally de-energised. Mappable as AUX.
GP Relay: General Purpose relay. Dual form C contact, rated at 2.0 A @ 30 Vdc resistive load
Door Holder Relay: Single form C contact, rated 5 A @ 30 Vdc. Not monitored.
AUXM Relay: Single contact, normally-open, rated at 2.0 A @30 Vdc resistive load. Monitored by a 10kΩ End of Line resistor. Protected by a PTC resettable fuse. Mappable as AUX.
AUX Relay: Single form C contact, rated 2.0 A @ 30 Vdc resistive load, normally de-energised. Mappable as AUX.
ATS Isolate Relay: Single normally-open contact, rated at 2.0 A @ 30Vdc resistive load, normally de-energised. Operated by ATS Isolate Switch (SW4) and ‘ATS ISOLATE’ pushbutton. Output appears on Brigade Interface (K2).
ATS Test Relay : Single contact normally-open, rated at 2.0 A @ 30 Vdc resistive load, normally de-energised. Operated by ATS Test Switch (SW3) and ‘ATS TEST’ pushbutton. Output appears on Brigade Interface (K2)
O/P1 & O/P2 Relays (Powered): Single contact, normally-open, rated 2.0 A @ 30 Vdc resistive load. Monitored by a 10 kΩ End of Line resistor. Protected by a 1.85 A PTC resettable fuse.
F100A
Fire Relay: Single form C contact, rated at 2.0 A @ 30 Vdc resistive load, normally de-energised.
Defect Relay: Single form C contact, rated at 2.0 A @ 30 Vdc resistive load, normally energised.
Bells Relays: Two normally-open contact, rated at 5.0A @ 30 Vdc, protected by a 3A blade fuse, and monitored by a 10kΩ End of Line resistor.
AUXM Relay: Monitored Auxiliary Relay. Single contact, normally-open, Rated 1A @ 30Vdc. Configurable as AUX, operates with AUXM.
Aux Relay: Single form C contact, rated 2.0 A @ 30 Vdc resistive load, normally de-energised. Configurable as AUX.
GP Relay: General Purpose relay. Dual form C contact, rated at 2.0 A @ 30 Vdc resistive load
Door Holder Relay: Single form C contact, rated 5 A @ 30 Vdc. Not monitored.
AUXM Relay: Single contact, normally-open, rated at 2.0 A @30 Vdc resistive load. Monitored by a 10kΩ End of Line resistor. Protected by a PTC resettable fuse. Mappable as AUX.
AUX Relay: Single form C contact, rated 2.0 A @ 30 Vdc resistive load, normally de-energised. Mappable as AUX.
F120A
Fire Relay: Single form C contact, rated at 2.0 A @ 24 Vdc resistive load, normally de-energised.
Defect Relay: Single form C contact, rated at 2.0 A @ 24 Vdc resistive load, normally energised.
Bells Relays: 2 separate sounder relays, each having one normally-open contact rated 3A @ 24Vdc, with circuit monitoring. Individually mappable.
AuxM Relay: Monitored Auxiliary Relay. Single contact, normally-open, monitored by a 10kΩ End of Line resistor. Rated 2A @ 30Vdc. Mappable as AUX.
Aux Relay: Non-monitored Auxiliary relay. Normally de-energised. Form C, change-over contacts. Rated 2A @ 30Vdc. Mappable as AUX, operates with AUXM.
GP Relay: Non-monitored General Purpose relay. Normally de-energized. Two Form C, change-over contacts, each rated 2A @ 30Vdc. Mappable as GP.
Door Holder Relay: Single Form C, change-over contact, rated 5A @ 24Vdc. Not monitored.
F16e
Fire Relay: One (1) changeover contact rated 2.0A @ 24Vdc, normally de-energised
Defect Relay: One (1) changeover contact rated 2.0A @ 24Vdc, normally energised.
Bells Relays: Two (2) discrete sounder relays, each having one normallyopen (N/O) contact, rated 5A @ 24Vdc, with circuit monitoring. These may be individually configured per circuit.
Aux Relay: Non-monitored Auxiliary relay, normally de-energised. Changeover contacts, rated 1.25A @ 24Vdc. This relay may be individually configured per circuit.
F4
Fire Relay: Clean Contact 30 Vdc, 2 A, resistive load
Defect Relay: Clean Contact 30 Vdc, 2 A, resistive load
Bell Relay Output: 12 Vdc, 5 A
External loops, conventional zone circuits, sounders circuits & RS-485 buses are monitored for earth defects.
F220 & F120A: Earth fault will be indicated, <500 Ω, may be displayed between 500Ω and 5kΩ
F100A: Earth fault will be indicated, <5kΩ
F4: Earth fault will be indicated,
0 V < 50 kΩ,
20 Vdc < 50 kΩ
13.7 Vdc < 10 kΩ
Circuit M < 10 kΩ
Bells + < 10 kΩ
F220 & F120A
: 159 detectors & 99 modules per loop. Maximum of 20 loops.
F100A
: 99 detectors & 99 modules per loop. Maximum of 4 loops.
F16e
:
MCP's no limit, 2151BPI smoke detectors 40 per circuit. Maximum of 32 circuits.
F4
: MCP's no limit, 2151BPI smoke detectors 40 per circuit. Maximum of 4 circuits.
F220 & F120A: Silence Alarm, Walk Test, Mimic Door Open, Mains Lost, Aux Isolate, Door Interlock, Door Holder Isolate, Memory Lock switch off, ATS Test, ATS Isolate, Devices Resetting, Extender Board Reset & Network Isolate
F100A: Silence Alarm, Walk Test, Mains Lost, Aux Isolate, Door Interlock, Door Holder Isolate, Memory Lock switch off, ATS Test, ATS Isolate & Network Card Isolate
F16e: Internal BCO, Walk Test, Mains Lost, ACF Isolate, Door Interlock (external), & Program Enable
Note: If the above states are ok and a door interlock fault is still present, a faulty masterboard may be the cause. Contact tech support.
Non-latching until the brigade is called at which point the analog addressable detector acts as though the Latching flag is set.
F220: 999 zones
F120A: 256 zones
F100A: 128 zones
F16e: 32 zones
F4: 4 zones
F220 High Speed bus : 32 LCD Mimics, 8 LED Mimics & 16 Amplifiers. The total number of LCD, LED Mimics and Amplifiers cannot exceed 32
Low Speed bus : 32 LCD Mimics & 8 LED Mimics. The total number of LCD and LED Mimics
cannot
exceed 32
F120A : 32 LCD Mimics & 8 LED Mimics. The total number of LCD and LED Mimics
cannot
exceed 32
F100A : 8 LCD Mimics & 8 LED Mimics. The total number of LCD and LED Mimics cannot
exceed 32
F16e : 3 LED Mimics
F220 & F120A
: 2048 LED's
F100A
: 255 LED's
The ROM or Ram check failure is referring to the checksum CRC test performed on the internal ROM or RAM contained on a microprocessor or associated memory.
This error is caused by corruption in the contents of the ROM or RAM which is part of the firmware program of the unit.
This can be caused by a number of things:
Examples:
- Poor earthing protection
- EMC damage (Electrical spikes and serges) to the pins of the microprocessor
- Lightning strikes
- PSU regulation problems causing overvoltage
- Static damage due to poor antistatic precautions and handling of the product
- Premature component failure caused by overheating
- Environmental factors
- Exceeding number of read / write cycles for the product
- Old age
Detectors
A Pertronic virtual sensor is one where the analogue output of one sensor (the “parent”) is used to generate different states which are used typically to warn, or give a “heads-up”, of a more serious condition that is about or could occur.
An F220, F120A or F100A may have “virtual” detectors programmed. Each virtual “child” detector has a copy of the current status of the “parent” detector, but is processed as an independent detector with separate alarm level, output mapping, and descriptor. This allows for up to four (4) different levels of panel response based on detector sensitivity.
Limitations
-
Virtual detectors cannot be configured to be Brigade Calling. This function must be programmed into the parent detector, if required. Typically, all virtual detectors will have higher sensitivities than their parent.
-
There can be at most 3 virtual devices attached to a real detector.
- Similarly, there are no Pre-Alarm events generated by virtual detectors.
An example of a virtual detector use might be to use the System Sensor® Pinnacle™ Laser detector to provide escalating response to different levels of smoke, as illustrated below:
There is no refence in the datasheet / installation note to what detectors can be used.
However the DNR-AUS has been tested by UL with the new CPI style detectors and found to be compliant with the applicable standards.
The ActivFire listing certificate is being updated to include the 2251CPI which should be reissued by the end of May 2022. The New Zealand Listing will be updated soon after.
So in summary both 2251BPI and the 2251CPI can be used
Every System Sensor detector or module is supplied with a manufacturing date printed on its label in the form of the first four (4) digits of a multi-digit code.
System Sensor's product warranty is for three years from this date.
Although the code is simple to decipher, there are several versions used as a result of differences in coding practices between factories or changes in convention over time.
The following information will assist technicians correctly interpret date or batch codes on System Sensor devices.
Where : Y = Year, M = Month, W = Week:
a) USA batch codes : printed as YMMW
Example - 4032 : 2nd week of March 2004 or March 2014
b) Europe batch codes : printed as YYWW
Example - 0432 : 32nd week of 2004 or 2014
c) China codes to August 2003 : printed as YMMW
Example - 4032 : 2nd week of March 2004
d) China codes from August 2003 : printed as YYWW
Example - 0432 : 32nd week of 2004
e) China codes from June 2009 : reverted to YMMW
Example - 4032 : 2nd week of March 2014
The label also identifies the country of origin - USA, China or Europe (Trieste, Italy)
Q.What are the advantages of ROR over heat?
A. Added protection in some circumstances (rapidly building fuel fire) due to rate of rise triggering an alarm earlier.
Q. Does the ROR still have a fixed heat?
A. Yes, its a requirement. Thus the ROR essentially acts as a fixed heat, with the added bonus of detecting a rapidly forming fire (~10deg C/minute)
Q. Where not to use ROR?
A. Where there are rapid fluctuation of temperature. e.g. Showers, Bathrooms, kitchens, above ovens, under tin roofs, boiler rooms etc
Q, What is the price difference?
A. The price for fixed and ROR is the same. Thus some suggest that if the area of application is a stable environment, use a ROR.
40 standard detectors or modules maximum
or 20 addressable strobes maximum
or 3 Omni smoke detectors maximum (current draw is 12 times standard smoke detectors)
* Devices with built in short circuit isolators: AALR-MFA Loop Responder, AALREL Loop Relay, AAFCRLR Fan Control Relay, 8SAAIB 8-spur isolator, M200 Series Modules, M500DMR module, MCP5A call point, WCP5A weatherproof call point
System Sensor is to replace the detectors every 15 years. The detectors are designed to provide at least 10 years of reliable service, however if you look at MTBF figures, the detectors are far more reliable. e.g the MTBF for a 2151BPI is ~74 years and the Failures per million hrs is 1.54.
That this is a recommendation only. Like the equipment manufactured by Pertronic, the detectors will still continue to operate correctly if they have been well maintained and in a suitable environment.
Other Products
Pertronic Industries Ltd is committed to ensuring that fire alarm control panels and associated products manufactured by the company have a functional life expectancy of at least 15 years. The company undertakes to support this equipment with replacement components for at least that same period of time, provided that components outsourced from third party suppliers continue to be available.
Pertronic fire alarm panels and mimic cabinets have been manufactured from 1.6mm powder coated steel, from the same New Zealand supplier for the past 25 years.
It should be noted that the operational life of the entire fire alarm system (cabinets and components) is dependent on the equipment being installed in an acceptable environment, in addition to being correctly serviced and maintained in accordance with the requirements of NZS4512. Many fire alarm systems with greater than 20 years’ service still have metalwork and components in a good condition, while other systems installed in hasher environments can show signs of decay (including cabinet rust) within the space of a few years, or less.