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Posted By: bluzman Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/09/11 12:41 PM
Greetings Folks; I'm in the process of trying to figure out why a siren that someone else installed isn't working. I have a analog port running through a relay to a Wheellock Emergency Alert Device. When calling the analog extension it just rings. The relay activates and I'm getting warble out of the Wheellock on my butt set. I'm now stuck. I have no drawings and not sure exactly how this set-up is supposed to work. All you get when you call ICM 335 is ringing when your supposed to hear alarm warble. Is there anyone that has experienced this? Or does someone have a drawing that might lead me in the right direction?

Thanks; Clueless!!
Posted By: oobie Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/09/11 01:01 PM
You should be able to short out the siren somehow to make it sound to verify that it is working.

Did something change recently? Like a new telephone system? I have ran into when putting new systems that they do not provide enough ring voltage to make the wheelock units work. Just suggestions at this point!
Posted By: bluzman Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/09/11 01:15 PM
Thanks, for input. No Changes; just quit working.
Posted By: hbiss Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/09/11 02:14 PM
The relay activates and I'm getting warble out of the Wheellock on my butt set. I'm now stuck. I have no drawings and not sure exactly how this set-up is supposed to work. All you get when you call ICM 335 is ringing when your supposed to hear alarm warble.

I'm confused.

Are you saying that the extension rings and you hear ringing from the handset but the Wheelock just doesn't pick up? Where are you supposed to hear the warble from?

Looks to me like the relay just follows the intercom extension's 90v ringing and there is nothing to seize the line so it's not going to pick up. So ringing from the originating phone's handset or speaker is what you are going to hear until you hang up to silence the warble.

Question is how is the output of the Wheelock connected? Apparently the tone generator is working since you hear a warble with your buttset. Normally I would expect the output to be connected to some sort of overhead paging or alert system.

-Hal
Posted By: skip555 Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/09/11 02:16 PM
my guess would be a bad siren , I would call wheelock support

have you checked the voltage going to the Siren and compared it what the siren is looking for ?
Posted By: johnp Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/09/11 04:42 PM
Yeah, there's a storm on the loose here. Check the relay for closure, if you got that then it's like Skip says or in the wiring
Posted By: hbiss Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/09/11 04:43 PM
my guess would be a bad siren...

But he has signal on the output.

We need to know more about how this thing is supposed to work before we can say what's wrong. You don't need drawings for that. Surely somebody can tell you how they operate it and what it does. You don't say anything about where the warble tone is supposed to be heard.

-Hal
Posted By: johnp Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/09/11 04:47 PM
My thinking was that he has one of those Wheelock ring voltage to contact closure devices for control, could be wrong and it wouldn't be the first time. smile
Posted By: skip555 Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/09/11 05:17 PM
that was my thinking John the relay then to the siren

" I'm getting warble out of the Wheellock on my butt set. "

coming out to the rely but nothing from the siren

so a bad Siren
Posted By: johnp Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/09/11 05:30 PM
Yes, that's the response that gets me. What does that really mean? 1. Do I have ringing voltage to the device? 2. Is the relay closing? 3. Does the siren have power? 4. If triggered at the device, does it work?.

Sounds like basic troubleshooting to me.
Posted By: oobie Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/10/11 05:11 AM
I'm with ya Skip, I'm guessing that is a relay that trips on the ring voltage and then the siren sounds.

1. Siren could be bad and should be a way to short the power to it to test.
2. Usually those sirens/buzzers are powered so is it getting power?
3. is the relay working on the wheelock? if that is what he is using.
Posted By: bluzman Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/10/11 11:38 AM
Hey All; I'm going to try to better explain. There are two analog ports that run thru two relays, thru an emergency alert device; then thru an old Mitel Dialer then to paging system. When the customer dials ICM 335, it's supposed to activate the evacuation whoop on the emergency evac. device which in turn sends whoop to paging amp and telephone system so the evac. whoop is heard on both the phones and external paging. Keep in mind, the installer of this is long ago retired. I don't know if this helps or hinders.
Posted By: Dr Don Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/10/11 01:45 PM
How old is the siren? Is it a clarkson?
Posted By: hbiss Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/10/11 04:24 PM
Ok, lets take this a step at a time. There are two "paths" here. First, as I said above:

1) Coil of relay #1 is on extension 335.

2) When 335 rings relay # 1 pulls in, dry contacts trigger Wheelock tone generator programmed to produce a whoop tone.

3) The audio output of the tone generator is connected to the PA system amp input.

Forgeting the other relay (#2), the dialer and the phones for the moment:

1) Is the wheelock getting power? Usually 24VAC.

2) Are you getting an output on the Wheelock tone generator? (Yes, because I believe you said you checked it with your buttset.)You can jump or short the trigger input while cliping your buttset to the output to see if the generator works.

Now you are going to have to trace the wiring from the output of the tone generator to see how it is connected.

1) Does the dialer get triggered be relay #2 which also has it's coil on extension 335? When 335 rings it triggers the dialer which dials an "all page" group which has all extensions in it.

2) Somehow the audio output of the tone generator is split between the paging amp and the dialer T&R.


Another possible scenerio is that the "all page" group includes overhead page through the phone system page port. In that case the audio output of the tone generator would only need to go to the dialer T&R. The paging system input is fed from the page port.

So:

1) Check the tone generator.

2) Check the dialer.

3) Check the paging system.

-Hal
Posted By: telephoneguy Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/10/11 05:10 PM
My money's on the overhead paging system.
Posted By: Dr Don Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/10/11 06:25 PM
Take a 105A ring generator for test if you have one.
Posted By: Dr Don Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/10/11 07:03 PM
First and last. We need to adress the analog port of the switch or ata device.

Everyone jumps to a problem solver and often to fast to fix it. Beware

I have no indication of the PBX size or manufacture.
Posted By: Dr Don Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/10/11 07:36 PM
Somehow the audio output of the tone generator is split between the paging amp and the dialer T&R.


Is it valcom 24 or traditional 70v.

Mix is ok
Posted By: Dr Don Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/10/11 08:02 PM
Somehow the audio output of the tone generator is split between the paging amp and the dialer T&R.


It sounds like you have a Valcom

I can help.
Posted By: bluzman Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/12/11 08:53 AM
Thanks To All; you guys are great help!! FYI....It ended up being the dialer. The dialer was the last step in the chain. The dialer was programmed to dial *10(all-page) to telephone system, which in turn broadcast the whoop across all telephones and paging speakers. I had to find an old Mitel manual and program another dialer to dial the appropriate digits. I'd like to update the equipment at some point and eliminate the dialer because programming those dialers is a pain in the you-know-what. A Viking DNA-510 comes to mind, but don't think it would do the all-pge dialing for me. Again Thany you all very much!!
Posted By: hbiss Re: Troubleshooting a Siren - 05/12/11 10:40 AM
My bill is in the mail. smile

-Hal
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