replacing scantronic 9600 with galaxy 48

[scantronic]

Hi all

got the task soon of helping out a family member

they've got a Scantronic 9600 from 1991 which has been fantastically reliable until the last month or so

started off with the Panic Alarm triggering, PA button not pushed and refused to reset even with the zone looped out, hence me programming it as not used for them

last night at 4am, alarm unset, a tamper alarm triggered on zone 9, then tamper zone 10, 11 etc, looped it all out for them and it still won't reset

whilst i was there, it randomly went into full alarm, not responding to the keypad etc once it did it stated "watchdog fault" in the log


anyway, i've got a brand new never used Galaxy 48 which i'm going to fit for them

i'm well aware i'll have to fit resistors to all devices and i have installed a galaxy before but this is a large system

does anyone have any tips or advice on this upgrade?

namely the smoke detectors, there's 8 in total split between 2 zones which i'm concerned about, might it be worth fitting a RIO where the junction box is so they can be on their own zones?

many thanks in advance

 

[sparkymarka]

What smoke detectors and how old ?….

 

[scantronic]

they're Menvier M12's i believe and a could of Texecom's

variety of ages, all seem to work fine

not much of a job i'm looking forward to

 

[sparkymarka]

Personally I would fit a texecom 48 ….probably much quicker as you wouldn’t need to fit any resistors and more flexible…

 

[GalaxyGuy]

I would do it properly and split the devices one per zone. RIOs are cheap. Also, assuming it's a Dimension 48 and not the obsolete G3-48. Ensure the Dimension is at the latest 7.04 firmware which has been stable for years now. If not, the PCB can be updated by SPI key (£30) or serial lead.

 

[scantronic]

i shall be doing it properly don't worry

i must admit i'm not sure, i think it's a Dimension 48, as it just says "Galaxy 48" on the end station

it's running V6.9, is it easy to update it?

i must admit i don't have any cables to connect a PC to the panel

 

[GalaxyGuy]

i shall be doing it properly don't worry

i must admit i'm not sure, i think it's a Dimension 48, as it just says "Galaxy 48" on the end station

it's running V6.9, is it easy to update it?

i must admit i don't have any cables to connect a PC to the panel

The Dimension panel will have Galaxy 48 on the label. The older G3 has 3-48.

To update with an SPI key, you just plug in the pre-loaded key to the panel connector and use menu 71 to load the new firmware file. The SPI keys are available on eBay for around £30. You can also use the key to store the panel config once you've programmed it.

To update with serial lead you need a Galaxy A234 lead and a USB to serial RS232 D-type converter. The lead cost from securitywarehouse is £24 + delivery. You also need the USB RS232 lead normally around £10. There is a Windows Honeywell flash program to load a firmware file.

 

[scantronic]

The Dimension panel will have Galaxy 48 on the label. The older G3 has 3-48.

To update with an SPI key, you just plug in the pre-loaded key to the panel connector and use menu 71 to load the new firmware file. The SPI keys are available on eBay for around £30. You can also use the key to store the panel config once you've programmed it.

To update with serial lead you need a Galaxy A234 lead and a USB to serial RS232 D-type converter. The lead cost from securitywarehouse is £24 + delivery. You also need the USB RS232 lead normally around £10. There is a Windows Honeywell flash program to load a firmware file.

is it worth upgrading it from it's current firmware?

albeit the only issue i can see is they're wanting it putting in on Wednesday, don't like leaving the house without an alarm

is it possible to upgrade it after installation?

thanks

 

[GalaxyGuy]

It's worth getting the latest with all the bug fixes. Firmware 6.9X goes back 10 years. If you fit on Wednesday, you can always plug in the SPI key later and save the config to the key, flash the firmware using the key, then restore the saved config.

 

[scantronic]

fantastic thank you

didn't realise it would save the current config

i'll write everything down regardless

went for a look today, before i get started

aye, gonna be a job and a half i reckon, nothing labelled in the panel etc but should be do able

is there a way to have 2 seperate full sets? they have cats which sometimes have the run of the house

 

[GalaxyGuy]

There's full set and part set as standard. After that, you can assign groups and have a codes that set two groups and codes that set one area. Or you can have single codes that has the choice of selecting the group to set. Many ways to achieve the same thing. Things can soon get complex.