RE: Smoke / Fire detectors on X10

[James Hoye <jhoye@xxxxxxx>]

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> There is a real possibility of power failure at the times
> when a fire occurs
> due to trips tripping, and if X10 was used for relaying the
> signal it would
> not get through. Of course, a cable can also get damaged but
> if the cables
> are in ceiling/floor voids they will probably last longer
> than the mains
> supply will.

I've interfaced some detectors with my normal alarm panel.  They are EOL
resistor wired (uses 4 cores - 1pr power, 1pr loop - but I ran 8 cores -
you
never know when you might need them) - so if for instance the detector is
removed a tamper is generated, and if the cable were to be damaged (either
o/c or shorted) it will upset the resistance and generate an alarm.

The detectors have changeover contacts, so you can use a n/o or n/c
circuit,
and run on 12v (possibly 12-18v - but I don't know without looking).

> If all you want is to get all the lights to come on when the
> alarm goes off
> then I guess X10 would be OK becasue with no power you
> wouldnt have lights
> anyway.

I have a non-maintained emergency light at the top (and bottom when I fit
it) of the stairs.  Any mains power failure means the light will stay on
for
approx 3 hours or until power is resumed.

> Look for one of the interlinkable alarms, they normally use a
> 2 core cable
> to link them.
> My guess is that a voltage or contact closure appears across
> the pair which
> is used to trigger other alarms. You then need an small
> interface circuit to
> drive one of the X10 contact closure modules (Sorry.....dont know the
> number!)
>
> A bit more info as to your intended use would be helpful.

Sorry, I've done the same thing - still, you can never have too much
information sometimes!

James