Questions:
- When do you expect this hardwire translator to be compatible with all 3 panels? We are working on a PowerG version now, which would make it compatible with all 3 “flavors” of the panel.
- Can the hardwire 16 provide power to the panel? It cannot. It outputs 500mA of power at 12vDC and the panel runs on 5 to 7 VDC and needs 1A
- Does it come with the external antenna? Yes!
- Was told even with an external antenna you can’t place 16-F in metal enclosure. We’ve run into issues trying this. What issues have you had? It was specifically designed to be installed in a metal can. The small plastic enclosure was designed to be a stand off for the metal can, and the antenna can stick outside the can in order to get good RF range. This was done on purpose and is part of the design
- On Zone 16 you had mentioned a two wire smoke, dies it have to be a smoke zone or can it be configured to be an additional security zone? Zone 16 is dedicated for 2-wire smokes and shouldn’t be used for anything else
- How many smoked allowed on loop? 10
- So the large enclosure comes with a 16-F that allows you to choose 1K-10K EOL instead of the 4.7k? Yes, it has 2 modes now. Legacy does 1k to 10k resistor value, just like older translators. It has UL fire mode where the resistor is fixed at 4.7k. You get to choose the mode. We brought back resistor learning due to popular demand. It will just take time for all the inventory to cycle through
- Can the enclosure be recessed into the wall? It wasn’t designed to be recessed in the wall. It’s meant to be surfaced mounted and has a break away wall tamper
- When you say stackable to 128 zones, how are all zones available? Consider the IQ Panel 2 supports up 128 zones, 8 IQ hardwires would take 8 zones and you would have 120 zones left. Is that correct? Yes, so technically the 16 zone translator has 17 zones as the translator is one zone itself. Therefore 128 total zones minus 17. You can add 7.5 modules.
- Heat detectors on zone 16 okay? We haven’t certified any heat detectors so for now, only smokes are technically supported
- Can you power a led from the translator to indicate that the system is armed? Unfortunately, no. there is no programmable relay built in to tell the light when to turn on or off
- Do all resistors need to be hooked up prior to learning in the 16F? No, the translator can be learned into the panel prior to hooking up the zones.
- How does it know whether you opened a door or window vs if you just took one end of the resistor off the terminal? It doesn’t. We have a lot of people not understand normally open vs normally closed, so as a best practice we just say to “create an alarm condition” ie open the door, trip the smoke, etc. Otherwise we have people pulling a let out of NO zone which messes up the translator into thinking the zone is NC, etc.
- They end up showing tamper instead of tripped once learned in. Typically we see that if the translator is not factory defaulted. Always best practice to master reset upon powering up the device for the first time. This fixes 90% of the issues we see.
- Do I have to use 4.7k or can this device learn whatever resistors are already in place? It depends on the mode of the device. If you wish to use the UL listed smoke support then yes, 4.7 is required. If you set the device to the S-Line mode then it will support 1-10k
- What distance can be between the control and the hardwire? This device sends signals wirelessly like 319.5 devices, therefore you will get something like 400ft open air. A repeater can be used, also always check the sensor test page to verify signal strength
- Hardwire sirens limitations as far as size? The relay is rated at 1A
- Could you elaborate on subtypes? I’ve been choosing the regular one. Subtype 1 is used for Qolsys wireless water sensors. WE don’t do a lot of testing with hardwire water sensors, but I would learn them in as subtype 2 “other” and see if it solves the issue. It sounds like the hourly supervision bits were setting it off which is indicative of the wrong subtype
- How do you enable the wireless siren relay on the IQ2? The siren relay is always active. You must have the translator learned into the panel for proper supervision. When learned to the panel it will follow the panel’s alarm events and siren timeouts.
- Will smoke zone work with a power reversing relay to make all smokes sound? Not at this time. We’ve tested with the RRS MOD and it puts the panel int o a feedback loop that it can’t get out of. Something to add in the future
- When doing takeovers of existing hardwired systems, I normally only see 4 wire smokes. Is there a way to use them? What is the difference between 2 and 4 wire smoke? If we can’t use a 4 wire, what’s the best way to replace them? 4 wire and 2 wire are very different. The HW16 isn’t rated for 4 wire and no way to reset them after an alarm event. Replace them with PowerG smokes.
- Has anyone ever had issues with the 16F showing low battery with no actual low battery? I’ve heard that this happens when you don’t power the battery up first. Always connect battery first and then the 16v power s
- Most existing security panels are in the basement of a house what type of distance does that extending antenna have to go through the house into the first floor the IQ Panel will be in? This device has good range and will get the consistent range you see with other 319.5 devices. WE always recommend using the sensor test to insure you have good range.
- Is there a way to power the panel off the 16F module? Unfortunately, no. Something we have been asking for some time now, hopefully in the future
- How long can the translator last on power failure? It is UL listed for 24 hours, but it all depends on usage. If all 16 zones are opening and closing all day, you may get less than 24 hours.
- Can we learn zones into the panel even if the takeover isn’t in learn mode? If we just trigger the zone? No, the takeover should be in learn mode as well so that the zone is properly learned into the translator and the panel at the same time and correctly supervised.