apples12 Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Hi All! We currently have a Veritas R8 alarm system installed - done by a gumtree 'installer' who by the sounds of it has screwed up an awful lot of the wiring. System is a Texecom Veritas R8 with 5PIR's and 3 door contacts, 1 RKP, 2 bellboxes (one front, one rear) - About a month ago we had a power surge which blew something in the alarm panel and bellboxes. The system is now extremely buggy - will set but then not go off once i trigger a PIR or door contact, will go off when i have unset the system, front bellbox is faulty - has been wired correctly and i've checked the cable myself again, all in correctly but will not 'ring' when testing or triggering the alarm. I have now decided that I want to upgrade the alarm panel and keypad to a system which I can monitor remotely and actually see the settings etc (Wintex?) I'm looking at the Texecom Premier Elite 24 polymer panel with a prox keypad and COM-IP or COM-wifi (router is near the alarm panel so wire is preferred) the bellboxes installed at the moment are a texecom odyssey 3e (faulty) and an odyssey 1 (working ok) is there any advice that people can provide me with? I need to know what size battery to go with (i'm thinking a 7ah?) any other tips? the PIR's installed are texecom premier PIR's (only installed 12months ago) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datadiffusion Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 The first thing you need to ask yourself is... Am I capable of installing this myself (I'm guessing you got someone in last time for a reason - and that panel was a LOT more basic) Have I fully tested all the apparently 'screwed up wiring' (also referring to post 1) What do I really need Wintex for? Because if it's just for monitoring the wiring, a properly installed alarm does that 24/7. Especially if you have one with a plain English, LCD keypad that actually tells you what's going on. Or do you mean, you wish to monitor the system for alarms? You will need to firstly ask yourself if you are up to the job, or, find a proper installer, not Derek from Gumtree or Dave down the pub. Quote So, I've decided to take my work back underground.... to stop it falling into the wrong hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apples12 Posted February 7, 2017 Author Share Posted February 7, 2017 Hi, In terms of installing - main reason I got someone in was (at the time) it was going to be more time consuming for me to do the wiring... Wiring - I have checked every single wire run from the panel to each door contact, PIR and the front bellbox using a continuity tester Wintex - for setup, configuration and monitoring system for alarms/faults panel - the current veritas r8 i have only has a basic LED panel - if there was any way to fit an LCD panel to this then i'm all ears! only way I can see is to change the panel and the keypad as the current one seems to be a little glitchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datadiffusion Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 (edited) Are both bellboxes real, or is one a dummy? How have you tested these so far for voltages, charging, operation etc...? Edited February 7, 2017 by datadiffusion Quote So, I've decided to take my work back underground.... to stop it falling into the wrong hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norman Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 You may find crashing and reprogramming the current panel cures your issues, as above I'd bet one of the bells is a dummy. Quote Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datadiffusion Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 However, if there has been a genuine power surge / spike due to lightning (these are really quite rare unless you live on a farm fed by a small locally mounted transformer etc...) you would be advised to check everything for operation, not just wiring, especially the bells. Quote So, I've decided to take my work back underground.... to stop it falling into the wrong hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixwheeledbeast Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 R8 is pretty basic but fairly robust. There is likely something wrong that a competent engineer would be able to repair. Good bit more to fitting alarms than sticking equipment on coloured wires, consider what you are taking on and have a read through the threads on the DIY Installers forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apples12 Posted February 7, 2017 Author Share Posted February 7, 2017 (edited) Hi Both bellboxes are fully functioning/real bellboxes and not dummies. Operation of both was tested by using the engineering menu on the keypad, both will strobe however only the rear will ring. When the initial surge happened the front bellbox would not stop ringing and went on for best part of an hour or so before I opened the panel and removed the +12v, this seemed to shut it up. As much as I appreciate there is an awful lot more to it than joining coloured wires I feel I'm competent enough in the actual install and initial setup, where I require some assistance is in ensuring I have the best/most suitable system in the first instance to help cover the home and make fault finding a little easier (reason why I want to go for a panel I can connect to a computer along with a LCD control panel as opposed to the simpler one which the installer initially fitted). I've had one incompetent engineer out who seemed professional and on the ball at the outset- alarm bells started ringing (pardon the pun) when I watched him simply unplug and replace the same bellbox battery and proceed to hand me an invoice for £60 for the privilege... I may be a 'diyer' but I feel I'm competent enough to take this on without getting swindled by another 'installer'. I appreciate the input on this thread. Edited February 7, 2017 by apples12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datadiffusion Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 4 minutes ago, apples12 said: Both bellboxes are fully functioning/real bellboxes and not dummies. Unless you have a separate PSU, and/or one of the bells is set to SCB mode, way too much current for an R8, my worry is that Gumtree Garry can't design let alone install - so it might be that you need to think about the existing system design before we worry about kit. 4 minutes ago, apples12 said: Operation of both was tested by using the engineering menu on the keypad, both will strobe however only the rear will ring. When the initial surge happened the front bellbox would not stop ringing and went on for best part of an hour or so before I opened the panel and removed the +12v, this seemed to shut it up. So we know that the front box is faulty, as it should have cut off after 20 minutes, but possibly re-sounded when you removed the power supply. As neither happened it's bin time for the front sounder. It might be worth sharing a plan of your house and existing detectors before we go too far? Quote So, I've decided to take my work back underground.... to stop it falling into the wrong hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james.wilson Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 I do think its a bit unfair to get an installer from gumtree then assume pro installers are the same 3 Quote securitywarehouse Security Supplies from Security Warehouse Trade Members please contact us for your TSI vetted trade discount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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