jgs1000

absolutely agreed, although to an extent you could say that about anything, failure rate on brand new electronic devices could to be up to 5% and if the guy didn't take anti-precautions when installing, could be 25% of higher on the MTBF. Now that I've seen how basic the PCB is on these things, there's not really a component you couldn't swap out on it with the exception of the micro-controller, and even that, at a push I could probably get a blank replacement re-flashed at work if I had access to a working one and assuming its not read protected.

Turned out to be a faulty capacitor it was only measuring 15 picofarads! also explaining why the 12v rail was all over the place and causing the light to flash- so all in all, I've now changed the regulator and the capacitor and its all back together working fine , Can't grumble at a cost of £2.50 instead of £300+vat eh? A days a bit of an excessive estimate to remove and reconnect 15 screw terminals and a couple of mounting screws - its only took as long as it did cos the panel was in a such a bloody awkward place to get to!

Thanks Peter, yeah kind of moving drifting from what I originally intended, I was more interested in any known issues to look out for on that panel rather than a big discussion on charging ) - every industry has its charges, my own included based on what the market will bear , I've ripped 3/4 of the thing completely out today and reassembled it in less than an hour, so tbh I'm leaning towards just replacing it straight out and saving £250, am just aware when you step sightly out of your comfort zone there's usually always "gottya's" that you end up spending 3 hours trying to troubleshoot where someone who does it everyday just goes ah 'that's such and such'

Nope in answer to what panel do they propose to fit didn't go that far into it - They'd use the existing PIR's and siren, although I could have a new siren at £95 if I wanted. Its a reputable firm, not a one man band (no offence to one man bands though) so It's probably whatever off the shelf basic domestic unit is in common use by you guys, but I'm leaning towards swapping it out for something like that ebay one I mentioned above an fitting it myself. Even if it went wrong I'd have to buy 6 replacements before I was close to out of pocket at that price.

Dunno - no tamper lights on the panel illuminated, originally put it in Engineering mode, disconnected battery and then mains, and siren went off - thought hmm can't leave that going while I resolder the PCB so did a bit more digging on the wiring diagram in the manual and put 12v through the hold off from the battery and it stopped. Disconnected every other wire, removed the PCB re-soldered it - Banged it all back together and its still ok except for the original fault.

yeah for £50 quid it seems worth a punt, the company who do the maintenance contract have quoted £300+vat for a replacement box and keypad and fitting which seems a bit excessive to me, as I'm guessing its around 1hr labour if you know what your doing? but it's not my industry. Just wanted to bottom out if there was anything I'd missed or any known issues with the panel before I swapped it. Was actually surprised as how basic these things are when you crack them open - are the modern domestic ones all SMD's and Microcontrollers or are they all still though hole?

Thanks - There's a few 9448+'s on ebay listed as new (I realise Its been EOL for a long time - guessing old stock maybe?) , the other thing I was looking as is http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Scantronic-9448-95-Alarm-Panel-with-LED-Keypad-/260625504666?pt=UK_Burglar_Alarms&hash=item3cae7d999a as a drop in replacement?

Hi, I have a problem with a Scantronic 9448ES, in that the Mains LED on the 9427 panel is flashing, otherwise the alarm seems to work perfectly, I've opened the control box and factory reset it so I have the engineers code. The PCB Shows 20v AC input from the transformer and 10.8v DC out to the battery (Which is brand new) I've removed the PCB and de-soldered the voltage regulator and replaced it with a new one as that seemed the most likely suspect. However I'm still getting the flickering mains LED on the 9427 keypad. (If it makes any difference working off the manual, the wiring connections on the PCB actually match those shown for the 9448+ and not the ES, don;t know if they shared a PCB towards the end or something?). There is a maintenance contract on the system over the last ten years and the battery has been replaced regularly as part of that, so its not as if a dead battery has killed it. My next step is to remove the PCB again and check all the other components, (although theres no visible signs of failure) My questions are:- 1) When I take the panel out I'm using the battery to silence the external alarm connected to the +/- ve hold off - how long does a a battery last doing this? (lazy question I could measure the current draw but its all back together at the moment - I'm guessing its not a massive draw and its going to last a long time? 2) Any known issues on this panel - if its not the Transformer (Getting 20v ac in ok) and its not the regulator as I've changed it, what's it likely to be? I'm thinking a resistor but any ideas on which one? and other tests I should be considering? Failing that I'm considering replacing the control unit for a new 9448+ off ebay - any pit falls? i'm guessing it'll be a straight swap as I've already identified all the wiring, its just adding my downstairs keypad to one as an additional keypad I'm a little uncertain on. Thanks Dave