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Gardrec 595+ nosleep


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Hi all,

The internal sounder for my Gardtec 595 started sounding at 11pm last night and whilst I could stop it by entering the code, within an hour it was sounding again.

we haven’t used the alarm for some time as we discovered our cats could set it off.

 

I’ve also discovered that the LCD screen has become unreadable since I last used the alarm.

 

Now it’s Monday morning, I’m sleep deprived and am looking for advice.

 

so far I’ve opened up the control panel and wall box.

 

the large np3.4-12 battery in the wall box is only reading 10.8 v so I suspect that is the problem.

 

Ordering one of this is fine, but the LCD panel is more of a problem as I’m not sure where to find one.

 

I’ve included a picture which may help

 

all- advice gratefully received.

 

regards. Steve

 

 

 

 

 

 

B5729DB8-CEDC-4182-85C8-6CC19CA6D185.jpeg

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10 minutes ago, Steve Pritchard said:

Now it’s Monday morning, I’m sleep deprived and am looking for advice.

 

invent a time machine,

 

pop back a few years ago, subscribe to a maintenance contract with a local alarm co.

 

the problem will never have happened ?

 

if you can alter the space time continuum, so I never become involved with alarms it will greatly be appreciated 

Mr? Veritas God

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45 minutes ago, Steve Pritchard said:

Hi all,

The internal sounder for my Gardtec 595 started sounding at 11pm last night and whilst I could stop it by entering the code, within an hour it was sounding again.

we haven’t used the alarm for some time as we discovered our cats could set it off.

 

I’ve also discovered that the LCD screen has become unreadable since I last used the alarm.

 

Now it’s Monday morning, I’m sleep deprived and am looking for advice.

 

so far I’ve opened up the control panel and wall box.

 

the large np3.4-12 battery in the wall box is only reading 10.8 v so I suspect that is the problem.

 

Ordering one of this is fine, but the LCD panel is more of a problem as I’m not sure where to find one.

 

I’ve included a picture which may help

 

all- advice gratefully received.

 

regards. Steve

 

 

 

 

 

 

B5729DB8-CEDC-4182-85C8-6CC19CA6D185.jpeg

If you don't use it, a d don't think you need security , switch it all off end of story 

 

I assume you didn't have it installed and was already there , cats or no cats alarms can work with pets if make adjustments 

 

All depends on how much you want to spend on it and wether you think yourselves or anything in the house worth having some kind of protection

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1 hour ago, al-yeti said:

If you don't use it, a d don't think you need security , switch it all off end of story 

 

 

QFA If you need an alarm that wont go off for no reason or if you cats jump at the window then you need to get someone that knows what there doing to sort it out for you. Its not something that you can seek help with on a forum, a pro would need to see the property where the cats are likely to jump and be detected etc. I wouldn't bank on the battery being the cause of your sounding problems either, it probably has a contributing factor but its unlikely to be the main cause. My advice would be disconnect it all  inc external sounders, as you're not using it anyway. Either or get someone in that knows what they are doing and get it sorted properly.

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10 hours ago, MrHappy said:

 

invent a time machine,

 

pop back a few years ago, subscribe to a maintenance contract with a local alarm co.

 

the problem will never have happened ?

 

if you can alter the space time continuum, so I never become involved with alarms it will greatly be appreciated 

Yes, well as I said, we were not using the alarm as it was not pet friendly, I did not realise it was slowly self destructing and would eventually fail into an irritating hourly alarm.but, yes I ‘get’ your recommendation and we’re we using the said alarm would indeed be following up on it

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8 hours ago, PeterJames said:

QFA If you need an alarm that wont go off for no reason or if you cats jump at the window then you need to get someone that knows what there doing to sort it out for you. Its not something that you can seek help with on a forum, a pro would need to see the property where the cats are likely to jump and be detected etc. I wouldn't bank on the battery being the cause of your sounding problems either, it probably has a contributing factor but its unlikely to be the main cause. My advice would be disconnect it all  inc external sounders, as you're not using it anyway. Either or get someone in that knows what they are doing and get it sorted properly.

Thanks Peter,

the alarm was in the house when we purchased it, again good advice re: a pet friendly solution.

I’ve disconnected the speaker and removed the battery. At the moment a buzzer is sounding in the keypad on the hour, but it is at a manageable volume.

it looks like the unit is wired into the circuit the downstairs sockets so I need to disconnect that from the breaker box.

I called a local ‘pro’ this morning and arranged a visit to look at the key pad, he never showed, so it looks like I I’ll be trying to sort that myself.

I’m assuming that it is ‘4-wire’ as that is how many are connected up at the main controller.

 

i’ve been reading about pet friendly sensors as well so just drawing up a list of what I might need.

 

from what I’m seeing the unit is old and there are much newer/better things out there that look easier to install

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There should be a fused spur by the panel, if not there is also a mains fuse behind the control panel pcb, where the mains comes in.

 

Can the cats get within six foot of your existing detectors?  

 

The Gardtec panel is old, and they have never been the best panel. But I am not so sure that other panels are much easier to install, programming wise the 595 is very simple in comparison to many. Newer panels have more features yes, but the more the features the harder it is to program. 

 

As for your no-show, there are several alarm companies out there, I would recommend you look for an approved co, I am not saying that one-man-bands are no good, there are many on here that are proper chaps. But what I am saying is if you use a company that has gone to the trouble of getting accredited they are more likely to show up when they say they will, do what they say they will do, and charge what they say they will charge 

 

Pop your postcode in on  here https://www.nsi.org.uk/ or ssaib.co.uk 

 

 

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51 minutes ago, Steve Pritchard said:

 I did not realise it was slowly self destructing and would eventually fail into an irritating hourly alarm

 

yes alarms are the work of satan....

 

46 minutes ago, Steve Pritchard said:

I called a local ‘pro’ this morning and arranged a visit to look at the key pad, he never showed, so it looks like I I’ll be trying to sort that myself.

I’m assuming that it is ‘4-wire’ as that is how many are connected up at the main controller.

 

at shade under £80 for a blue keypad.... if you've not got one already, get a dog

Mr? Veritas God

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2 hours ago, PeterJames said:

 

There should be a fused spur by the panel, if not there is also a mains fuse behind the control panel pcb, where the mains comes in.

 

Can the cats get within six foot of your existing detectors?  

 

The Gardtec panel is old, and they have never been the best panel. But I am not so sure that other panels are much easier to install, programming wise the 595 is very simple in comparison to many. Newer panels have more features yes, but the more the features the harder it is to program. 

 

As for your no-show, there are several alarm companies out there, I would recommend you look for an approved co, I am not saying that one-man-bands are no good, there are many on here that are proper chaps. But what I am saying is if you use a company that has gone to the trouble of getting accredited they are more likely to show up when they say they will, do what they say they will do, and charge what they say they will charge 

 

Pop your postcode in on  here https://www.nsi.org.uk/ or ssaib.co.uk 

 

 

Thanks Peter, detectors are all in ceiling corners and most ceilings are 10am so I doubt it.

admittedly the issue arose when we first moved in and had two kittens that could climb curtains- they are not so adventurous now, but we stopped using the alarm.

we called the company whose sticker was on the wall unit- they went bust in March...

As far as programming goes, I respect your advice. I have a battery coming tomorrow, I’ve dropped am email to gardtec about which controller to get and where from- we shall see if they reply

 

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9 hours ago, Steve Pritchard said:

Thanks Peter, detectors are all in ceiling corners and most ceilings are 10am so I doubt it.

admittedly the issue arose when we first moved in and had two kittens that could climb curtains- they are not so adventurous now, but we stopped using the alarm.

we called the company whose sticker was on the wall unit- they went bust in March...

As far as programming goes, I respect your advice. I have a battery coming tomorrow, I’ve dropped am email to gardtec about which controller to get and where from- we shall see if they reply

 

I suspect that they wont recommend another brand LOL but they may well recommend someone in your area 

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Called a random company, followed by the installer and then emailed Risco?

I think you need to decide if you actually want the alarm first and then from there decide if you are capable of DIY or not.

From the above buying batteries, taking the keypad apart, poking things with a meter and then calling installers, I don't think you have made up your mind yet.

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41 minutes ago, sixwheeledbeast said:

Called a random company, followed by the installer and then emailed Risco?

I think you need to decide if you actually want the alarm first and then from there decide if you are capable of DIY or not.

From the above buying batteries, taking the keypad apart, poking things with a meter and then calling installers, I don't think you have made up your mind yet.

Thanks for your helpful and constructive response.

Firstly, the company were not random, they were the closest to my house and therefore in my (proven wrong) opinion were maybe the likeliest to turn up given that at the time I called them all I had an alarm I wasn’t using going off every hour the night and was not sure what the options were.

Secondly - in parallel I was exploring the route I needed to go down to fix the alarm as we had always wanted to use the alarm but as it had been triggered by our cats we stopped setting it. In researching broken alarms I found a wealth of helpful information some of which led me to believe I should give it another go and therefore fixing it might make sense although replacing the entire thing may be more cost effective.

I restore HiFi amplifiers and components in my spare time and never  ‘poke around’ with meters , I would suggest that you probably should avoid that as well, you will find it’s not good for you or the things you are ‘poking’
The alarm now seems to be working, I had to replace the main battery, two sensor batteries and a 0.25a fuse.

I can at least set and trigger it both with sensors and anti-tamper switches

Risco have provided me with a source for a keypad as well as advising which type I required.

 

I have also tracked down the original installer whose company unfortunately closed after a family death.

My aim will be to get it all working then get it checked and under an annual maintenance contract. I do however enjoy repairing things myself

 

I’m not sure which of ‘buying batteries’, ‘taking the keypad apart’ ,’poking things with a meter’ and ‘calling installers’ led you to believe I hadn’t made my mind up as I thought it was perfectly clear- I was seeking help/guidance from the forum which was why I posted in the first place.

 

 

 

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Steve Pritchard said:

. I do however enjoy repairing things myself

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This bit most serious comment you have written and explains the job, so in this note carry on

 

Good luck to someone who takes it over lol

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27 minutes ago, Steve Pritchard said:

Thanks for your helpful and constructive response.

Your welcome...

 

28 minutes ago, Steve Pritchard said:

Firstly, the company were not random, they were the closest to my house and therefore in my (proven wrong) opinion were maybe the likeliest to turn up given that at the time I called them all I had an alarm I wasn’t using going off every hour the night and was not sure what the options were.

You are unlikely to have someone come out to your broken unmaintained system out of office hours without a service contract, no matter how close. It's possible you where put through to a call centre and as no valid contract was found the call not actioned.

It would be a similar situation as to most service or breakdown companies, it costs to employ people to cover out of hours 24/7.

 

29 minutes ago, Steve Pritchard said:

Secondly - in parallel I was exploring the route I needed to go down to fix the alarm as we had always wanted to use the alarm but as it had been triggered by our cats we stopped setting it. In researching broken alarms I found a wealth of helpful information some of which led me to believe I should give it another go and therefore fixing it might make sense although replacing the entire thing may be more cost effective.

It's still not clear until now as to if you want someone to fix it or if your trying yourself hence my post. Seems an odd chain of events taken to tackle the problem in this way is all, hence my use of "random".

As I said in my first post it's something I wouldn't think twice about upgrading in that situation.

 

30 minutes ago, Steve Pritchard said:

I restore HiFi amplifiers and components in my spare time and never  ‘poke around’ with meters , I would suggest that you probably should avoid that as well, you will find it’s not good for you or the things you are ‘poking’

We have an array of people come here for advice all of completely different skill sets. You had not given any indication of your electronic competence until now.

I think you've got your own alarm problems to sort before worrying about other people and where they're poking things for a living.

 

33 minutes ago, Steve Pritchard said:

The alarm now seems to be working, I had to replace the main battery, two sensor batteries and a 0.25a fuse.

I assume you worked out what blew the fuse in the first place?

This is the first time you have mentioned it's actually a wireless system too I believe?

 

34 minutes ago, Steve Pritchard said:

I have also tracked down the original installer whose company unfortunately closed after a family death.

My aim will be to get it all working then get it checked and under an annual maintenance contract. I do however enjoy repairing things myself

This is the part of your post that answered my question. I am sure we can help further now.

Looking for a company you should check out NSI and SSAIB websites as mentioned above, if you don't know of any peer recommended local installers.

Speak with them and ask what they include as part of the annual maintenance, as prices and what's included will differ between places.

Worth mentioning that it's a wireless/hybrid system, I also wouldn't be surprised any potential future installers won't support that system or recommend an upgrade. Your likely to have issues with the keypad again anyway if you replace it.

 

39 minutes ago, Steve Pritchard said:

I’m not sure which of ‘buying batteries’, ‘taking the keypad apart’ ,’poking things with a meter’ and ‘calling installers’ led you to believe I hadn’t made my mind up as I thought it was perfectly clear- I was seeking help/guidance from the forum which was why I posted in the first place.

Seeking help to do what as I say above.

We are happy to help point you in the direction whatever you finally decide that is the goal of this forum. In the many years being here I have never known anybody commit to "fix it" themselves but still want a company in for an annual maintenance contract.

Either way as above crack on and feel free to ask specifics if you require.

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13 hours ago, sixwheeledbeast said:

Your welcome...

 

You are unlikely to have someone come out to your broken unmaintained system out of office hours without a service contract, no matter how close. It's possible you where put through to a call centre and as no valid contract was found the call not actioned.

It would be a similar situation as to most service or breakdown companies, it costs to employ people to cover out of hours 24/7.

 

It's still not clear until now as to if you want someone to fix it or if your trying yourself hence my post. Seems an odd chain of events taken to tackle the problem in this way is all, hence my use of "random".

As I said in my first post it's something I wouldn't think twice about upgrading in that situation.

 

We have an array of people come here for advice all of completely different skill sets. You had not given any indication of your electronic competence until now.

I think you've got your own alarm problems to sort before worrying about other people and where they're poking things for a living.

 

I assume you worked out what blew the fuse in the first place?

This is the first time you have mentioned it's actually a wireless system too I believe?

 

This is the part of your post that answered my question. I am sure we can help further now.

Looking for a company you should check out NSI and SSAIB websites as mentioned above, if you don't know of any peer recommended local installers.

Speak with them and ask what they include as part of the annual maintenance, as prices and what's included will differ between places.

Worth mentioning that it's a wireless/hybrid system, I also wouldn't be surprised any potential future installers won't support that system or recommend an upgrade. Your likely to have issues with the keypad again anyway if you replace it.

 

Seeking help to do what as I say above.

We are happy to help point you in the direction whatever you finally decide that is the goal of this forum. In the many years being here I have never known anybody commit to "fix it" themselves but still want a company in for an annual maintenance contract.

Either way as above crack on and feel free to ask specifics if you require.

Thanks again for the detailed response.

I’m ‘guessing’ that the fuse may have blown when the ground floor circuit breaker tripped when my better half cut through the hedge trimmer cable on Sunday morning (Something else to fix) I don’t know for sure of course.

I’m not sure why the LCDs fail as generally in my experience if driven correctly LCD circuits have a very long life. It is quite warm to the touch which may be a factor.

 

feeling a lot more positive after a nights uninterrupted sleep ?

 

Yes the system is wireless, I’ve replaced all the sender batteries, cleaned all the accumulated spider remains and other **** from the contacts.
 

To be honest if I can prove that the alarm works with pets -  or can be configured/reconfigured to do so I would be happy to pay an annual maintenance to get a reduction in home insurance (or to see if the cost of one is worth the cost of the other)

 

I’ve just installed ip cameras around the property which work very well the biggest pain being running and making up the Ethernet cabling. But I was thinking if I could get  alarm and cameras integration that would be a worthy goal. I recognise that the existing alarm will likely not be fit for purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Steve Pritchard said:

Thanks again for the detailed response.

I’m ‘guessing’ that the fuse may have blown when the ground floor circuit breaker tripped when my better half cut through the hedge trimmer cable on Sunday morning (Something else to fix) I don’t know for sure of course.

I’m not sure why the LCDs fail as generally in my experience if driven correctly LCD circuits have a very long life. It is quite warm to the touch which may be a factor.

 

feeling a lot more positive after a nights uninterrupted sleep ?

 

Yes the system is wireless, I’ve replaced all the sender batteries, cleaned all the accumulated spider remains and other **** from the contacts.
 

To be honest if I can prove that the alarm works with pets -  or can be configured/reconfigured to do so I would be happy to pay an annual maintenance to get a reduction in home insurance (or to see if the cost of one is worth the cost of the other)

 

I’ve just installed ip cameras around the property which work very well the biggest pain being running and making up the Ethernet cabling. But I was thinking if I could get  alarm and cameras integration that would be a worthy goal. I recognise that the existing alarm will likely not be fit for purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

Mains tripping would not have caused the aux 12v fuse to have blown Steve, the mains fuse situated by the incoming mains maybe. But any of the fuses on the main PCB are protecting the PCB from short circuit and mains tripping would have no influence over them.  

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1 hour ago, Steve Pritchard said:

I’m not sure why the LCDs fail as generally in my experience if driven correctly LCD circuits have a very long life. It is quite warm to the touch which may be a factor.

 

 

Strangest comment so far ....

 

 

But keep going 

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At a 0.25A rating (assuming that is correct value for where it came from) it will be probably be the mains supply fuse.

From the events you have mentioned over the thread it's possible:- cutting through the hedge trimmer flex caused some transient on your mains popping the fuse, this allowed the battery to drain out until it failed in the early hours.

Best solution to stop that in the future is petrol or electric hedge trimmers, depending on what type and how much hedge you cut. Much safer and like most cordless stuff now you'd never go back to corded afterwards.

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29 minutes ago, sixwheeledbeast said:

At a 0.25A rating (assuming that is correct value for where it came from) it will be probably be the mains supply fuse.

From the events you have mentioned over the thread it's possible:- cutting through the hedge trimmer flex caused some transient on your mains popping the fuse, this allowed the battery to drain out until it failed in the early hours.

Best solution to stop that in the future is petrol or electric hedge trimmers, depending on what type and how much hedge you cut. Much safer and like most cordless stuff now you'd never go back to corded afterwards.

 

29 minutes ago, sixwheeledbeast said:

At a 0.25A rating (assuming that is correct value for where it came from) it will be probably be the mains supply fuse.

From the events you have mentioned over the thread it's possible:- cutting through the hedge trimmer flex caused some transient on your mains popping the fuse, this allowed the battery to drain out until it failed in the early hours.

Best solution to stop that in the future is petrol or electric hedge trimmers, depending on what type and how much hedge you cut. Much safer and like most cordless stuff now you'd never go back to corded afterwards.

Thanks, totally agree on the cordless, we have chainsaw and strimmer- hedge-trimmer is in the legacy garden tool set. But the single best garden tool is the robot mower!

There were two small glass fuses side by side - not the main one on the incoming, both small fuses were 0.25a

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