13.5 hr. day... drive to Prairie DuChien WI and fix 3 card-reader doors, then back to Mpls and figure out why 107 smoke detectors went dead.
SShink said
Oct 17, 2011
Let me guess, all the smoke detector batteries decided to die before the time change in a few weeks!
At least they didn't do it at 3 a.m. and wake someone up trying to figure out what that 'chirp' was every couple of minutes like usually happens to me!
Jon H said
Oct 18, 2011
Hearing "chirps" at 3AM are you Stan, maybe it is time to start drinking the "good" stuff.
John D said
Oct 18, 2011
Wierd thing - one detector failed, and it pulled down the entire loop of 107 other devices!
Usually when a single unit fails, it signals a "trouble" condition for itself (giving a specific address/location). This was a true "needle in a haystack" search - the entire data loop for this detector zone went dead.
By pure luck I opened/broke the data loop at a unit that happened to have a 3-legged "T-tap" (meaning one line in, 3 lines out). By metering each outbound leg I was able to find the circuit with a non-standard impedance, and leave it open. Reconnect the other two and bingo - instantly down to 24 dead from 107. Good enough for overnight.
Enter today: Find the 1 in 24 devices that's internally bad, but not telling you it's bad. Again, the planets are in alignment and I check the very next detector down the hallway. As soon as I pull it from the connector base the leg/loop of the circuit goes normal! Replace the detector head and everything's normal/green lights/see ya!
The lesson here - a DVM is your friend, and learning to use one can save $$$ and time!!
(yes, I bought both a MegaMillions AND a PowerBall today - can't ignore karma)
SShink said
Oct 18, 2011
Jon H.-It's called Evan Williams and it's 5 bucks cheaper than Jack!
13.5 hr. day... drive to Prairie DuChien WI and fix 3 card-reader doors, then back to Mpls and figure out why 107 smoke detectors went dead.
Let me guess, all the smoke detector batteries decided to die before the time change in a few weeks!
At least they didn't do it at 3 a.m. and wake someone up trying to figure out what that 'chirp' was every couple of minutes like usually happens to me!
Wierd thing - one detector failed, and it pulled down the entire loop of 107 other devices!
Replace the detector head and everything's normal/green lights/see ya!
Usually when a single unit fails, it signals a "trouble" condition for itself (giving a specific address/location). This was a true "needle in a haystack" search - the entire data loop for this detector zone went dead.
By pure luck I opened/broke the data loop at a unit that happened to have a 3-legged "T-tap" (meaning one line in, 3 lines out). By metering each outbound leg I was able to find the circuit with a non-standard impedance, and leave it open. Reconnect the other two and bingo - instantly down to 24 dead from 107. Good enough for overnight.
Enter today:
Find the 1 in 24 devices that's internally bad, but not telling you it's bad. Again, the planets are in alignment and I check the very next detector down the hallway. As soon as I pull it from the connector base the leg/loop of the circuit goes normal!
The lesson here - a DVM is your friend, and learning to use one can save $$$ and time!!
(yes, I bought both a MegaMillions AND a PowerBall today - can't ignore karma)
Jon H.-It's called Evan Williams and it's 5 bucks cheaper than Jack!
John D.-Sounds you were lucky AND good!