Yale 6200 Alarm Interference

I've had no problems with this alarm until recently I bought a couple of keyfobs, I learned them in and they work fine but since then the alarm has been going off at seemingly randon times when we are home. After investigation I now know that every time I hoover it sets the alarm off!

It appears the hoover emits a frequency the same as the keyfob.
Does anyone have any ideas of fixing this?
Is there anyway to unlearn the keyfobs as I may have to stop using them? If not would I have to unlearn everything and start again and how would I do this?

I have a decent hoover and I dont want to buy another one!

A hoover.

Oh dear.

Awaits the vultures.

I suppose the alarm could be thinking the hoover is stealing the dust from the house.

bernardgreen said:

I suppose the alarm could be thinking the hoover is stealing the dust from the house.

Click to expand...

Nah,
Sucking up all those radio waves. They're very messy you know.

mr-whippy said:

I've had no problems with this alarm until recently I bought a couple of keyfobs, I learned them in and they work fine but since then the alarm has been going off at seemingly randon times when we are home. After investigation I now know that every time I hoover it sets the alarm off!

It appears the hoover emits a frequency the same as the keyfob.
Does anyone have any ideas of fixing this?
Is there anyway to unlearn the keyfobs as I may have to stop using them? If not would I have to unlearn everything and start again and how would I do this?

I have a decent hoover and I dont want to buy another one!

Click to expand...

Couple of points.
You say the alarm worked fine but since when exactly did the alarm start giving problems.

You say before you got the keyfobs the alarm worked fine.
Were you using the hoover in question before you got the keyfobs?
If so it doesn't point to the Hoover being the problem.

My suspicion is based around the keyfobs and their use.
Which model of alarm do you have?
The 6200 with the small grey keypad or the 6400 with the larger white internal control panel.

If you use the keyfobs as keyrings and have the fobs in your pocket then unfortunately you are in danger of setting the alarm without realising it.
The buttons are unfortunately easy to be pressed when in your pocket as they are not recessed enough in fact they stand slightly proud.
It may be the action of using the cleaner with your keyfob in your pocket that is setting the alarm without you realising it. (With the hoover on you presumably would not hear the confirm beep from the siren.

Also when you set the alarm with a keyfob as opposed to the keypad the alarm is instantly set and also instantly activated without the normal 20 second delay you get when you use the keypad.

I would try making sure the keys are out of your pocket and the system is disarmed and then try just simply turning on the hoover.
If the alarm instantly activates then you may have a problem due to the hoover.

Two things here..
Is the hoover type approved for use in this country. if it is emmitting radio frequency waves I doubt it would have been passed for use in this country.

Secondly you can look at your instructions and in there you will find instructions on how to set one of the white dip switches inside the siren so that it will ignore your hoover and not activate if indeed the hoover is found to be the cause.

ok then three things actually.
Is the hoover still under warranty.
Take it back and ask for a replacement that doesn't intefere with your tv , wifi , radio , home alarm etc.

ok ok I am an even bigger fibber -
The fourth piece of advice is - I don't recommend keyfobs for a Yale system other than as a way to set and unset the system from the comfort of your bed.

I don't like the idea that they can accidentally set or unset the alarm when pressed in your pocket.

You cannot unlearn them from your system as such.
What you will need to do is reprogram the system from scratch.
Follow instructions in the manual to clear the existing settings using dip switch 1.

Relearn the system but this time without learning in the keyfobs.

practical advice from someone who fits them!

OP follow the above and re post to let us know what happens

Oasis

Know your options

bernardgreen said:

Know your options

Untitled

• bernardgreen
• 11 Jun 2011
• 1

Click to expand...

Love it.

bernardgreen said:

Know your options

Untitled

• bernardgreen
• 11 Jun 2011
• 1

Click to expand...

Very good.

Its a bit naughty Bernard - but funny

yaleguy3 said:

Couple of points.
You say the alarm worked fine but since when exactly did the alarm start giving problems.

You say before you got the keyfobs the alarm worked fine.
Were you using the hoover in question before you got the keyfobs?
If so it doesn't point to the Hoover being the problem.

My suspicion is based around the keyfobs and their use.
Which model of alarm do you have?
The 6200 with the small grey keypad or the 6400 with the larger white internal control panel.

Click to expand...

Its a 6200 with the grey keypad and i've only had problems since I learnt in the keyfobs. They are never kept in pockets we keep them hanging up and the buttons are flush with the case, they have to be pressed with a reasonable amount of pressure to activate.
Going to investigate tomorrow but I think the on/off switch on the hoover is emulating the panic button on the fob. I dont think the alarm is turning itself on as I dont have any PIR's in the lounge & kitchen and all doors and windows were shut so it can't activate.
Will probably end up removing the keyfobs.

Dip switch 2 is interference detection but i'm fairly sure this has always been in the off position.
Dip switch 1 is called Clear On, so if I set this to off it will unlearn everthing so I can start again, and do I also need to switch off dip switch 4 called Master On?

Thanks for answering

By the way the hoover is a Vax Mach 1, bought in UK.

Would be a shame to lose the keyfobs we want to give them to people when they come and feed that cats. We are away from home quite a lot.

Hi I think you have just highlighted the problem to me.

reading from the top to the bottom your dip switch settings should be as follows.

(4) to the left
(3) to the right
(2) to the right
(1) to the right

If what I have read is correct in your previous post you have
switch (1) to the left!

It should not be to the left in normal use it should only be to the left while you use the learn button to clear the system.

You should only have the top dip switch (4) to the left.

This explains your spurious activations.

You need to put switch (1) to the left but beware your system will usually activate when you do this as the first sensor sends a signal in so be ready with your fob to press the disarm button.

It is not impossible that electromagnetic interference from the vacuum cleaner is affecting the keyfobs and causing them to send an alarm signal to the panel/siren.

Possible but unlikely

Try using the vacuum cleaner with the key fobs in their normal place in the house.

Then take the key fobs out of the house, put then in a tin box and leave at the end of the garden. ( or remove batteries )

Try the vacuum cleaner again.

If the alarm sounds in both these situations then it is not the key fobs themselves. it is the vacuum cleaner affecting something in the alarm panel and/or siren directly. That something might be related to the way the panel recognises and handles signals from the keyfobs. Something that was not enabled until the panel/siren learn it had keyfobs to react to.

Question to YaleGuy3 As the keyfob has a panic button does it have a more frequent "I am here" message to the panel than the other sensors ? If so then maybe the vacuum cleaner is running long enough to prevent ( by intereference ) the panel hearing the " I am here" messages and thus the panel/siren is going into alarm believing it has lost a panic button. If the vacuum cleaner is blocking signals to the panel/siren then the alarm is rendered useless in the vacuum cleaner is running when the intruders intrude.

Hi Bernard
In this case it is not the vacuum cleaner being the problem.
The problem is that the OP has left the dip switch (1) in the wrong position.

Part of the process of setting up a new system is to put the dip 1 to the left then press the learn button of the siren to clear the memory of enroled devices. (Perhaps at the factory every one is tested and there is the possibility they weren't reset)
dip switch 1 should then be switched back off again before commencing to program the siren.
It would appear by the OPs comments that the dip switch 1 is still in the wrong position.

As for the panic feature.
You have to hold the button down for 3 seconds to activate an alarm by panic mode.

How this is percieved at the siren or control panel end I do not know.
Perhaps there is a count of how many times a device sends an output in x amount of time.