ADE Optima Compact bust?

[jon0881]

Hi,

I've just moved into a house that was bought from one of those ‘we buy any house’ companies. They have no details from the previous owner of the alarm manual or code.

I've done a good searching on the internet and found user manuals and engineer instructions to reset it. An electrician had a bash at it too and said its knackered but I think he just doesn’t know what he is doing.

The alarm is isolated by the fused spur, on powering on the power LED lights up and the internal sounder sounds (external too I think). If I remove the fuse, all is quiet again. I followed the SET + PA instructions but i get the same result when powering up.

I might end up replacing it but I want to be sure its broken before going down that route.

Cheers

Jon

 

[jon0881]

Sorry i forgot to add. Im not a buglar, i just prefer to carry out the work myself. I would like to program it how i want and ad another PIR to the garage. Im a competent technical person so i dont see why i sould put money in other peoples pockets without having a bash first

 

[chaindaisy]

Hi,

Don't give up on that alarm system. It's early days yet and there are a lot more things to try. First and foremost you need a new standby battery inside the control panel. If you're not sure what to buy, open the panel and unclip the two terminals, they pull off. Put some insulating tape around the ends so that they don't touch each other or anything inside the panel. Do this with the mains disconnected from the panel. This is straight forward but if you need more detail, post again. A local electrical wholesaler should stock them. But, this is the most important first move which you must take if you want to resolve the issue. And your right, it sounds as if that guy doesn't know anything about them.

 

[jon0881]

Thanks for the reply. So i understand you correctly, the internal sounder is ringing on power up (regardless of the reset wire) because the battery is dead?

the saving grace i have whilst messing round with it is that to silence everything i can knock the fuse out.

 

[chaindaisy]

I'm not quite with you on the reset wire bit, can you tell me a little more ?

 

[jon0881]

i didnt want to post completely what i did as some people are sensitive about putting such information on a public forum. Basically ive follwed the NV Ram reset procedure to factory reset the unit.

 

[chaindaisy]

Some info is sensitive, engineer codes for example.

So you've performed an nvm reset between pins 13 and 23.

Ensure that there is a wire link joining the pair of PA terminals.

Turn on the power.

press 0. 1. 2. 3. if nothing changes press those digits again.

press Reset twice.

Are all the wires placed back in their correct terminals ?

 

[jon0881]

Despite being sensitive i think this specific engineers code is easily guessed. . Ive got all that info but i can only find an engineers manual for an accenta 6. I was hoping once ive reset my optima that most of the programming was the same.

I will try again but the instructions i had were to remove all wiring/jumpers from PA and SET. The wire in my set was open ended, maybe from the electricians attemt so i just used that. The instructions i used were for a G3 compact but i cant see any mention of it on my system. The system in my old house was a G3 and it said it on the panel. I took some pics of the board and it appears to be a 2001 model

/Jon

 

[chaindaisy]

Well they're made by the same gang, so I'm not surprised you thought the programming was the same. I don't know how to get the manual to you other than for you to send me your e.mail address by private message so that it can't be seen on open forum. There is a way of doing this, but I think you may need to ask the administrators for some help. I can then send you the correct manuals for the Optima Compact,

Don't worry about 0123, it's simply a set up code when installling. You can change the code to whatever you want when you get the manuals. I don't think many in the trade would leave it at 0123, that would be like giving the intruder your house keys.

Anyway, Are all the wires connected correctly in the control panel. If not, we may need to link out the detection terminal pairs (join each N/C zone pair and the A/T anti tamper pair and the Panic pair. When that's done, try the 0123 trick again.

If you can get hold of an administrator I can send you the manuals as attachments to an e.mail, they are not that much different from the G3's and so on.

 

[jon0881]

Got it!

The instructions I had we're to remove the jumper and use the wrong pin on PA. it's all reset and programmed. I want to add the garage but I'm not sure how to get the cable to it. There is a window contact closeby that I could chain it to I guess.

The psu is buzzing on it which is annoying. I mounted check its mounted properly.

TBH I don't like alarms, thankfully I've never needed one but every one I've had I've had problems with them going off. A burglar could easily get in and disconnect the mains and battery in the panel before any neighbour took notice of the alarm.

Cheers

Jon

 

[chaindaisy]

Hi Jon,

Glad to hear you've got it working. If you still want the instructions you can click on my name, this takes you to another page where you can let me have your e.mail address, I send manuals regularly in this way.

Let's deal with the garage then. There is always a way of getting a cable to wherever you want it to go. perhaps you could find a route from the panel to the garage, it's worth a try. Perhaps a Roller shutter contact on the main and side doors would do the trick, or a dualtec if you're feeling flush.

You don't like alarms ? The short and sweet answer is that neither do burglars. If your alarm is kept in good condition, there is no reason why it should not become a friend to you. Please consider replacing the standby battery, a dead battery can do no end of damage to the control panel.

If I don't hear from you again, I'll trust that everything is hunky dory, and wish you all the best for the future.

Take Care.

 

[jon0881]

Thanks for your help mate.

I will have a think about the garage. I've one spare zone but I might daisy chain it of a toilet window contact close to the garage.

My main worry with alarms is annoying the neighbours by not being able to silence them. I will order a new battery tomorrow for it though. It's worth getting it sorted properly.

/jon

 

[chaindaisy]

Well done Jon,

Keep in touch.

 

[jon0881]

Actually, I'm assuming this old thing has no function to alert a telephone number so when I get some time I'm going to build a telephone system for the house. Maybe I can take a feed from the electrical circuit such as the signal wire to the bell box to tell the phone system the alarms been triggered.

My control box is in the hall so genuinely what is stopping a burglar with a couple of screwdrivers opening the fused spur and disconnecting the backup battery? Doesn't the bell box have a battery backup?

 

[chaindaisy]

From previous post:- ".... Actually, I'm assuming this old thing has no function to alert a telephone number so when I get some time I'm going to build a telephone system for the house. Maybe I can take a feed from the electrical circuit such as the signal wire to the bell box to tell the phone system the alarms been triggered.

My control box is in the hall so genuinely what is stopping a burglar with a couple of screwdrivers opening the fused spur and disconnecting the backup battery? Doesn't the bell box have a battery backup?.... "

Hi Jon,

You can get all sorts of diallers these days, the SD1 can send, I think it's three messages. A small compact boxed unit which can sit beside or away from the control panel, you simply run a cable to it, usually six core, and plug it into a BT socket. You can trigger it from the bell trip at the control panel.

More importantly perhaps, is a question I am often asked:-

I'll answer it first in a few short words " When you have an alarm system installed, the worry passes from yourself to the prospective burglar". In a recent survey of ex-burglars released from prison, 80% said they would give a house a 'miss' if it had any sign of a burglar alarm and go elsewhere. The security system is no longer your problem ... it is theirs.

Would any self respecting opportunist try to get through your front door, then determine which screwdriver he needs, then disconnect the fused spur (by which time, if there is a back up battery, the alarm is sounding anyway because the entry time has expired), then proceed to undo the screws on the control panel, open the panel, which breaks the tamper circuit and sounds the alarm, remove the battery (which would again cause the external warning to sound off it's own battery) and after a minute or more of the alarm sounding, and continuing to sound, then carry on with his attempt to burgle the property ? It would be a very brave or very foolish character who thinks his prospects of succcess are good... so you see, the problem becomes his .... not yours.

Take Care.