Why Gamewell Merged with Fire Control Instruments

A long time ago before Gamewell merged with Fire Control Instruments under the Honeywell name we mainly used the Gamewell IF610 series system (replaced by the Gamewell IF602). We would also install the IF650 with the EVAX voice package for our customer's larger projects. Once we learned that all of the Gamewell distributers would automatically gain access to the Fire Control Instruments line we were excited. Gamewell had always been good to us but FCI was really going to open some doors for future work. FCI was bringing up the FCI E3 series control panel to replace the FCI 7200 along with the FCI 7100 for smaller facilities.

The Fire Control Instruments line was much more advanced and offered a lot more programming functions than Gamewell which made possibilities endless. We were now able to network our systems with fewer headaches. The Gamewell answer or version to networking was a joke. Not sure if anyone has done many of these since my experience resulted in an attitude of "one is enough!” With all of the boot-strapping and multiple trips from panel to panel (sometimes thousands of feet) I was over it. After networking my first set of FCI -7100 control panels I was seeing the light. A simple answer and solution to expanding our systems. The process was so seamless and smooth and went off without a hitch.

Now the networking was not the only plus to the FCI addition. The FCI E3 series panel offers endless options with its Boolean Logic programming and module/card type structure. With the FCI E3 series fire control panel we were able to meet more specification and customer demands.

My opinion is FCI owned by Honeywell bought out Gamewell for the name. It’s the only thing that makes sense. The Gamewell line has now been phased out with the exception of the IF602 control panel and associated devices. Soon the Gamewell control panels will most likely be gone with the FCI E3 left to clean up the mess. FCI E3 series control panels of course have the Apollo protocol cards to interface with the older Gamewell installations.

I know this is old information but thought I would share my opinions and get those of the readers.