Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Mounting the New Notifier UDACT-2 Fire Alarm Communicator

A while back, Notifier released its new UDACT-2 digital alarm communicator transmitter for use with the Oynx series fire alarm control panels.  Now this new UDACT-2 is a huge improvement from the previous version simply known as the UDACT.  I don't want to get to much into  the details as I have already created an article regarding this topic.  See it here.

Notifier UDACT-2 USB Programming Port
During the programming session of the last Notifier UDACT-2 I performed, I came across something that I thought might need to be mentioned.  With that said, it is important to mention the mounting characteristics of the fire alarm dialer.  The UDACT-2 mounts onto the standard CHS-4L chassis which can be located within any Oynx Series back box.  Now please note that the CHS-4L mounts below the main chassis assembly that houses the main CPU such as a CHS-M3, CA-1, CA-2, etc.

Knowing the above, we come across a problem accessing the USB programming port on the UDACT-2 if the dialer is not mounted on the top slot or bay of the Oynx series back box.  If you have not come across the new Notifier UDACT-2 then you would not know that the factory for some reason has installed the programming port on the top of the board.  With the limited space and length of a standard USB cable, you simply do not have enough room to "plug and play".

One option you have is to mount the UDACT-2 to the CHS-M3 chassis when using on a CPU2-3030 for the NFS2-3030.  The NFS-320 does not come into play since the UDACT-2 is mounted directly on top of the SLC portion of the motherboard.  This gives you plenty of space to access the programming port since it would be located within the top of the cabinet.

Bottom line is always try and install the new Notifier UDACT-2 within the top bay of the cabinet.  I have included a picture below of the USB programming port that has been snapped off the board due to the extreme pressure applied when trying to insert the cable.