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.

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.

The New Notifier UDACT-2 Dialer Communicator

As we all know, Notifier is one of the premier fire alarm equipment manufacturers around.  With that said, in my opinion, they have always lacked in the department of the Universal Digital Alarm Communicator Transmitter (UDACT).  I never understood why they had a UDACT that had to be programmed separately from the main FACU like a NFS-320, NFS2-640 or NFS2-3030.  Notifiers old UDACT had a keypad mounted to the front of the board and required programming by had which could be pretty taxing on large systems when using the Contact ID format.


Now finally, all of this has been corrected as Notifier has announced and started to ship a new version of the UDACT now known as the UDACT-2.  The new UDACT-2 has no more front programmable keypad as all of the programming is now done through Notifier's programming software, Verifire Tools.  This makes it nice as you can now move much more quickly through the programming steps and more importantly  you can now save a copy of your database.  The UDACT-2 is equipped with a USB port to connect your laptop as well as three push buttons for the following functions:

1. Transmission Clear
2. Test Report
3. Reset

I will be posting a video soon with a walk through for the programming of the Notifier UDACT-2 soon.