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1. Versions of System Controller
There are 3 versions of the System Controller:
Mark 1, this has 5 LEDs above the LCD window. It can only support 1 Detector. This can be identified by
the fact there are 3 empty ports on the top of the First Fix PCB. These were only made for about a year
and if you come across any, it is a good idea to replace them, whether they are faulty or not. They have
a 'flexi cable' which connects the Controller to the First Fix PCB which is very flimsy and easily damaged.
Needs to be set to 'Hi A' to do an alignment (it can take over 20 minutes in Lo A), does not have the 'Find'
function, used to pick up the number of Detectors fitted and has a temperature function (which is in the
Detector). There isn't an Event Log on this Controller. Do not press the 'Spanner' function when in the
Engineering menus as this will un-align the Detector.
Mark 2, this has 5 LEDs above the LCD window. It can support 4 Detectors, but there are only one set
of relay outputs, Fire and Fault, for all the Detectors, so the engineer will not know which Detector gave
an activation unless that Detector is still in Fire or Fault. There isn't an Event Log on this Controller and you
need to use 'Hi A' to do a commissioning. If you get random faults on this Controller, the comms between
the Controller and Detector can get out of Sync and fail for a few seconds, before starting again. Fitting the
Mark 3 Controller will fix this issue. As with the Mark 1 Controller, there is a Temperature function (which
is in the Detector). Do not press the 'Spanner' function when in the Engineering menus as this will un-align
all the Detectors connected to the Controller.
Mark 3, this has 3 LEDs above the LCD window. It can support 2 Detectors and has a Fire and a Fault
relay for each of the 2 Detectors. The Controller selects 'Hi A' when in a commissioning mode and has an
Event Log. It does not support the Temperature Function which is on the older Detectors.
There are also Simplex and Apollo Analogue Addressable Mark 3 System Controllers. These can be
connected straight to a Simplex or Apollo Loop Bus (which comes from the Fire Panel) without an
interface. The customer selects the Address of the Controller (between 1 and 127), but the rest of the
commissioning is the same as with the Standard F5000s.
There are 2 versions of the Detector:
Mark 1, this Detector can be identified by two 'prongs' which protrude from the bottom of the Detector
and connect to the First Fix PCB. This Detector has a Software Version which is lower than 3. It is
compatible with the Mark 3 version of the Controller.
Mark 2, this Detector can be identified by the 'flying lead' which connects to the First Fix PCB. This
Detector as a Software Version of above 3. It is compatible with the older Controllers, but if used with
the Mark 1 or 2 Controller, the Temperature function will read -40 (this will not affect the operation of the
Detector). There have been two Software Versions, 3.5 and 3.6 (the current version). 3.5 does not work
with the older Controllers, it will give a comms (E-01) after a short period of time. 3.5 was only made for
about 6 months, so there shouldn't be any of these Detectors left that have not been installed.
The Controller will indicate (assuming it will power up) which Detector is not working correctly.
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