Wireless Repeater: Use With Life Safety Devices

In this video, Dylan from Alarm Grid technical support discusses using wireless life safety devices with a repeater. For the repeaters and the systems we support, unless otherwise specified in either the repeater or the sensor documentation, any wireless life-safety device that uses the same protocol as the repeater is supported by the repeater.

Life-safety devices, for the purposes of this video, consist of smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide sensors. Heat detectors are not technically life-safety sensors, but since they operate and program just like smoke detectors, we often erroneously lump them into this category.

The two main repeaters we support are the Resideo (formerly Honeywell) 5800RP and the DSC PG9920. The 5800RP supports sensors that use the 345 MHz frequency made popular by Honeywell systems. The DSC PG9920 supports DSC and Qolsys PowerG sensors, which use 915 MHz as their frequency. In either case, these repeaters will repeat signals for life-safety devices if the repeater picks up the signal.

A sensor signal can only be repeated one time. So, for example, if you're using a 5800RP with a compatible sensor, that sensor by itself has a transmitting range of about 200 feet in open air. By adding a repeater, you can effectively extend that range to 400 feet. However, you can't then add another repeater beyond the first one and extend the range to 600 feet. A repeater can't repeat a signal that has already been repeated.

The real question comes when you consider agency listings such as UL, ETL, Factory Mutual (FM), and the California State Fire Marshall (CSFM). Any of these agencies may have restrictions in place that would prevent the use of a repeater with a life-safety device, in spite of the fact that the life-safety device may actually benefit from the use of the repeater. In these cases, it is up to the agency having jurisdiction (AHJ) whether you are permitted to use a repeater or not. The documentation for the repeater and the life-safety sensor should have any restrictions for their use outlined in a section specifically devoted to agency restrictions. Please refer to the FAQ linked at the bottom of this description for more information.

https://www.alarmgrid.com/faq/can-you-use-life-safety-devices-with-a-repeater

http://alrm.gd/get-monitored