Astec 63dv Bellbox LEDs

Cmar-Ireland

Hi All,

I have an Astec 63dv alarm. All working fine, except for the two flashing LEDs on the outside siren box. They are both flashing, but are fairly dim. It is only recently that I've noticed this.
The bell test works fine, so I assume it's getting power and the capacitor is charging.

Is there anything I can check? I was thinking of replacing the LEDs with superbright versions.

2011

Clean the plastic in front of the LEDs!
I know it sounds stupid, but it worked for me before.

(I assume that there are no mains power / battery issues)

KoolKid

They all fade over time.

Cmar-Ireland

I'll give them a clean.
I thought LEDs would have a much longer life span. The alarm is only in about 18 months.
AFAIK they are regular 12v LEDs, so would it be possible to swap them out for some superbright ones?

2011

would it be possible to swap them out for some superbright ones?

I am sure it would. LEDs normally have a current limiting resistor (in the region of 2.7K ohms) connected in series with the LED. Some LEDs have this built in, others dont. Perhaps give Astec a call and see what they have to say. One of the technicians in there told me how he changed the LEDs in a bell box for different coloured ones, so I am sure he would be able to tell you.

altor

they do fade over time but not that quick. you could replace the external bell, maybe the LEDS where faulty..

Cmar-Ireland

I wonder if I could test the voltage supply to the LEDs while they are flashing. I'd know exactly what to replace them with then.

Anyone know if they are accessible / removable? Are they molded into the lens?

2011

They are moulded in!

Cmar-Ireland

Damn, so how did your tech guy swap out the ones he changed the colour of?

altor

2011 wrote: »

They are moulded in!

they are not moulded in, they are held in place by glue thats from a glue gun. just pick out the soft glue and replace the Led with what ever colour you like..

Cmar-Ireland

Ah, hot melt glue. Should make it easier to change them so.

For removing the alarm box, I just disarm the system then enter engineer mode and I cn then remove the box without the tamper switch triggering an alarm?

Can any of you guys confirm that it's a 12v supply to the LEDs?

altor

Cmar-Ireland wrote: »

Ah, hot melt glue. Should make it easier to change them so.

For removing the alarm box, I just disarm the system then enter engineer mode and I cn then remove the box without the tamper switch triggering an alarm?

Can any of you guys confirm that it's a 12v supply to the LEDs?

not too sure, all i know is they are high bright LEDS, if you go into astec they will sell you the part with the LEDS on it to replace in your bell box. thats is how you go about taking the bell down, stops annoying the neighbours. astec are in Pearse Street, Dublin 2.
hope this helps..

KoolKid

It is 12v . Astec will sell you the lens with the leds built in.
Also when you disconnect the SABB from the wall it will ring itself.
Just locate the battery switch & pop it out.

Cmar-Ireland

koolkid wrote: »

It is 12v . Astec will sell you the lens with the leds built in.
Also when you disconnect the SABB from the wall it will ring itself.
Just locate the battery switch & pop it out.

Thanks Koolkid,
If I disconnect the SABB while in engineering mode will the bell sound?
I was just speaking to one of the guys in Astec who said they will replace the lens FOC. Only problem there is that I am never up near them and it's probably easier for me to remove the lens, pick out the hotmelt glue and solder in new leds.

KoolKid

Even in engineer mode the SABB will sound when its removed from the back plate.
Where are you living?
I am sure if you offered to pay the postage they would send it to you.

Cmar-Ireland

I'm in Monasterevin.
The SABB will stop after the capacitor is discharged? How long would that take?

KoolKid

15 minutes...
But when you remove the SABB you can pop out the battery switch at the back.
Its easy it clearly marked.

Cmar-Ireland

Thanks for the info.

Will have a closer look at the box at the weekend.

altor

Cmar-Ireland wrote: »

Thanks for the info.

Will have a closer look at the box at the weekend.

i would give it a go too once you can get the proper LEDS. its only a mater of soldering the LEDS on and putting in some glue..

2011

they are not moulded in, they are held in place by glue thats from a glue gun. just pick out the soft glue and replace the Led with what ever colour you like..

You are correct altor, thanks

10-10-20

People! Not all LED's are created equal!

Blues burn out faster as they are higher powered. They fade after about 50k hours.
You can't just replace any colour for any other colour. Red LED's have the lowest voltage-drop (1.8v) so need the highest current limiting resistor, but blues have the highest voltage drop (3.3v), so will not work in the place of a red LED.
Also, the majority of LED's don't have an inbuilt current limiting resistor...

And yes, LED's are my favourite topic of conversation, just in front of Michael Jackson death speculation...

Cmar-Ireland

10-10-20 wrote: »

People! Not all LED's are created equal!

Blues burn out faster as they are higher powered. They fade after about 50k hours.
You can't just replace any colour for any other colour. Red LED's have the lowest voltage-drop (1.8v) so need the highest current limiting resistor, but blues have the highest voltage drop (3.3v), so will not work in the place of a red LED.
Also, the majority of LED's don't have an inbuilt current limiting resistor...

And yes, LED's are my favourite topic of conversation, just in front of Michael Jackson death speculation...

I don't want to change the colour, just put in some brighter red ones. Didn't get a chance to look at the SABB over the weekend, spent most of the times painting instead

2011

Also, the majority of LED's don't have an inbuilt current limiting resistor...

You could just buy an LED that has a built in resistor, they are very, very cheap!

They fade after about 50k hours.

With an Astec alarms the LEDs are only on 50% of the time (they flash). Therefore you should get a minimum of 100k hours before it starts to fade. That is over a year. Alarms are generally serviced more frequently than this.

Also, the majority of LED's don't have an inbuilt current limiting resistor...

Simple solution, you could just buy an LED that has a built in resistor, they are very, very cheap!

They fade after about 50k hours.

With an Astec alarms the LEDs are only on 50% of the time (they flash). Therefore you should get a minimum of 100k hours before it starts to fade. That is over a year. Alarms are generally serviced more frequently than this.

I think that in practice blue LEDs would last more than 50k before they start to noticeably fade (although I have seen it quoted on data sheets). I have seen Aritech and HKC alarms with blue LEDs that are still bright after more than 5 years.
I would find 50k hard to believe. I have seen Aritech and HKC alarms with blue LEDs that are still bright after more than 5 years.

10-10-20

Hi 2011, Yes, the blue LED's have improved over the last couple of years, but the majority won't stand up to long-term use.
It's worth noting that you won't perceive the loss of power all that easily, it's like sound in terms of perception of power, but they fade as the months tick by.

And you are correct in saying that once the duty-cycle is kept low (flashing), they will last longer.

zoom_cool

Did you ever replace the LED's mine are not very bright anymore

KoolKid

Here's what you want..

Cmar-Ireland

Wow, old thread resurrection !

No I never replaced the LEDs. I had a chance to look at a bell box the same as mine before it was fitted and there was some amount of hot melt glue holding in the LEDs. So I put the job off and now it's one of the multitude of jobs that I have to get around to!

KoolKid

I doubt there are many Astec bells still floating around.

delly

Moved to HSS

zoom_cool

KoolKid wrote: »

Here's what you want..

Thanks for the link KoolKid its just a shame to change the whole bell box for the sake of a 2 leds

altor

zoom_cool wrote: »

its just a shame to change the whole bell box for the sake of a 2 leds

If you do decide to change to a newer external bell with your Astec system you will need a sabb interface (S22) and a global sabb.