I was having signal issues with a power g 9303 sensor so I pulled the battery and reinstalled, which corrected the signaling issue. However, I noticed the programming reset (went from local only sensor group 25 I think to an instant trigger perimeter after battery reinstall ). Is this normal behavior?
Honestly I only noticed bc by default voice prompts turned back on.
Is this normal behavior?
By reinstalled do you mean you deleted the zone and learned it into the panel again? If so, yes, the zone’s group is not going to be remembered when reinstalling it. It would be default and you would need to set it to 25 again.
If you mean you only replaced the battery and didn’t manually change programming or delete the sensor, I think there is some coincidence in this case. Replacing a sensor battery is not going to have an impact on the programming of the sensor in your panel settings.
Which zone are you referencing?
I didn’t delete the sensor, only removed and replaced the battery. This is sensor Backyard Back Gate.
This should be set to notify only and never trigger an alarm.
Alright, I can confirm you have it set up that way right now. It is a sensor group 25 zone.
Just to be absolutely sure, if you wouldn’t mind go ahead and test that same thing with that same sensor. Pull the battery and reinsert as you did before. Notice the same issue? If so, don’t change it yet, just let me know and I will take a look on the back end here.
Thanks for that. If the sensor loses signal again I will repeat the battery r&r procedure and notify you. I’ve turned this PG9303 into a homemade outdoor sensor with some silicone so I don’t want to break the weatherproof seal again unless I have to. Also curious to see if the sensor lasts through the winter.
Ok. Just in case you aren’t aware, there is a PowerG outdoor sensor which is a little more expensive but designed to be installed outside.
Thanks! Yes I’m aware of the outdoor sensor. I happened to have an extra 9303 so I decided to give it a try. In my region, I think I will still be within the temperature range listed in the 9303 spec manual regardless of the season.
Do you know if the outdoor sensor might be able to provide enhanced signaling distance? Seems like my homemade outdoor sensor is the only sensor that may have signaling issues.
The expected base range wouldn’t change really, but the sensor is designed for outdoor use and has a larger footprint with an antenna raised up off the mounted surface much more than an indoor sensor. I would expect better performance from a PG9312 in most cases. It also has a wider magnetic gap which is better for less precise openings like gates.
How far away is that sensor from the panel?
It’s about 100ft away, with the sensor placed at the bottom of the gate close to the ground (which may also impede signal).
Yeah being close to the ground may reduce signaling. 100 feet shouldn’t be an issue at all for a PowerG sensor, but If there is a lot of metal or if the sensor is not installed per manufacturer recommendations it can limit functionality.
I moved the sensor up about 5ft from the ground hoping to improve signal strength. When I look at the signal history at the panel I’m not seeing anything since 10/11-- are you able to see more info on your side?
Is there a way to set a signal reporting interval?
Last activity in history from that zone is 10/11. Has it been opened since? I’m guessing so. If you don’t see activity happening, try moving it closer to the panel as a test and open/close the zone with a magnet, does it report open closed?
More of a hunch, but how are you mounting it? With tape or with screws? It’s pretty compact inside so if using screws the screw head may be putting pressure on the sensor board/reed switch when shut.
There has not been any activity since the 11th. I was more curious about signal strength reporting, which has not reported since 10/11.
I did open the gate just now and it functions as expected including the notifications.
Ah, I see. Yeah I was looking at sensor history to determine if it was reporting. I wouldn’t see supervision signals, just a lack of them reported by the panel, but that wasn’t the case.
Yeah just me looking for a problem that never existed, ha.
Curious to see if this 9303 lasts the winter. Will report back for the sake of other’s research.
So looking into this a little more I only see supervisory signals on PowerG devices only being sent every 21 days. Is there something in settings that I’ve done in error? In dealer settings I believe it’s set to report loss of supervision in 1hr.
I’m not sure where you are seeing that particular value. Supervision options for PowerG run between 20 minutes and 24 hours.
Can you post an image of what you are seeing?
Maybe I’m confusing signal strength readings with supervision. Odd that signal strength is only reporting at those intervals?
Yep, that signal strength test page is not related to supervision signals.
Circling back to this to provide an update. I did end up switching the PG9303 sensors to the outdoor sensor PG9312. The 9303 had continual issues with water intrusion even after I attempted to weather seal with silicone. The maximum sensor/magnet gap was also a challenge and required some creative solutions to get the sensor to function at all.
I switched to the 9312 sensors this weekend and the performance and ease of instill is already worth the purchase price. Signal strength is superior, making ADC notifications almost instantaneous and install was very straight forward and did not require any manipulation of the gate structure. Overall the outdoor sensors appear very sturdy and are obviously weather tight.