Hi,
When I woke up this morning I had a few notification from the ADC app as that the hardwire translator went offline. It was showing up as (?) in the panel status.
I tried:
Rebooting the panel
Re-enrolling the translator
Pressing the enroll button for > 10 seconds as stated in the manual and then retrying.
Removing battery+power and rebooting.
The translator is not being picked up when I go into add-sensor. Any idea what could have gone wrong?
I cannot confirm how it was programmed previously, but is this definitely a PowerG Hardwire translator? Currently there is a hardwire translator paired to your panel, but the panel is reporting it is programmed as a 319Mhz sensor, not PowerG. If it is programmed as the wrong source it won’t be able to communicate.
“Offline” is a normal status which indicates that supervision of that particular device failed. This is usually due to range, interference, or power issues. Some sensors will also throw offline malfunctions for other issues.
To troubleshoot that translator we will need it back in the panel as it was before. Can you post a photo of the translator and let me know what zones are attached to it so we know exactly what to expect in programming?
Hi Jason,
I was able to manually add the translator using the ID on the circuit.
This is the exact model that I have: PowerG Wired to Wireless Upgrade & Expansion Module (IQ Hardwire PowerG) Security Products | DSC
The sensors seem to get added - but they are all displaying a status of ‘Not Networked’. I can post a picture of the wiring if that helps.
So - everything I’ve tried so far doesn’t seem to work. I even updated the panel to the latest version, removed all PowerG sensors, but auto-add does not detect the board. Any ideas on what to do here?
It looks like that device was deleted. To best assist, can you reprogram that into the panel so I can see how the panel reports it?
Can you program that device back in manually and then post a photo of the sensor programming page as seen on the panel?
Not networked is a trouble condition stemming from the two way communication of PowerG. The panel is not able to confirm that the device is responding. Usually tampering the device/opening closing will resolve.
I manually added the unit using the ID through the panel.
This is the main sensor edit page as well as the individual sensor statuses.
One thing I did notice is that at some point, they seem to come online and then back offline. I haven’t touched it since.
I have a call scheduled with DSC tomorrow - and one of the questions that they asked me is if you could check the ADC history in the dealer portal for my account.
Thank you, given the strange way the device had previously appeared in your Alarm.com equipment list I wanted to be sure this wasn’t an issue with programming.
It looks correct now, both the image you sent, and in Alarm.com in the equipment list, and I see all connected zones are showing a malfunction, as is the main translator zone.
What is the status LED doing? Below I am adding the status breakdown based on LED activity. Can you describe that?
Thanks Jason,
The device led is flashing green every 10 seconds or so - it looks like it’s in normal operation mode.
Were you able to get the history/logs from my panel?
I’m not certain what in the history they are looking for. Do you know what information they need?
The only history regarding the translator are time stamps of the malfunctions, and that activity is actually visible in your user history as well.
Log into the Alarm.com website and go to the Activity page. Navigate to around 1:47 pm on 4/28. That’s when the latest instance of the device went into malfunction, all of the zones reported that way at once, including the translator itself.
Just to be sure, that PowerG translator isn’t inside another metal housing right? I’m not sure it would fit, but if it was installed inside a metal case itself the wireless transmissions may be just being blocked by that metal.
Is that the only PowerG device you have? This may also be an issue with the PowerG radio on the panel, if that is the only device and it cannot communicate at all.
The translator is mounted on the wall in the original plastic box. I haven’t moved it since it was installed.
Yes, unfortunately this is the only PowerG sensor I have. The daughter tests on the panel return success however.
Thanks!
Is it or the panel near any large source of metal?
I haven’t seen this come back online, and I do not see any activity at all out of it or the sensors connected. My guess, from looking at the account, is that the device has never actually communicated. I’m not seeing a reason why this should happen, especially with a normal activity LED status.
How far is the panel from the takeover module? Distance shouldn’t be an issue with PowerG, but I am curious.
There is a little antenna connector plugged on the PowerG daughtercard inside the panel. Can you confirm that is plugged in securely and hasn’t been snagged and pulled out?
Can you confirm the 7 digit sensor ID in private message?
Also, did Tyco/DSC have any insight?
It’s about 30 feet - one floor up though. Never had any issues with the translator however, it has always worked great.
Do you have a schematic on where the antenna is? I’ll check it out now.
I’ll also send you the ID privately. DSC hasn’t responded yet.
I got the message, I wanted to double check that the programming for the zone matched the id, it does. All looks good, but It appears the panel just cannot communicate with that device at all.
See below for the PowerG antenna location and port on the daughtercard.
Jason,
Thanks for that. I was on a call with DSC today and we went through their troubleshooting steps. Since I don’t have another PowerG sensor we can’t be sure if it is the translator or the panel that is causing the failure. I just ordered a regular PowerG sensor from your store and I will be testing that out with the panel. If it works I’ll send the unit to DSC via the original vendor and hopefully they will be able to diagnose the issue.
If the new PowerG sensor does not work, I will have to work with you to get the Qolsys panel serviced (I got the panel from Surety).
Let me know if the above makes sense.
Thanks!
Yes, that sounds like a good plan. I’m at the same point, there is obviously an issue going on with one or the other, and that is probably the best test is to try a different PowerG device to pinpoint which is the problem.
I just sent it the unit for service/replacement and waiting on the PowerG sensor from the Surety Store.
One question I had is why didn’t the alarm go off/someone getting notified when all the sensors went offline at 5.52AM? If all the sensors go offline, doesn’t the system notify the center somehow?
“Offline” refers to sensor supervision. This is the periodic signal from sensors letting the panel know that they are functional. Supervision malfunctions are not alarm signals and would not generate an alarm.
In fact they are extremely common and caused by a wide variety of things; range issues, low battery levels, environmental interference, etc. Some sensors, like certain smoke detector models, generate supervision errors in conjunction with other specific problems such as dirty sensing elements.
These are typically better handled as notifications from Alarm.com using the System Actions to Watch notification. Those will go to your selected notification recipients in Alarm.com.
Just wanted to follow up here and close the loop. I received a PowerG sensor from the Surety store which worked great. DSC/Tyco/Johnson received my translator unit and shipped out a new one. Everything is working great so far.
Thanks!
