Those are actually very well labeled. Thank you!
Where is your siren + connected?
Siren - is being switched by the RBSNTTL, which is being switched by the IQ Panel 2+, and the Siren + must be connected to the + aux output (not the + siren output of the Vista, just in case)
It is. Connection 5 on my Vista is the Aux + output vs. connection 3 which is the siren output. One thing you just mentioned to note, I have the RBSN unit not the RBSNTTL. Did I get the wrong unit?
Ah, I am so used to using the RBSNTTL I just typed that instead. No, I donāt think it will matter here, but I am curious about the default state of the terminals and whether the device assumes normal state is powered or not. On the RBSNTTL the normal state is power dependent.
I would assume itās not and the power is the trigger here, but may as well check.
An easy test would be to simply move the one wire from NO terminal on the RBSN and pop it into the NC terminal instead. Any change?
Ok, as soon as I do that the external siren immediately trips, so looks like you may be onto something. I moved it back to NO for now.
Ok well thatās good, that just means that it should work the way we originally discussed.
Do you have a multimeter that can be used to test voltage and resistance between the terminals?
My assumption here is simply that the RBSN is not being tripped by the voltage as expected. Need to isolate where the issue is.
If you use a jumper wire between the NO terminal (with the Vista - wire) to the Neg - input, does that also immediately kick the siren on?
Hmm, I would have to hunt around for a multimeter. Been eons since I used it last.
Jumping NO to the Neg input does indeed trip the siren immediately as well.
OK so voltage from Vista is good and the RBSN is looking for 12VDC (its jumper isnāt damaged) so far so good.
That would suggest the problem lies with the Qolsys panel switching the - wire from the Vista to the Neg - terminal on the RBSN.
If you power the panel down, then unplug those two wires in the Qolsys terminal block and manually connect them, does the siren kick on immediately?
Ok, yes connecting the two wires together directly from the back of the panel works. I powered the panel up and ran the siren test again and nothing. Just to confirm I am testing this by running the siren test off of the panel test function. I have not tried arming and tripping the alarm. This method of testing should still function correct? If so, whatās next?
Note: Whoever designed the panel and how it connects and disconnects from the backplate should be shot. What a pain in the @!# to snap back together.
Iām actually not sure if the siren test will activate the external siren output. Unfortunately Iām not in a place where I can run that test myself at the moment. If you can, try actually tripping the alarm to see if it sounds the external siren.
I totally agree on the backplate. They try to downplay how difficult it can be but itās one of the most frequent complaints we get.
Ok, just tried it. Armed and triggered the system, unfortunately no external siren. Is there a potential setting in the panel that I have to set?
Not that I recall. There is a āGlobal Auxiliary Sirensā setting that was disabled on your panel. But my understanding is that only applies when you have partitions enabled. I sent a command to enable it if you want to try again with that. Otherwise, Iāll reach out to Qolsys about it and let you know what their advice is.
If you do find your multimeter a useful test would be to measure the DC voltage across the NEG and POS terminals on the RBSN when the panel is in alarm. It should be 12V.
Ok, still no go. Iāll try again tomorrow. I am borrowing a meter so will test again once I have that and let you know what the voltage is
Sounds good. Iāll follow up with Qolsys but due to the holiday Iām not sure if Iāll hear back until Tues. Weāll be in touch.
Ok, not sure this sounds right but I be i believe I am getting 2.97v. However whatās weird is that I measure a constant 3.7v when idle and then when the alarm sounds it drops to the 2.97v. Thought it should be going up not down. I connected the leads to the RBSN that read NEG - and POS +. Did I do this correctly?
Yes, thatās where the leads should go but that doesnāt sound right. You should see 0V when itās idle and 12V when the alarm sounds.
Letās try thisā¦ You may want to disconnect the siren from C on the RBSN first to avoid making noise.
Disconnect the 2 wires from the IQ Panel terminal block. Weāll simulate the IQ Panel by hand. When the 2 wires that were connected to the IQ Panel are not connected to anything, you should measure 0V on the RBSN NEG - and POS + terminals. Then if you touch the two wires from the IQ Panel together you should measure 12V on the RBSN NEG - and POS + terminals. Can you try that and see if it works?
Ok, disconnecting the IQ panel I was able to confirm that I do get 0V when idle and then 12V (actually 13.4V) when I connect the two wires together from the back of the panel. However as soon as I connect them back to the panel and power it up, the same results as before, I get 3.7V when idle and then it drops to 2.97V when triggering the alarm. So my guess is something doesnāt appear right with panel? Also want to note, I did not hardwire the panel, I am still using the power brick that was included and the barrel connector. Just want to make sure that doesnāt make a difference here either.
Thank you that is helpful. Weāll follow up tomorrow with next steps. Happy Memorial Day!
Weāve been reviewing this pretty thoroughly and far as we can tell you have everything wired and programmed correctly. This probably means that the external siren output is broken.
Is there any chance your outdoor siren was ever connected to the external siren output without the RBSN in between? The external siren terminals on IQ Panel are an open collector output. If a device that draws more than 300mA was connected to it the transistor would be damaged and it wouldnāt work anymore.
A final test you might try is to measure the resistance between the ext siren and gnd terminals when the siren is on and off. When the siren is off it should be disconnected, overload, or infinity Ī©. When the siren is on it should be connected or (near) 0 Ī©. Let us know what you see when you measure resistance.
If itās damaged and you didnāt damage it we can try to get it replaced under warranty.
Ok, so this was my fault then. I did have the siren connected directly to the panel initally. At the start of the thread we talked about wiring it up this way, I did test it and it worked, but it was mentioned that it would not be supported, thus I went down the route of getting the RBSN as for the short money, I didnāt want to lose support. I had only tested it that one time, didnāt realize that it would have already gotten damaged as everything else on the panel has been working fine. I guess we can close out this issue then. I look at adding a wireless siren down the road.
There are a couple solid Power G wireless siren options for the IQ Panel 2+. The PG9911 is an outdoor model.