Alarm going off when not armed

Markjf

Hi Guys,

I have a Scopetronic house alarm, it was put in about 12 years ago and worked pretty well up till now. Over the last few days it's gone of when it's NOT armed, I looked in the manual to see if I could find out what the code ment and all I seem to come up with is

0-8 Read operator memory

could anyone tell me what this is and how to fix it or will I have to get the alarm company in.

cheers Mark

Jnealon

What comes up on the display when it goes off.
It is more than likely a tamper problem i.e. a loose cover on one of the sensors or a bad connection somewhere

Markjf

It's only got a small led display and the code flashes one number at a time,
It looks like two 6's with the front of the first six missing,


If you can make anything from that?

thanks mark

Reyman

Most alarm systems have 4 wires in the circuit. Two wires are used for the arm function i.e. if someone sets off the window detect device or door detect.

The other two wires are a passive circuit carrying a continuous current whether the alarm is armed or not. If the wires are cut at any time the alarm will go off.

This is a safety feature to prevent someone from disabling your alarm without you knowing.

You need to trace your wiring zone by zone and check for continuity. You'll usually find there's a diconnect at one of the detectors rather than in the wiring itself.

Lex Luthor

sounds like a possible tamper issue....did you or anyone do anything to any part of the alarm (sensors/control unit) lately?

When is it happening? How often?

Markjf

Sorry out all day only got back now and yes the alarm was going off all day, poor neighbours.

No one was near any of the sensors, panal or bell box as far as I know the only thing is I pulled a cable for the satellite across the attic on thursday, I didn't think I moved anything but I may have.

The alarm could be fine for 2 to 3 hours then go off, once I put the code in it's fine again for another few hours so I am thinking it maybe a problem with the board.

I have the hole thing disconnected now so we can get some sleep.

Thank you all for your help so far
Mark

tommo22

Scopetronics have a tendency to do this when they get old (especially the homeguard panels). The system is 12 years in and doesnt owe you any money at this stage. You've got your moneys worth out of it.
Best to rip it out and put in a more modern system.. the Aztec system is top notch and not that expensive... (comes with free dialler to call you when an alarm is activated)
Getting a service engineer out to try and repair that old panel will cost a lot more than the system is currently worth and it may not even fix it altogether.
Bite the bullet... get a new one:p

BTW: some people have mentioned it may be a tamper alarm caused by disturbing the wiring... NOTE: a tamper alarm will not activate the outside bell only the internal one and the outside strobe light. If your outside bell is going off you can bet your bottom dollar it is a faulty alarm panel...

Jnealon

The scopetronic panels will go forever. I service these on a regular basis and they are still going strong. There is no need to waste money by pulling it out and replacing it if it is only a wiring issue
One word of advice is to stay away from the astec alarm system. I get called out to repiar these fairly regular and on one occasion the home owners were very lucky that the alarm panel did not go on fire. They are badly designed and most proper alarm companies will not touch them

aidan.p.mullins

Where can I buy scopetronix alarms parts in Ireland. I have built an extension
and want to put in an extra keypad. Bought the original system off Diagem in Capel street but they seem to be gone now.:

poolergirl

I have just purchased a house with Scopetronic (HomeGuard) alarm system - no user manual in the house. The alarm went off yesterday while we were away with E tb coming up on the display. does anyone know what this code signifies? Also, does anyone know how to reset the code or is it a call-out job and is there anywhere to obtain a manual?

Reyman

poolergirl wrote:

I have just purchased a house with Scopetronic (HomeGuard) alarm system - no user manual in the house. The alarm went off yesterday while we were away with E tb coming up on the display. does anyone know what this code signifies? Also, does anyone know how to reset the code or is it a call-out job and is there anywhere to obtain a manual?

For the Homegueard tb means 'tamper bell box' . This means that somebody tried to take off the cover on your bell box and triped the tamper switch.

Or else the switch is not seated properly against the box casing and is operating at random (tends to happen in high winds, when the casing cover moves)

If the tamper is permanently on you won't be able to set the alarm

JamesM

Mine was doing that recently - the guy said that it was almost certainly a tamper problem at the bell box. He disconnected it and no problem since. Of course the bell still works, just the tamper side of things disconnected. What thief climb up to your bell anyway
Jim.

poolergirl

Thanks for the info Reyman and James M.

It happened over the weekend when it was pretty windy so that might be the cause alright. (It was also broad daylight and the next door neighbour didn't spot anything but that is not to say that there was nothing to spot). It is working fine now - arming and disarming fine. I will inspect the box this evening just to make sure. I should then really get someone out to service it to stop this from re-occurring?

Question: I looked up the name of the alarm company on the alarm casing in goldenpages.ie and there was no record, so they might have gone out of business. In my previous abode Best Alarms did the installation (prior to me living there). Will they service an alarm installed by another company?

Also, does anyone have a full list of alarm codes for this brand of alarm and their meanings?

Reyman

poolergirl wrote:

Thanks for the info Reyman and James M.

Also, does anyone have a full list of alarm codes for this brand of alarm and their meanings?

It's not too likely anyone was climbing up a ladder to get at your alarm so it's most likely the tamper causing you trouble.

If you don't know the Engineering code it's hard to work on it because the thing blows your ears off when you climb a ladder and take the cover off to fix it. Apart from 7ft Guards asking you what you're at !

I have a copy of the HG user manual. If you're near a fax somewhere, pm me the phone number and I'll fax it to you when I get a chance. It's about 6 A4 pages

poolergirl

Spoke to the next door neighbour and she thinks that one of the kids on the street kicked a ball in which hit the door or the box. Mystery solved hopefully...

KoolKid

poolergirl wrote:

Spoke to the next door neighbour and she thinks that one of the kids on the street kicked a ball in which hit the door or the box. Mystery solved hopefully...

TB refers to a bell tamper.

thribb

Anyone still got a copy of this manual? PM me if so - thanks a mil!

BowWow

I've had a Scopetronic for about 14 years. Has worked well, but I'd like to replace with something with a dialer - any recommendations?

Jnealon

The new Europlex Signet or HKC securewatch

Reyman

The dialler is an extra with the HKC securewatch - it dials/texts about seven different numbers.
Cost: €70 plus the control panel

Carlow Dan

Sorry there guys, but can you (Reyman) or anyone recommend somewhere to buy the dialler you were talking about. I have a HKC securewatch alarm and I had a dialler that got damaged and had want to replace it (tired waiting on the alarm guy to come back) I'm based in Carlow.

Carlow Dan

Sorry there guys, but can you (Reyman) or anyone recommend somewhere to buy the dialler you were talking about. I have a HKC securewatch alarm and I had a dialler that got damaged and had want to replace it (tired waiting on the alarm guy to come back) I'm based in Carlow.

Reyman

There's a few places here in Dublin. But Carlow - I wouldn't be well up on.

Carlow Dan

Where abouts in Dublin?

Reyman

The place I get my HKC gear is :

Reliable Security Products Ltd

U3 Cian Pk Ind Est, Dublin, Co. Dublin
Phone: (01) 8372445

Coming from town It's a small road off the Drumcondra rd. on the right as you get near the Tolka river

onedin

Reyman wrote:

It's not too likely anyone was climbing up a ladder to get at your alarm so it's most likely the tamper causing you trouble.

If you don't know the Engineering code it's hard to work on it because the thing blows your ears off when you climb a ladder and take the cover off to fix it. Apart from 7ft Guards asking you what you're at !

I have a copy of the HG user manual. If you're near a fax somewhere, pm me the phone number and I'll fax it to you when I get a chance. It's about 6 A4 pages

Hi Reyman. I have a problem with the Scopetronic System. It is displaying a fault as " u2A " or " 2Au " Would appreciate if you could let me know what this means. Do not have a manual for the system.

Reyman

onedin wrote:

Hi Reyman. I have a problem with the Scopetronic System. It is displaying a fault as " u2A " or " 2Au " Would appreciate if you could let me know what this means. Do not have a manual for the system.

I got rid of my Scopetronic and replaced it with a HKC so I'm not so good on Scopetronic now. But from my memory there's no such message as u2A or 2AU. All the messages are 2 digit. U generally means - system disarmed.. Eg T2 means tamper zone 2; A2 means Alarm zone 2 etc.

The codes are hard to read on the Scoptronic - are you sure you're reading it right?

KoolKid

The u is just reftering to the system being disarmed. It may be a single didit display
so it would be going in order U A 2 which would mean system disarmed, last event alarm zone 2

Excelsior

Hey Reyman, sharing your knowledge here like this is brilliant. Reading this thread I've already doubled my understanding of home alarm systems.

I have a Homeguard Scopetronic- same old situation where I got the house but didn't get a manual. My alarm has been acting up by going off while not even armed and generally being a nuisance.

My display is now reading u-t2. So that means disarmed and tamper zone 2 but I was wondering if you could tell me any more about the tamper zones. Does that mean a window contact might be faulty and if so, is tamper zone 2 typically upstairs? Basically, can I learn anything more from this error message?

Reyman

Excelsior wrote:

Hey Reyman, sharing your knowledge here like this is brilliant. Reading this thread I've already doubled my understanding of home alarm systems.

I have a Homeguard Scopetronic- same old situation where I got the house but didn't get a manual. My alarm has been acting up by going off while not even armed and generally being a nuisance.

My display is now reading u-t2. So that means disarmed and tamper zone 2 but I was wondering if you could tell me any more about the tamper zones. Does that mean a window contact might be faulty and if so, is tamper zone 2 typically upstairs? Basically, can I learn anything more from this error message?

Tamper zone 2 could be caused by a break in the wiring or more likely a break at one of the detectors. If you didn't put in the wiring yourself, it's a bitch to find out what way the wiring has been done. That's why no one wants to do maintenance on strange alarm systems. If you're patient and trace the wiring section by section you'll find the fault.

My recommendation don't mess around - start from scratch. Rewire it with a new alarm with at least eight to ten zones, it's easy Then you'll understand it and tracing will be straightforward in the future because you can confine each zone to typically one window or one IR detector.

scruffybeat

hello there, could you please help me, i have just moved into house with a scopetronic homeguard system, it will not turn on and u...t...p flashes on the led panel, it worked for the 1st few days but it just stopped for some unknown reason, please help if u can and let me know what u...t..p means, thanks a lot