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ADT False Alarms and Amplfiers???

De_Wildfire

Member
Jul 27, 2009
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Anyone know of any cases where an amplifier can set off fire alarms? One of the neighbors had two false alarms in one week and ADT said that the system was old and upgraded them. They said it was old wiring and replaced the units. I am not sure if I caused the RFI but it is a little strange the one time I use the amp on the other bands like 40, 20 and 10 meters that one week is the same week the neighbor had the false alarms. Usually I only run the amp on 75 meters and never had a problem. This could totally be a fluke but I was just wondering if anyone knows of situations with ADT where certified type acceptance amplifiers caused RFI to ADT.
 

The fire/heat sensors, any window tampering sensors, water level sensors, etc. are generally connected to the main system control panel by .... wait for it .... WIRES!

Wires, in the presence of a strong RF field, become .... wait for it .... ANTENNAS!

Okay, silliness over. Yes, no matter how well-known the security company or how expensive their systems are, they can often be fooled by RF.

Apparently, when you're operating on 75, the length of the "receiving antennas" wasn't close enough to be resonant, OR the control system was relatively immune at that low a frequency. On higher frequencies, the "antennas" become more efficient and the control circuitry is less immune.

Just make sure your station is clean and operating properly. And by the way, there's no such thing as a "certified type acceptance amplifier" any more. The term now is "certificated". Type acceptance hasn't been around for years.
 
RFI

Thanks for the information. Yes, I do run this thing clean here and I don't have any RFI in my house. I just had my Drake L4B in for service and it was a clean bill of health. The grounds look good and go eight feet below the foundation with ground straps. I guess I could try to run 300-500 watts on the higher bands to cut down on the RFI if I was the reason for the problem.
 
Don't assume your radio equipment is at fault, this is not to say it may be, but I can tell you from professional experience that most residential alarms systems are prone to false activation, and for a wide variety of reasons.

I've been a professional fire fighter for 24 years, and have dealt with more false alarms than you could imagine. The first thing everybody needs to know is, smoke detectors do have a shelf life, most manufacturers recommend replacing them every 10 years, but in truth they go bad much sooner. Depending on the manufacturer, and model, I have seen some builder's grade units go bad within a month, and some only lasting a couple years, to others lasting 15 to 20 years before going bad.
C0 detectors are no different, the original models marketed by First Alert were the worst, giving false alarms for no apparent reason. The same applies to many of the components in burglar alarms, door sensors, window sensors that are exposed to the elements when the windows are open, control panels, and the one thing that goes bad most often is the system backup battery, and even the connection at you telephone junction box can go south on you for no apparent reason.

If your neighbor's system was old and in need of an upgrade, then my guess is their system was failing for reasons other than your use of an amateur radio amplifier. In other words....I wouldn't beat myself up over it unless it also happens with their new system, then you might have an issue there....
 
RFI

Thanks for the feedback. I've run it a couple time after they've replaced the old stuff and everything is quiet. (Knock on wood.)
 
Depending on how friendly you are w/ your neighbor, you could always ask them to call ADT & tell them you're going to do a test. Send out a full power signal & ask via telephone if their alarm triggers. Just a thought....

FWIW - I had just put a 1.5Kw amp in my mobile & while driving through the neighborhhood 1 night, I noticed a couple garage doors opening. As I pulled into my driveway, I saw 2 LEO's go flying down the side street. I'm pretty sure the doors opening wasn't the cause of the silent alarms as the LOE's went to different houses. I never gave it a second thought until about a week later w/ my LE buddy (we went 4 wheeling together) asked if I'd been doing a lot of talking on my base last week.

"uuuh.... nope, wasn't me." (oops :rolleyes:)

I never ran >50w after that.

SR
 

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