John,
- EOL (End of Line): Normal when it detects the resistor; triggers an Alarm on a Shorted Condition or an Open Condition (EOL resistor missing).
- 4/W (4-Wire Smoke): Normal when it detects the resistor; triggers an Alarm on a Short but a Trouble on an Open Condition (EOL resistor missing).
- 2/W (2-Wire Smoke): Normal when it detects the resistor; triggers an Alarm on a Short but a Trouble on an Open Condition (EOL resistor missing). Requires use of Main Board input 14, 15, or 16 with the board jumpers in the proper position.
These are the functions of the different input configurations. Other panels automatically adjust this setting when you select a Fire Zone Type instead of a Burg Zone Type. We opted to give our installers more control over the inputs but wanted to alert you when an incompatibility arises.
The incompatibility only pertains to the requirement for a Fire Trouble on a Fire Zone Type. Because our system allows full customization by assigning Physical Inputs to Logical Zones, the installer must manually select the input configuration. Since EOL and EOL with Fire Trouble have different functions, we labeled them according to the most common application. Essentially, 4/W is just EOL with Fire/CO Trouble.
The 4/W (4-Wire Smoke) label is primarily used to clarify its function. However, we need to come up with a new label in the short term—perhaps EOL (Fire/CO) since that’s its primary use.
Admittedly, this setup is confusing for many installation companies because it differs from what they are accustomed to with other systems. The other issue is the “incompatibility” check only happens when you edit the input side of the configuration, we currently do not have the ability to check when you edit the Zone settings. Since we program the 16 main board inputs from the factory as EOL. It becomes more confusing when you change one of these Zones to Fire and it works as intended. Which it will, just with out a Fire Trouble option. Shorting the loop gives an Alarm, removing the resister would give an Alarm as well for Fire or any other 24 hour zone with just EOL as the input configuration.
We are aware that this is confusing and we are working on configuration updates based on this type of feedback. Future updates will allow full configuration from the Zone Settings page, so at that time you can will select the input assignment and configuration as well as the Zone Definition and settings. This not only speeds up the configuration but it addresses this type of confusion issue we created. Additionally, we will automatically select the required input configuration when a specific zone type requires it, such as for a Fire Zone Type or Power Supervision, etc.
In reference to your examples, a passive heat detector programmed as FIRE would require 4/W as the input configuration. The same applies to a pull station, waterflow detector, or any other type of fire zone. The 4/W designation was meant to describe the type of life safety detector rather than limit what can be connected.
I understand the confusion, and I’ll work with engineering to see if we can update this label in a future release.