Industry's First Addressable Notification Appliance Offers Exceptional Fire Notification and Lower Cost of Installation, Testing and Maintenance

Chris Woodcock
Advertising & Public Relations
731-7052
woodcockc@simplexnet.com


WESTMINSTER, Massachusetts (May 15, 2000) – In a major technological breakthrough in the fire alarm industry, SimplexGrinnell introduces TrueAlert - a next-generation notification appliance offering the same interactive addressability capabilities that distinguish the company's market-leading TrueAlarm^® smoke detectors. TrueAlert, the industry's first addressable audible/visible notification appliance, represents an important advance in fire notification technology. Manufactured by SimplexGrinnell and designed to meet the challenges of the 21st century, TrueAlert is an intelligent, feature-rich notification system that will provide the highest levels of safety and fire notification.

The TrueAlert addressability advantages, which include scalability, survivability and a dramatically lower cost of installation, testing and maintenance, will appeal to electrical contractors, building owners and system operators as well as architects, specifying engineers and inspectors.

"Engineered with intelligence and global addressability, TrueAlert is a state-of-the-art, UL-listed fire notification system that can meet the toughest requirements for protection of people and property," says John Haynes, Director of Fire Alarm Product Marketing. "In developing this leading-edge product, SimplexGrinnell has furthered its technological leadership in the fire alarm industry and extended its ability to provide end users and contractors with advanced, cost-effective solutions for today's fire alarm applications."

With its adaptive design, TrueAlert is a "forward-engineered, backward-compatible" solution, meaning the system works with all existing Simplex fire alarm panels and provides a built-in migration path to the Simplex systems of the future. "This ensures long-term protection for the investment that customers make in TrueAlert," Haynes says.


Addressability Advantages
A decade ago, Simplex revolutionized the fire alarm industry with the introduction of its addressable TrueAlarm smoke sensors, which provide exceptional early warning fire-detection capabilities. Until now, the benefits of addressable technology have been available only for a fire alarm system's detection devices. But with TrueAlert, SimplexGrinnell brings the advantages of addressability to notification appliances - horns, strobes and combination horn/strobes that warn building occupants of a fire condition.

"TrueAlert is the first audible/visible notification appliance offering global addressability and true end-to-end intelligence," says Joe Ouellette, Product Manager. "Conventional notification appliances cannot offer interactive communications down to the appliance level. TrueAlert's intelligence and two-wire synchronized signaling deliver outstanding performance and significant cost savings."

Every TrueAlert appliance has its own address. That means TrueAlert allows interactive communications between each appliance and the TrueAlert Addressable Controller. The TrueAlert Addressable Controller constantly polls the appliances to verify proper communications. The precise location of a problem condition can easily be pinpointed, anywhere on the system. If a device-level ground fault occurs, the TrueAlert Isolator feature automatically identifies and isolates it. The problem can then be resolved in minutes, rather than in two to four hours as is typically the case when diagnosing conventional appliances.


Daytime Compliance Testing Made Easy
With its sophisticated addressable technology, TrueAlert makes compliance testing faster, easier and less costly. Each appliance, because it has a separate address, can be tested locally with the SimplexGrinnell local-area test feature. The testing, which can only occur when the control panel has been placed in the test mode, is conducted with a hand-held magnet that triggers the TrueAlert notification appliance. If the appliance is functioning properly, the LED flashes the appliance's address. The local-area testing can actually be conducted in one of two modes: silent (LED only) or audible/visible (activating both horn and strobe momentarily). "The beauty of local-area testing is that the testing can be conducted during normal business (daytime testing) hours with a building fully occupied - thereby eliminating the costs and difficulties associated with testing in the evening or on weekends," Ouellette says.


Streamlined Wiring
TrueAlert uses addressable technology to bring the advantages of T-Tap wiring to a fire alarm system's output notification appliance component. Older, non-addressable notification appliances require a labyrinth of wires, which take a significant amount of time to install and leave numerous opportunities for error. With TrueAlert, the units can be T-Tapped in streamlined TrueAlert channels. The installer uses fewer wires and can connect more appliances per circuit, which makes for a fast, error-free installation. In many projects, T-Tapping can save the installer up to 30% or more in labor and materials.


About Simplex
Backed by 170 company-owned offices around the globe and representatives in 65 countries, Simplex is a multinational company that provides fire detection, security, building communications, and workforce management solutions and services to customers worldwide. The company has extensive manufacturing capabilities and expertise in designing, integrating, installing, servicing and supporting application-specific solutions for a multitude of market sectors. In each of the last three years, Simplex has earned the distinction of being included on Forbes Magazine's annual list of the 500 Top Private Companies. For more information, call 1-800-SIMPLEX.

Simplex, TrueAlert, and TrueAlarm are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Simplex Time Recorder Co. All other product references contained herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.