What our experts say…
More than twenty years ago, Scantronic developed and released the 9200 and 9100 control panels to a waiting security installation industry and, not surprisingly, hit the ground running.
Although quaint to look at now, the latter panel, an expandable multi zone control processor, was at the forefront of software programmable, keypad operated control equipment and it more or less set the blueprint for some years to come.
The Scantronic brand became well established and continued to release more sophisticated control equipment together with a range of detection and warning devices.
Now part of the American-owned Cooper Group that includes stable-mate Menvier Security, the company is currently marketing the new i-on 16, a dedicated wireless receiver control panel that will accommodate up to sixteen battery-operated detection devices.
The equipment is listed to EN grade 2x (low to medium risk not requiring a police response) and is compatible with the existing range of 7-series Scantronic detectors, more of which later.
The combined control panel and hard-wired keypad KP01 comes as a kit for around GB pound 80 + VAT. It carries the Euro CE mark and comes with a two year manufacturer’s guarantee.
In common with most latter day wireless equipment, the control board is housed in an ABS plastic cabinet that allows the receiving antennae to be internally located. The cabinet, which must be installed vertically upright to correctly align the antennae, is finished in black and cream and has a groovy design on the front cover that could just swing it with a fussy client who might otherwise complain about having an item of electrical equipment on show. You never know.
The circuit board inside has a single row of terminal connections along the bottom edge, the principle inputs being the hard wired remote setting keypad and a hard wired SAB. In fact Scantronic have thoughtfully provided a compatible external sounder, type 760 ES, that is triggered wirelessly from the i-on 16 and self powered by a 7.2v lithium battery.
It is not possible to use more than a single wireless sounder with the control at any one time, which is a shame, though the radio transmission range for this sounder is said to exceed 100m in free space. That range will obviously diminish when required to penetrate dense building materials.
A total of four programmable switched negative outputs are provided, rated at 500mA each and an additional pc card is available to convert these outputs to four clean change-over relays.
The hard wired keypad requires only a four-core cable to transmit the necessary power and data, and the panel will accept two of these plus an additional two wireless keypads, though the latter ( in order to preserve battery life) are strictly arming stations with little user information.
Both types of keypad have an on-board proximity reader to replace the four digit code if required. The keypad, constructed from glossy white ABS plastic, has a modern look with blue backlit keys and a blue LCD screen.
The illuminated display is impressive with large English language messaging that is particularly easy to read. It should be especially good for elderly customers with failing eyesight. Up to sixteen different four-digit codes are available to users, or these can be replaced by proximity tags if preferred.
This being a completely wireless system, there are no hard wired zone inputs to the keypad, though, curiously, it does have an ‘exit terminate’ pair of terminals. The keypad also includes a dual-push personal attack button and an illuminated navigation rocker switch for use during both customer and engineer programming.
There are some limitations that Scantronic could, perhaps, address in the future: it would be very useful to be able to extend the internal antennae to a remote location to achieve better reception; there are no data connections for other services such as a printer output, and no USB or com ports for local or remote up/downloading.
Obviously these kinds of additions would add production costs to the manufacturing process but they would certainly be nice to have.
Setup and operation
The programming functions were relatively simple and intuitive to use. Installers should only need to browse through the quick start guide to understand the menu and sub menu structure, and the English language display gives enough information to make sense of the rest.
Scantronic have clearly given the design of this control system some thought and come up with some interesting features. It is also fair to say it includes some pointless options, most perplexing of which is the fully programmable communicator outputs for a system that is rated EN50131 grade 2x – i.e. a bells only system.
The market for clients who will pay for the services of an ARC but without the police response must be rather slim. Ditto the proximity reader – a feature that is only an entry/exit requirement of DD243. Again for the exit terminate button input, curiouser and curiouser …
However, the radio transmission range and operation works well.
The test kit was supplied with a PIR type 714 – a standard 15m movement detector with creep zone using a 3.6v Lithium battery, a 734 magnetic reed contact and a wireless setting device, the FB01. All are easily and quickly enrolled into the system by activating the device tamper switch, followed by applying the correct zone type and attributes.
The remote keypad has an on board piezo annunciation sounder that has local volume adjustment, and the keypad illumination level was similarly adjustable. It would be nice if the four way navigation button had a centre push to ‘enter’ the selection rather than using the separate yes key.
Technical literature and back up
The full engineering manual is downloadable from the Scantronic website, www.coopersecurity.co.uk, and only a quick start guide is provided with the equipment, covering four sides of A4.
It manages to include pretty much everything from fixing to the wall through to enrolling detectors and programming the system options. The quick start leaflet obviously assumes a certain level of knowledge of concepts and terminology from installers, but this is no bad thing – most control panel installation manuals contain vast amounts of information to sift through which can be a necessary but depressing experience. (Small note to Scantronic: do you think installers actually need to be told where the wall fixing holes are ?)
We called the technical support telephone number during normal working hours. The engineer was friendly and helpful, and although unable to answer one of our questions there and then, he dutifully returned the call within ten minutes with the answer.
Can’t ask for more than that.
Overall assessment
It is probably true to say that most installers, in a perfect world, would prefer to standardise on hybrid control equipment, using a combination of wired and wireless devices for maximum flexibility.
However that luxury comes at a cost that, set against the back drop of the current economic climate, is sometimes difficult to justify.
This then, is a high quality, dedicated wireless 16-zone package of control and keypad with full English language display for a trade price of around GB pound 80 + VAT, and as such is outrageously good value.
The menu is sufficiently intuitive to find your way around without reference to the main manual, and the keypad display is big and bright, which is a bonus.
The cost of compatible detection devices is also very reasonable. Both the 714 PIR and 734 magnetic reed contact are available for a trade price of about GB pound 30 + VAT each, and the fully wireless external sounder is about GB pound 79 + VAT.
It’s all good stuff and little wonder that Scantronic is marketing the i-on 16 in a big way. It deserves to succeed.
What the manufacturer says…
i-on 16 is the first in a family of innovative new products from Cooper Security, driven by the ethos; easy to use, great design quality and reliability. The new panel was a big hit with installers and distributors at the series of launch events.
The panel features 16 radio zones, using Cooper Security’s innovative combined dual diversity 868MHz narrow-band radio system to provide unrivalled radio performance, putting an end to concerns about limited radio signals. It means that the product is easy and fast to fit.
The panel can accommodate two wired and two wireless keypads. The wireless keypads have a built in prox reader and offer an impressive battery life.
Sixteen users can be added to the panel. Each can have a remote control, prox tag and a pin number.
The system has a full set and a part set which can be activated and de-activated from the keypads or from the remote control.
i-on16 is compatible with the new 760 radio sounder. Two can be fitted to the system or it can be connected to a wired sounder via one of the four transistorised outputs.
i-on16 has an optional plug-on communicator for upgrading installations to ‘bells plus’ this also contains contactID and Fast Format to enable the system to be set up to communicate a keyholder response alert.
The 7Amp/hr battery gives the 40 hours back-up that professional security installers expect from a product.
The panel end station can be positioned away discretely and securely near the mains power source and a 4 wire alarm cable run to the compact and attractive keypad to provide a customer interface for the system.