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[Brian H]

Is the message "Problem Zone#?" or an Open Zone message?

If it is a problem zone. The sensor did not check in for four hours and the console calls it a problem.
Open Zone would be the console thinks the door or window is open.

[ROBERTH]

Is the message "Problem Zone#?" or an Open Zone message?

If it is a problem zone. The sensor did not check in for four hours and the console calls it a problem.
Open Zone would be the console thinks the door or window is open.

Hello Brian

Thank you for your help. The message on the display is that the Zone is seen as "open". This will happen at random and I thought I had it cured with spacing but that lasted for 8 hours and then that zone was again seen as "Open". I will try spacing the sensor even more apart.

[Brian H]

If the RF signal was not reaching the console. I would think it would flags a Problem Zone.
You may want to make sure the magnet is not border line actuating the internal switch in the DS12A and vibrations are causing an open to be  sent.

[ROBERTH]

If the RF signal was not reaching the console. I would think it would flags a Problem Zone.
You may want to make sure the magnet is not border line actuating the internal switch in the DS12A and vibrations are causing an open to be  sent.

Brian

I am not quite sure I understand what you are asking for me to check. How can I see if the magnet is almost actuating the internal switch? Keep in mind I also tried a brand new out of the box sensor on another door in the house and after 8 hours that one also started to show as open when it was closed. That door is in a room next to the initial sensor that I first installed that is not having any issues at all in zone 1. Zones 2 and 3 are causing me grief.

Thanks again for your help.

Rob

[Brian H]

I was just thinking on what another user had found.
They had rounded moulding on their door and the magnet was going past the sensor and going back open. Even when the door was actually closed.
The green LED on the DS12A flashes when the magnet opens or closes the internal switch.
Actually flashes if you use the external switch input also.
I was just thinking you could observe the LED and not see it flash when the door was closed. The console see it as still open.
If the LED flashed two sets of messages. The switch may have gone past the sensor and resent a open signal.

Others seem to be having similar problems and I hope X10 is investigating this.

[Brian H]

I did a test with a DS12A.
I disconnected the batteries so it could not report back after I cleared the Tamper message caused by taking the cover off.
After maybe four to five hours. The Zone 1 number on the LCD started to flash and trying to arm it resulted in a Zone Problem message not the Open Zone message. I am going to add a few more DS12As to the setup and see if anything happens.

So if a zone number showing on the display. It is an open zone.
A flashing zone number is a Problem Zone not checking in for around four hours.

[ROBERTH]

I did a test with a DS12A.
I disconnected the batteries so it could not report back after I cleared the Tamper message caused by taking the cover off.
After maybe four to five hours. The Zone 1 number on the LCD started to flash and trying to arm it resulted in a Zone Problem message not the Open Zone message. I am going to add a few more DS12As to the setup and see if anything happens.

So if a zone number showing on the display. It is an open zone.
A flashing zone number is a Problem Zone not checking in for around four hours.

Brian you are awesome! Thank you for going through all this trouble. I hope we can get to a resolution of this problem. I would love to finish the install.

Thanks again!

[ROBERTH]

Well...out of nowhere, my zone #1, which has been working fine for 3 weeks now, is now doing what the other problem zones are doing. It is now showing as an open zone and flashing. I cannot set the alarm due to this issue. I am not sure why this has now changed to my only and last working zone. The main unit and the zone1 are only 15 feet awat form eachother. What a headache and I am about ready to send this new model back. Sadly I like the unit and I am suprised it is behaving this way. Anyone else having this much trouble with the new model?

Rob

[ROBERTH]

I did a test with a DS12A.
I disconnected the batteries so it could not report back after I cleared the Tamper message caused by taking the cover off.
After maybe four to five hours. The Zone 1 number on the LCD started to flash and trying to arm it resulted in a Zone Problem message not the Open Zone message. I am going to add a few more DS12As to the setup and see if anything happens.

So if a zone number showing on the display. It is an open zone.
A flashing zone number is a Problem Zone not checking in for around four hours.

Brian... my last zone that has now failed was showing on the LCD in a flashing state. So as your tests concluded my sensors are not reporting back after a certain amount of hours. Not sure why since all sensors are new and they have new out of the package Energizer batteries.

[Brian H]

If it was one zone all the time I would suspect the DS12A or signal path to the console from where it is mounted.
If many are now faulting on problem or open. I would suspect the SC1200A console, but I can not be that certain.

You may want to use the search feature to find other threads on problems but they are all near the top of the sections. So you may just want to look at some of them.
I have seen zone problems, poor RF range, reception problems, answering machine and Powerhorn problems with the SC1200A reported.

[ROBERTH]

If it was one zone all the time I would suspect the DS12A or signal path to the console from where it is mounted.
If many are now faulting on problem or open. I would suspect the SC1200A console, but I can not be that certain.

You may want to use the search feature to find other threads on problems but they are all near the top of the sections. So you may just want to look at some of them.
I have seen zone problems, poor RF range, reception problems, answering machine and Powerhorn problems with the SC1200A reported.

Thanks for the help Brian. I am starting to think I should send back this console, keep the sensors and get one of the previous versions of the console. Doe anyone else here have the previous version? Is that console decent? I know it does not have the LCD, but what I see it looks like that unit was good.

[Jeff M]

Maybe you tried this already.  Take a sensor and magnet in your hand and line up the magnet to simulate the door being closed. Be sure that the arrow on the sensor lines up with the arrow on the sensor.   Do this near the console.  Move the magnet away from the sensor.  Did the chime ring?  If yes, walk a few feet away from the console and try this again.  Repeat.  Does this still work at the door that is farthest away from the sensor?  If this works, then the problem is the way the sensors are mounted.  I have found that if the magnet is marginally aligned with the sensor, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.   

[Brian H]

Well I did have another thought.
I guess it could be the sensors themselves. I am not sure how well the internal magnetic switch works over time.
I have seen magnetic switches get cranky, but usually over a long period of time.

[ROBERTH]

Maybe you tried this already.  Take a sensor and magnet in your hand and line up the magnet to simulate the door being closed. Be sure that the arrow on the sensor lines up with the arrow on the sensor.   Do this near the console.  Move the magnet away from the sensor.  Did the chime ring?  If yes, walk a few feet away from the console and try this again.  Repeat.  Does this still work at the door that is farthest away from the sensor?  If this works, then the problem is the way the sensors are mounted.  I have found that if the magnet is marginally aligned with the sensor, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.   

Thanks Jeff! I will give that a shot. Is there an average spacing that I should have my magnets and sensors? I thought I saw someone post 1/2" spacing which is much larger than what I have.

[Jeff M]

I believe I posted the 1/2 inch figure.  That was the distance between the magnet and the door it was mounted to, not the distance between the magnet and the sensor.  Get the magnet as close as possible to the edge of the sensor, arrows aligned.  Because of the curved molding of one of my doors, the magnet went past the sensor when mounted directly on the door.  The 1/2 inch spacing was necessary to get them aligned properly.