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1 DESIGNING AND INSTALLING THE SYSTEM 

1.1 INTRODUCTION 

The aim of this document is to explain how to install the Ekho wireless fire system. 

All the data detailed is only to be used with the Ekho wireless devices that use the Ekho wireless 
communication protocol for communication. 

 

1.2 WIRELESS DEVICES: A GENERAL DESCRIPTION 

A wireless fire alarm system can be composed of a combination of the following wireless devices: 

Wireless translator:

 this device is the core of the wireless system; it communicates continuously 

with other wireless devices, such as sensors, call points, sounders, etc. 

The translator also communicates with the control panel of a fire alarm system. 

This  device  communicates  with  the  control  panel  through  the  ESP  loop  and  with  all  wireless 
devices via a radio frequency. 

The  whole  system  is  controlled  via  a  control  panel  similar  to  any  other  fire  alarm  system;  the 
translator is the interpreter that holds exclusive rights of communication with the wireless devices 
and makes possible the communication between the control panel and the radio devices: this is 
why this device is called a translator. 

The wireless system general configuration, created by the installer, is stored in this device. 

Wireless expanders:

 The translator communicates with other wireless devices only if they are 

in a certain range or if communication is not blocked by walls and other obstacles. When wireless 
area  coverage  needs  to  be  expanded  and/or  the  environment  poses  difficulties  to  radio 
communication, one or more wireless expanders can be used; these devices act as repeating 
devices for communication between wireless devices and the translator. 

Sensors:

 these devices are designed to detect smoke and/or heat in the environment. If heat 

and/or  smoke  is  present  and  exceed  a  defined  limit,  the  wireless  system  triggers  an  alarm 
condition. 

Call points: 

These devices provide a manual method for initiating a fire alarm condition. 

Sounders:

  these  devices  play  an  audible  warning  when  the  wireless  fire  alarm  system  is 

activated.  

Voice annunciators:

 In the event of an alarm, voice annunciators broadcast pre-recorded alarm 

voice messages. 

Input modules: 

receive a signal from wired conventional devices and transmit them to the 

translator. 

Summary of Contents for EK-WL8-OS-AU

Page 1: ...EKHO WIRELESS FIRE ALARM SYSTEM INSTALLATION GUIDE Rev 1 4 September 24 2020 WIRELESS FIRE ALARM SYSTEM INSTALLATION GUIDE ...

Page 2: ...LINKING WIRELESS DEVICES 8 1 12 WIRELESS SYSTEM IN THE MAIN CONTROL PANEL 9 1 13 COMMUNICATION ALGORITHM 9 1 14 NETWORK TRAFFIC 9 1 15 PROGRAMMING THE EQUIPMENT 10 1 16 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INSTALLING THE WIRELESS SYSTEM 10 2 CONFIGURING THE SYSTEM IN THE EKHO CONFIGURATOR SOFTWARE 12 2 1 SETTING UP THE SOFTWARE 12 2 2 ESTABLISHING A CONNECTION 12 2 3 SCANNING FREQUENCY CHANNELS 14 2 4 CONFIGURING ...

Page 3: ...unication between the control panel and the radio devices this is why this device is called a translator The wireless system general configuration created by the installer is stored in this device Wireless expanders The translator communicates with other wireless devices only if they are in a certain range or if communication is not blocked by walls and other obstacles When wireless area coverage ...

Page 4: ...tly with the wireless devices and the wireless expanders The fire alarm panel receives all wireless communications through the wireless translator and transmits back the alarms and events through the wireless translator to the wireless devices The wireless system is based on a mesh network which operates to the following parameters each device automatically chooses its parent expander expanders au...

Page 5: ...rs can be added if required The number of translators expanders required is determined by the number of wireless devices connected to the control panel and the communication range between the translators expanders and wireless devices The following table shows the maximum number of devices that may be connected to a translator expander and the communication distances in free air Maximum number of ...

Page 6: ...DELINES Expanders should be used when some wireless devices are too far from the translator the translator s communication range does not cover the necessary territory e g the whole building or one of the floors connection with wireless devices is weakened by external electromagnetic interference the building has thick walls metallic structures or other objects that significantly lower the communi...

Page 7: ...ignals The wireless devices that were previously connected to this expander will also reconnect to another The more expanders are added to the system the more robust the communication network will be If an expander loses connection and the associated devices or expanders do not have enough signal to communicate through any existing installed expanders translators then back up expanders need to be ...

Page 8: ...tically The address of the translator must be specified and this data inserted directly using the translator s built in display This address is used only by the main control panel and is indicated as the starting address Each wireless device will also have its own address in the main control panel The numbering will begin with the starting address of the translator For example if the starting addr...

Page 9: ...ease refer to the control panel user manual 1 13 COMMUNICATION ALGORITHM Signals from wireless devices alarms faults etc are transmitted to expanders translator instantly with no delay Control commands e g sounder activation are also transmitted and received almost instantly and the delay should not exceed 3 seconds Every 2 minutes wireless devices also send a test signal to confirm that they are ...

Page 10: ...structions on how to set up a wireless system using only the translator The Ekho Configurator software provides an additional set of tools for programming and maintaining the system including Changing properties of wireless devices Analysing radio channels noise and signal levels Analysing the wireless network as a whole viewing the network topology backup communication routes etc Inspecting the a...

Page 11: ...void installing the wireless devices close to o equipment using large amounts of electrical current o large metal objects structures or metal ceiling structures o fluorescent lighting fixings o computers their cabling and network cabling All wireless devices should have a minimum distance between each other of at least 2 meters Translators and expanders should be at least 2 2 5 meters from floor l...

Page 12: ...you previously worked with existing configuration files the program will attempt to open the last file worked on 2 2 ESTABLISHING A CONNECTION Then program EK WL8 TRH 2 Click on 1 1 WL8 TRH and the segment properties will open in the right window 3 Select Argus Spectr WL8 TRH s n XX XX XX XX form the connection port list 1 Open the Configuration tab Connect EK WL8 TRH to a PC with installed Ekho C...

Page 13: ...t click on 1 1 WL8 TRH 5 Then choose Program from the context menu Click Activate event protocolling so that the PC maintains a constant data exchange with the system If the connection is successful the status indicator in the bottom left corner should change to Connect system XX 1 1 WL8 TRH v XX ...

Page 14: ...and the least amount of peaks on the graph which correspond to radio signals The number of this channel will need to be specified in EK WL8 TRH properties described further in this manual Click More to open the window with traffic and signal strength in the radio channel Open the Wireless connection tab The traffic value is displayed here ...

Page 15: ...The translator has mainly the same properties as the expander however there s one additional parameter Channel number which lets you choose the frequency channel with the lowest level of noise and interference sections 1 8 1 14 and 2 3 EK WL8 O If you choose the Increased option in Initialisation security then you would need to enter a password in order to initialise the device Normally the Standa...

Page 16: ...during system testing EK WL8 OV can start annunciation when it detects smoke even without an activation command from the control panel thus acting like a standalone fire detector To activate this function choose the required message in Alert in case of self alarm parameter Light indication during alert enables in built LED flashes during voice annunciation 2 5 LINKING WIRELESS DEVICES IN SOFTWARE ...

Page 17: ...ton 2 6 CHANGING THE START ADDRESS OF DEVICES IN THE LOOP Wireless devices addressing in the signal line starts from address 1 by default If the addressable loop has previously connected devices for example addresses 1 to 19 are occupied you must change the start address available from 1 to 127 to connect the following wireless devices This procedure can be done via EK WL TRH display menu You can ...

Page 18: ...ve been updated By double clicking on a device you can open a plot of connection strength with this device over a certain amount of time This plot shows the current signal strength higher is better and traffic percentage lower is better in the network The Wireless system network topology window shows how different expanders and wireless devices are interconnected with each other In the example on ...

Page 19: ... You can double click any device to see the history of analog values and faults for this particular device The normal voltage level of a full battery in a wireless detector is 3 2 V The device will generate a fault event if the voltage is in the range of 2 75 0 1 V Knowing this information you can use Ekho Configurator to plan battery replacement ahead of time The same principle applies to dust le...

Page 20: ...events to download all system events from EK WL8 TRH memory Click Export to HTML to save the event protocol as an HTML file Click Reports to use Reports tool Select the boundaries of the analysed time interval Filter the report by any column Drag column titles here for grouping the events according to the type Print the report or export it to a file as needed ...

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