Subject: Wireless Fire & Security Systems (SFS) at Tripp
From: "Jack Berndt" <[email-masked]>
To: "Jim Kirchstein" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2010 09:51:45 -0600

You folks get any snow out there in the Mt. Horeb countryside?! ;) 

Per FFS... I feel like I'm back in college writing a lengthy paper on a subject that I know Jack about. And am at the point in my research where I've gathered all these facts & figures from a variety of sources.... now not sure where to start.... so am more confused than ever! You know, that place one begins with Chaos before Order & Reason starts to take shape.

I spoke with our local fire chief Jim Hambrecht on Friday. He's informed me that wireless is OK. His fire inspector checked around Madison & said these are OK'd & becoming more common. There's nothing all that unique to Tripp being a museum - is considered a public building. So we could do a wireless. I've been doing some googling on Wireless FSS & here are two readable articles & understandable for a newbie like me. Do you think they're accurate, as far as any internet article can be...?  

http://www.security.honeywell.com/hsc/documents/GilmanVillage.pdf

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BPR/is_12_20/ai_111614900/

Seems like wireless got a bad rep 15-20 years ago with the early systems, but today's FSS types are a much better beast & much more reliable, so that they are meeting code & getting approved in many places. Usage of lithium batts has made a big diff too. And brand of choice seems to consistently be Honeywell. 

I did not get the sense that there are any wireless FSS in Sauk Prairie area as we speak, but not 100% certain. Am wondering why Locktite has come up with that "UL approved" statement? Maybe they can't get a Honeywell system - only Capital can? 

Given our old historic building, seems to me that a wireless system is the way to go. You've done these numerous times, right? I don't see any downside. Jim Hambrecht did mention that the wireless should be tied into a landline phone for the emergency call out, and not depend on radio signals (read: tower atop Tripp) to send out an air signal. And of course, we're talking about the phone link in our situation, right? 

More later.... shoveling time! :(