RadioLINK Faq's

It is a totally new concept enabling smoke alarm systems to be interconnected without the need for cabling between the alarms.

Instead, a radio signal is used to trigger all the alarms in the system.

The 2110 Multi-Sensor and Ei160RC Series smoke and heat alarms can all be used with an Ei168RC base to make a RadioLINK that supports interconnected and Remote Control Functionality.

The Ei262 Carbon Monoxide and the Ei405 and series smoke alarms with integrated RF (does not require Ei168RC base) supports interconnected and Remote Control Functionality.

We also have the Ei600 Series of professional battery powered smoke and heat alarms that may be fitted with an RF module to allow them to be configured as a RadioLINK system.

The Ei3100RF series and the Ei140 series (when used with an Ei168RC RadioLINK base) will support RadioLINK interconnect but will not support Remote Control Functionality.

A radio signal is sent when the test button is pressed, or the alarm senses smoke. This is received by all the RadioLINK alarms in the system and

they will also sound.

The Ei168RC RadioLINK base requires a mains supply to each of the alarms in the system. The power supply can be taken from any

convenient light pendant, with a permanent live feed, to where the alarm is to be sited.

The Ei600, the Ei405 and the Ei3100RF series don’t require any cabling as they are battery powered, but they will not be suitable for use in new build and most tenanted properties.

There are significant savings to be made,mainly in time, but also in materials.

a) There is no need to feed the wiring from one alarm to another. This

can be very time consuming and can cause problems with tenants

not wanting to have trunking running up walls and across ceilings.

There is no need to lift floorboards either. Both of these points mean

that damage claims to floors, carpets and decoration are minimised,

if not eliminated.

b) Less cable and trunking is required so further reducing costs.

The frequency and duration of the RF signal used by the Ei RadioLINK system meets strict European guidelines. These are designed to virtually

eliminate interference. Interference cannot be completely ruled out but it is our experience that hard wired cable connections are far more

likely to be affected by interference than RadioLINK will be. There have been problems with doorbells using RF causing interference

with other doorbells of the same type. These problems were mainly due to there being only a few codes available that the user could choose

from. This made it very easy to select a code that was used by a neighbour. The consequence was that when one doorbell was pressed,

a number of them sounded! This cannot happen with RadioLINK because each alarm base has a unique code that is set at the factory.

The code cannot be repeated so interference is eliminated.

Security systems may use the same frequency as the RadioLINK but they

will normally be on a different band and/or be restricted to using the

channel for 1% of the time, for a maximum of 4 seconds at any one

time. Also, the unique code used by RadioLINK units means that

interference is a very remote possibility. Car alarms and mobile phones

use a completely different frequency so interference is not possible from

either of these. Television remote controls mostly use infra-red,which

cannot affect the RadioLINK system.

The radio signal can travel a very long way if there are no obstructions to block it – 250 metres or more. But, it is more relevant to consider the

practical application of RadioLINK where there will be walls, ceilings and many other obstructions to impede the radio signal path. In the

vast majority of properties,where there will be 2 or 3 alarms, the signal from a RadioLINK unit will be more than adequate. In fact, it is quite

probable that the radio signal will transmit well beyond the limits of the property. This is a very important reason why the alarms in a property

must be ‘House Coded’