Teach Ecolink Firefighter to recognize older alarm pattern

Devices & Integrations
1

Hello.
I am trying my luck with the Ecolink wireless audio detector, which is supposed to recognize smoke alarm and notify the hub. There’s a lot of information here on how to connect it to SmartThings, which I did and everything works fine, except it only reacts to T3 and T4 patterns. My smoke detectors are of an older standard and produce constant beeping, with no pauses. Is there a way to “teach” Firefighter to recognize other patterns?
Thank you.

2

No. It will only recognize the current US mandated residential smoke alarm and CO alarm patterns.

3

Thanks for the prompt reply!
I was trying to find whether Canadian building code requires a specific pattern now, however could not find anything. It seems that T3 is not yet officially adapted in Canada.
I might shop for new smoke detectors, but so far, I am not seeing T3 pattern being mentioned in the products descriptions.

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4

National Building Code of Canada:

Article 3.2.4.19.

(2) The sound pattern of an alarm signal shall conform to the temporal pattern defined in Clause 4.2 of ISO 8201, “Acoustics – Audible emergency evacuation signal.”

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3305/5ec66e21df079179aaf2d609dcbb6c57cfe1.pdf

The 1995 National Building Code of Canada requires that fire alarm signals sound the Temporal-Three (T-3) pattern, as defined by the ISO 8201 “Acoustics – Audible Emergency Evacuation Signal”. This sound pattern has also been required by NFPA 72 since July 1996. It is intended that the T-3 pattern will become the standardized alarm signal heard around the world that will unequivocally mean “evacuate the building immediately”.

5

Wow, thats interesting. Thank you so much for the link.
My house was built in 1998 and I am not sure why the smoke alarm does not comply with that regulation!
I am now thinking of replacing one of the alarms with the newer one (BRK/FirstAlert brand) so it can trigger the Firefighter.

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6

I don’t know what kind of exceptions there were available back then, it may vary by province.

7

I don’t know what kind of exceptions there were available back then, it may vary by province.

It is very possible that Quebec, where I reside, indeed had its own exceptions.
Thanks again!

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8

You should replace your smoke detectors every 10 years so you should have done them twice by now.

9

A very good point. This is my first house and am I learning these things just now.
On a similar note, I hate touching things which work just fine. These smoke detectors have already saved my life when the water heater caught on fire a month ago. Luckily I was home and was able to react immideately.
I do see people complain about even new detectors not working as expected (false alarms mostly).
But I think it is the time to change the ones I have.

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10

I know what you mean. It took me at least 15 years before I started replacing mine :grin:

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11

Thanks for the answers, guys.
So I went and bought a newer model of BRK smoke sensor and just swapped the one in the basement (same connector, same brand). The firefighter now works just fine.
I also got the official confirmation from Ecolink that the sensor only recognizes T3 and T4, so for anyone planning on using Firefighter, keep this in mind.

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