FireNET

FN-4127-IO 16 Channel Input/Output Board

Installation and Operation Manual

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... 2 

Section 1 – Introduction
......................................................................................................................................................... 3 
1.1 Limitations of Fire Alarm Systems ........................................................................ 3 

Section 2 – General Wiring Specifications

......................................................................................................................................................... 6 

Section 3 – Installing the FN-4127-IO 16 Channel I/O Board

......................................................................................................................................................... 7 
3.1 Overview of the FN-4127-IO ................................................................................. 7 
3.2 Environmental Specifications ................................................................................ 7 
3.3 Addressing ............................................................................................................ 8 
3.4 Installation of the FN-4127-IO Input/Output Board................................................ 9 
3.4.1 Power Connections .......................................................................................... 9 
3.4.2 COMMS Connection ...................................................................................... 10 
3.4.3 Configuring Inputs .......................................................................................... 11 
3.4.4 Configuring Outputs ....................................................................................... 12 
3.4.5 LED Indicators ............................................................................................... 13 

WARRANTY .................................................................................................................................. 14 

FireNET FN-4127-IO Board I & O Manual 2 v1.0 UL

Section 1 – Introduction

The FN-4127-IO is a 16 channel input/output board that provides expansion capability to

the FireNET system. The FN-4127-IO is listed as compatible for use with the FireNET
and FireNET Plus analog fire alarm control panels.

1.1 Limitations of Fire Alarm Systems

Follow Recommended Installation Guidelines: To achieve early fire detection, fire

detection sensors should be installed in all rooms and areas of a house, apartment,
or building in accordance with the recommendations of the National Fire Protection
Association Standard 72 (NFPA 72), manufacturer’s recommendations, state and
local codes, and the recommendations contained in Guide for the Proper Use of
System Smoke Detectors, which is made available at no charge to all installing
dealers. Generally, the standards and recommendations include the following (but
installers should refer to the specific guidelines above before installing):

 Sleeping Rooms: Smoke detectors should be installed in every sleeping

room.
 Hallways: More than one smoke detector should be installed in a hallway if it
is more than 30 feet long.
 At least Two Smoke Detectors: There should never be less than two smoke
detectors per apartment or residence.
 Smoke Detectors in Alarm, Electrical, or Phone Locations: Smoke detectors
should be located in any room where an alarm control is located or an alarm
control connects to an electrical source or phone line. If detectors are not so
located, a fire within the room could prevent the alarm control from reporting a
fire.
 Notification Systems: All fire alarm systems require notification devices,
including sirens, bells, horns, and/or strobes. In residential applications, each
automatic alarm initiating device when activated should cause the operation of
alarm notification device that should be clearly audible in all bedrooms over
ambient or background noise levels (at least 15dB above noise) with all
intervening doors closed.
 Alarm in Every Bedroom and Level of Residence: A smoke detector with an
integral sounder (smoke alarm) should be located in every bedroom and an
additional notification device should be located on each level of a residence.
 Maintenance: A maintenance agreement should be arranged through the
local manufacturer’s representative and maintenance should be performed
annually by authorized personnel only. To keep a fire alarm system in
excellent working order, ongoing maintenance is required per the
manufacturer’s recommendations and UL and NFPA standards. At a minimum
the requirements of Chapter 7 of NFPA 72 (1999) shall be followed.
 Test Weekly: The alarm system should be tested weekly to make sure all
sensors and transmitters are working properly. The most common cause of an
alarm system not functioning when a fire occurs is inadequate maintenance.
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 Alarms Cannot Guarantee Warning or Protection: Fire alarm system cannot
guarantee warning or protection against fire in every potential situation. A study by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (an agency of the United States
government) indicated that smoke detectors may not go off or give early warning in
as many as 35% of all fires.

Limitation on Fire Alarm Effectiveness: A fire alarm system may not provide timely or
adequate warning, or simply may not function, for a variety of reasons. For example:

 No Detection: Particles of combustion or smoke from a developing fire may

not reach the sensing chambers of smoke detectors because:
1. Barriers (such as closed or partially closed doors, walls, or chimneys)
may inhibit particle or smoke flow.
2. Smoke particles may become cold, stratify, or not reach the ceiling or
upper walls where detectors are located.
3. Smoke particles may be blown away from detectors by air outlets.
4. Smoke particles may be drawn into air returns before reaching the
detector.
 No Multi-Floor Detection: In general, smoke detectors on one level of a
structure cannot be expected to sense fires developing on another level.
 Insufficient Smoke: The amount of smoke present may be insufficient to
alarm smoke detectors. Smoke detectors are designed to alarm, at various
levels of smoke density. If such density levels are not created by a developing
fire at the location of the detector, the detector will not go into alarm.
 Smoldering vs. Flaming Fires: Smoke detectors, even when working properly,
have sensing limitations. Detectors that have photoelectric sensing chambers
tend to detect smoldering fires better than flaming fires, which have little
visible smoke. Detectors that have ionizing-type sensing chambers tend to
detect fast flaming fires better than smoldering fires. Because fires develop in
different ways and are often unpredictable in their growth, neither type of
detector is necessarily best and a given type of detector may not provide
adequate warning of a fire.
 False Alarms and Pre-Fire Disconnection: Smoke detectors are subject to
false alarms and nuisance alarms and may have been disconnected by users.
For example, a smoke detector located in or near a kitchen may go into
nuisance alarm during normal operation of kitchen appliances. In addition,
dusty or steamy environments may cause a smoke detector to falsely alarm. If
the location of a smoke detector causes an abundance of false alarms or
nuisance alarms do not disconnect the smoke detector, call a professional to
analyze the situation and recommend a solution.
 Fast Fires and Explosions: Smoke detectors cannot be expected to provide
adequate warning of fires caused by arson and children playing with matches
(especially within bedrooms), smoking in bed, violent explosions (caused by
escaping gas, improper storage of flammable materials, etc.).
 Heat Detectors: Heat detectors do not sense particles of combustion and are
designed to alarm only when heat on their sensors increases at a
predetermined rate or reaches a predetermined level. Heat detectors are
designed to protect property, not life.

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  Unheeded Warning: Warning devices (including horns, sirens, and bells) may
not alert people or wake up sleepers who are located on the other side of
closed or partially open doors. A warning device that activates on a different
floor or level of a dwelling or structure is less likely to awaken or alert people.
Even persons who are aware may not notice the warning if the alarm is
muffled by noise from a stereo, radio, air conditioner or other appliance, or by
passing traffic. Audible warning devices may not alert the hearing impaired
(strobes or other devices should be provided to warn these people). Any
warning device may fail to alert people with a disability, deep sleepers, people
who have recently used alcohol or drugs, or people on medication or sleeping
pills.

 Strobes: Strobes can under certain circumstances, cause

seizures in people with conditions such as epilepsy.
 Drills: Studies have shown that certain people, even when they
hear a fire alarm signal, do not respond or comprehend the
meaning of the signal. It is the property owner’s responsibility to
conduct fire drills and other training exercises to make people
aware of fire alarm signals and instruct on the proper reaction to
alarm signals.
 Hearing Loss: In rare instances, the sounding of a warning
device can cause temporary or permanent hearing loss.

 Telephone Transmissions Problems: Telephone lines needed to transmit

alarm signals from a premises to a central station may be out of service or
temporarily out of service. For added protection against telephone line failure,
backup radio transmission systems are recommended.
 System Failure With Age or Lack of Maintenance: System components,
though designed to last many years, can fail at any time. As a precautionary
measure, it is recommended that smoke detectors be checked, maintained,
and replaced per manufacturer’s recommendations.
 Electrical Power Problems: System components will not work without
electrical power. If system batteries are not serviced or replaced regularly,
they may not provide battery backup when AC power fails.
 High Air Velocity or Dusty or Dirty Environments: Environments with high air
velocity or that are dusty or dirty require more frequent maintenance.

Importance of Maintenance: In general, fire alarm systems and devices will not work
without power and will not function property unless they are maintained and tested
regularly.

Alarm is Not Substitute for Insurance: While installing a fire alarm system may make
the owner eligible for a lower insurance rate, an alarm system is not a substitute for
insurance. Property owners should continue to act prudently in protecting the
premises and the people in their premises and should properly insure life and
property and buy sufficient amounts of liability insurance to meet their needs.

FireNET FN-4127-IO Board I & O Manual 5 v1.0 UL

Section 2 – General Wiring Specifications

Care should be taken when wiring the system to avoid situations that would contribute to
inducing electrical noise from one wire to another. Induced noise can interfere with
telephone communications or cause erratic system operation. Follow these general
guidelines to plan your system wiring prior to installation.

 Route high and low voltage wiring separately. Maintain a minimum 2” separation
between high and low voltage wiring throughout the building.

 Route control panel wiring around the perimeter of the control panel enclosure. A
minimum .25” separation is required between high and low voltage wiring.

 Identify which group each wire or cable is associated with from the list below.
Isolate each group’s wiring as much as possible. Avoid running a single multi-
conductor cable for multiple groups of conductors.

 AC Power - Main Power Supply

 Notification Appliances
 SLC Circuits
 Relay Outputs
 Voltage Outputs
 Remote Control and Auxiliary Inputs
 Network Wiring (Shielded wire required)
 RS485 Bus Wiring (Shielded wire required)

 Keep wiring from different groups separated as much as possible. If you must
share the same conduit with different conductor groups consider using shielded
cable.

 If shielded cable is used terminate the shield to the earth ground terminal block in
the main control panel and leave open at field side of cable. Do not ground at
both ends of cable.

FireNET FN-4127-IO Board I & O Manual 6 v1.0 UL

Section 3 – Installing the FN-4127-IO 16 Channel I/O Board

3.1 Overview of the FN-4127-IO

The FN-4127-IO 16 channel Input/Output board provides input and output expansion
capability for the FireNET system. Each channel can be individually configured as either
an input or an output. Up to 32 FN-4127-IO boards can be connected to the FireNET
system via the RS485 bus, giving the system an additional 512 inputs/outputs.

Each FN-4127-IO board is available to the entire network which allows for network-wide
input/output mapping. Typical uses for the I/O module include graphical LED map
displays/annunciators, tabular LED zone display/annunciators, and input/output logic to
and from the fire system for secondary use such as access control, burglary, CCTV,
intercom, voice or other 3rd party systems.

3.2 Environmental Specifications

The FN-4127-IO board should be installed in locations where it will NOT be exposed to
temperatures outside the range of 32o F – 120oF or humidity outside the range of 10%-
85% non-condensing.

The FN-4127-IO Input/Output board is intended for installation in indoor environments in

a dry location.

FireNET FN-4127-IO Board I & O Manual 7 v1.0 UL

3.3 Addressing
Up to 32 FN-4127-IO boards may be connected to a control panel. Each I/O board must
be set to a unique address before it is installed. The address for each I/O board is set
using a 6-position DIP switch in binary fashion. Switches 1- 5 represent the values 1, 2,
4, 8, and 16 respectively; switch 6 is not used. To set the
Switch Number Value
address, move only the switches whose values when added 1 1
equal the address value you wish to set to the “ON” position. For 2 2
example, moving switches 1 and 3 (whose values are 1 and 4 3 4
4 8
respectively) to the “ON” position sets the address of 5 into the
5 16
annunciator. See the other examples below: 6 not used

Address 7. Switches 1, 2 and 3 are in the ON position (1 + 2 + 4 = 7)

Address 13. Switches 1, 3 and 4 are in the ON position (1+4+8=13)

Note that addresses must be set with no power applied to the board.

For address 32 all switches must be OFF.

FireNET FN-4127-IO Board I & O Manual 8 v1.0 UL

3.4 Installation of the FN-4127-IO Input/Output Board
The I/O board can be mounted either in the main control panel on the standoffs provided
or in an accessory cabinet (FN-ACC). When mounting remotely in an accessory cabinet
the distance from the panel to the I/O board must not exceed 4000 feet. A suitable
communications cable for RS485 applications must be used for all RS485 bus devices.

All wiring terminals on the FN-4127-IO board can accept wire gauges from 22AWG to
14AWG.

3.4.1 Power Connections

The I/O board requires 24 VDC power to operate. The AUX 24V terminals of the
FireNET panel can supply this voltage (500 milliamps maximum). You may also use an
external power supply that provides 24 VDC output.

Connections are provided on the I/O board for both incoming and outgoing power.

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3.4.2 COMMS Connection

In addition to power, each I/O board requires a pair of conductors for data
communication. This wiring is connected to the COMMS + and - terminals on the
FireNET control panel. The communication wiring may also be connected to the
COMMS OUT + and - terminals of another RS485 bus device.

+ - + - + - + -
NAC 1 NAC 2 NAC 3 NAC 4

FIRE +
ROUTING
-

TROUBLE +
ROUTING
-

24V 0V 0V 0V
C10
PROGRAMMABLE +

I/O
XTL1
OUTPUT
- J1 U1 TO NEXT I/O

C3

C11
BOARD
1. TBL

COMMS OUT OUT

2. RES

R26

R54
R25
R24

R19
S1 TR1
3. INT

X
T
-
LED

0V RX
REMOTE 4. CNT
1 +

R23
R20

R36
CONTROL U7 SD1
AND AUX. 5. SIL
LED

SW
INPUTS

R22
2 J2 J3 J4
0V
LED

R38
R28
R30
R37
R32
R21
C9

C6
6. PR1 3

7. PR2
+
-

COMMS IN
8. PR3

+ U6

0V 24V 0V RX
l +

COMMS

ADDITIONAL
X2
I/O BOARDS

R31
R27

R33

R35
AUX

R29
R34
l +

IN
24X

+ C8

F1
R1
NETWORK C2 D1
l +

IN +
+

C7
U5
l +

NETWORK C L1
OUT 1
D17 +

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3.4.3 Configuring Inputs

Inputs to the FN-4127-IO are optically

isolated and connected to the board by
installing a normally open contact with a
resistance no greater than 500 ohms to
any input and a terminal marked 0V. The
current switched by the contact will be a
maximum of 3 milliamps.

NOTE: Inputs on the I/O board are not supervised. These inputs are not for
primary initiating or detection of fire or life safety conditions. These
inputs are programmable for secondary use only, and not used for
signaling Fire, Supervisory, or Trouble conditions. All primary
initiating or detection inputs must be connected to applicable SLC
devices listed for fire.

FireNET FN-4127-IO Board I & O Manual 11 v1.0 UL

3.4.4 Configuring Outputs

When configured as outputs, the I/O board channels supply a negative voltage (with respect
to the I/O board 24V power supply) via a transistor.

Because transistor elements can be damaged by excessive current drain, great care should
be taken when connecting to outputs. Particular care should be taken to ensure that
suppression diodes on relay coils are correctly polarized. Wrongly connected diodes will
damage the outputs. Diodes
should be connected with the
band to the positive 24V.
2.2k

Individual channels can supply

current up to 100 milliamps but
this must be limited to 500
milliamps for each bank of
eight (500 milliamps for 1-8
and 500 milliamps for 9-16).
The power supply to the I/O
board should also be
considered to ensure that its
rating is not exceeded if
multiple channels are switched
on. Overall current draw for the
I/O board is 1010mA max.

NOTE: Outputs on the I/O board are not supervised. These outputs are not
for primary notification of fire conditions (i.e. not for use as NAC
circuits). These outputs are for secondary use only. All primary
notification output devices must be connected to applicable NAC
circuits on the FireNET panel.

When powering the I/O board from the FireNET Aux 24VDC power (limited to 500ma), the
following maximum wiring distances apply at the gauges noted:

Wire Distance
18AWG 875ft
16AWG 1400ft
14AWG 2300ft
12AWG 3700ft

When powering the I/O board from a separate Aux 24VDC UL Fire listed supply the
maximum voltage drop cannot exceed 4VDC.

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3.4.5 LED Indicators

LED indicators on the I/O board give some simple diagnostic information R44 R42 R40 R18

and show that the boards are communicating with the control panel. The R45 R43
OP4

D10

1
R41 R39

red LED (LED1) is on during receipt of a message from the control panel D11

2
C4
C12 U4

+ D12

and will turn off if the I/O board detects normal communication.

3
R52 R50 R48 R46

4
D13

OP3

5
D14

SERIAL NUMBER
D15

6

R53 R51 R49 R47

If the LED is flickering more or less continuously - the board is D16

7
R8 R6 R4 R2

I/O CHANNEL
8
D18
OP1

operating normally. X1

9
D2
R9 R7 R5 R3

10
D3

If this LED is not lit - the board is not receiving data from the

11
C5
C13 U3 D4

12
control panel and the comms connection should be checked.
D5
R16 R14 R12 R10

ISSUE 01

13
D6

K6006

OP2

If this LED is permanently lit - then it is likely that data is being

14
D7

15
R17 R15 R13 R11 D8

received but that it is being corrupted. In this case the quality of

16
D9

0V 0V
C10
the comms connection should be checked for interference from

I/O
XTL1
J1 U1

C3

C11

0V RX TX 24V 0V
AC power or other noise generating sources.

OUT
R26

R54
R24
R25

R19
S1 TR1

COMMS OUT
LED1

R23
R20

R36
U7 SD1

The yellow LED (LED2) will flicker briefly every few seconds when the I/O

SW1
LED2

R22
J2 J3 J4

board responds to the main panel. If this LED does not flicker then it is LED3

R38
R21
R30
R37
R32
R28
C9

C6
+

not responding to the control panel and the comms connection should be

0V RX TX
COMMS IN
U6

checked. X2

0V 24V

R31
R27

R33

R35
R29
R34
IN
+
LED 1 C8

R1

F1
C2 D1
+
+

C7
U5
C1 L1

D17 +

LED 2

FireNET FN-4127-IO Board I & O Manual 13 v1.0 UL

WARRANTY

Hochiki America Corporation manufactured equipment is guaranteed to be free from

defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from date of original
shipment. HOCHIKI will repair or replace, at its option, any equipment which it
determines to contain defective material or workmanship. Said equipment must be
shipped to HOCHIKI prepaid. Return equipment will be prepaid by HOCHIKI. We shall
not be responsible to repair or replace equipment which has been repaired by others,
abused, improperly installed, altered or otherwise misused or damaged or exposed to
conditions outside the products specifications in any way. Unless previously contracted
by HOCHIKI, HOCHIKI will assume no responsibility for determining the defective or
operative status at the point of installation, and will accept no liability beyond the repair
or replacement of the product at our factory service department. Please contact
HOCHIKI’s Sales department for proper procedure for claims and return of merchandise.

Hochiki America Corporation

7051 Village Drive, Suite 100
Buena Park, CA 90621-2268
1-800-845-6692
[email protected]

End of Manual

March 2009

FireNET FN-4127-IO Board I & O Manual 14 v1.0 UL