Apollo Conventional Manual Call Point, Resettable, EN 54-11, Red SC2900-001APO

What this call point does

A manual call point lets a person start the fire alarm by hand, without waiting for a detector to react. This Apollo unit does that on a conventional system.

A resettable element matters for maintenance. After a test or a false alarm there is no glass to clear up or spare to carry.

How it works

Pressing the element rotates it, and that movement shows the yellow and black bars. It stays that way until someone resets it, so the operated unit can be found afterwards.

• 470Ω option: a resistor lets the panel see a call point as distinct from a detector, where the panel supports it. Check that the value suits the panel.
• Clean contact option: normally open means the circuit stays open until operated. Clean means it carries no voltage of its own, so it can switch another circuit within its rating.
• Conventional zones: on a conventional fire detection system the panel shows the zone in alarm and not the device, so the bars help when searching that zone.

Where to use it

It goes on a zone circuit alongside other conventional devices. Call points usually sit on exit routes and at storey exits, and the fire alarm designer sets the exact positions.

The hinged cover option helps where accidental or casual operation is a worry. Check with whoever holds the fire strategy that a cover suits the location.

What the figures mean in practice

• 170° LED: the light can be seen from well off to the side, which helps when walking a corridor, but remember it lights only in 470Ω mode.
• Voltage window: the 18 V - 30 V dc range sits either side of 24 V, the figure the specifications are given at.
• Temperature range: the wide range covers unheated spaces, within the humidity limit of no condensation or icing.

Installing it

• Before you start: disable or isolate the zone before wiring, and tell the building's occupants before any test.
• Choose the mode first: decide between resistor and clean contact before fixing the unit, because that choice also decides whether the LED works.
• Testing: press the element, check the panel response, then reset from the front with the key.

Planning your system

The job also needs a conventional control panel and a zone circuit with room for the device. Check the panel maker's own call point requirements.

Keep the reset key where the person responsible can find it.

Standards and ratings explained

• EN 54-11: the European product standard for manual call points in fire detection systems.
• IP44: the first 4 means protection against solid objects over 1mm. The second 4 means protection against splashing water.
• CPR: the Construction Products Regulation, the European rules behind this type of certification.