Arduino controlling Apollo XP95/Discovery devices

This video shows off a running project of mine where i attempt to drive Apollo series 90, XP95 and Discovery devices with an Arduino.
there is still a lot of functionality yet to figure out and get working but this is a working progress, i will show what i have managed to get working.
the limitations at this point are mostly software.
I will not be making the programming code available sorry.
Here are a few documents that have helped me along with this project.
www.henry.com.h...

[@HenBasketFireAlarms]

You don’t happen to have a copy of the PDF do you? The website hosting it went down and I forgot to save a copy for myself

[@UrBoyLiamPookie]

Hi, The red call point you used.. i have that too! its just lost and i hate the fact i couldn't find it 😓😓😓 I also used the exaxt same plastic element you used in this video too, and today i am picking up a KAC Yellow Gas/Smoke Vent Call Point! Wish You the Best. (Posted on the 29/9/2023)

[@Ljo1]

I enjoy the test videos, but I particularly like seeing videos like this. It’s really interesting and an inspiration to me as I’m interested in electronics and microcontrollers. Thinking of studying electronics after I leave school later this year. Just got to get past the exams first! Keep up the good work mate :)

[@testlogs9005]

Thanks, I wish you the best. stick in at Maths, English helps with the report writing and sciences are useful preferably physics. There is ways you can bump up your grades if you don't meet the criteria of the place you want to get into so its not all doom and gloom. get your self some books like art of electronics and try make some of the examples from it you will learn quite a bit from it, the book is easy reading as well as humorous at times. or just look up random circuit designs on google and play around with that, ebay is a great place to get cheap components for projects.

[@Ljo1]

Thanks for the advice, hopefully all goes well it’s just a stressful few months. Looking forward to relaxing over summer and working on some projects!

[@wilsonramirez7569]

9

[@wilsonramirez7569]

Dygb

[@bowsersean8098]

Connor can you do another video of this test bench?

[@thingamajig4102]

Knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind, unless this is a commercial project it seems churlish to withhold the coding to allow further development by others.

[@Salfke]

Hi, great video, nice piece of research! I was seaching for an example like this on the internet. Can you please share the schematics? (don't need the Arduino example)

[@aidenfraser9369]

Hi there test logs Aiden Fraser here just wanted to say that I LOVE the channel and cannot wait for system test 26 and I love Fire Alarms I even have my own 😁😁😁😉😉😉

[@testlogs9005]

thanks for the support :)

[@aidenfraser9369]

@@testlogs9005 no problem 😉

[@OverloadedSolutions]

Hey test logs , 2 questions , 1) do xp95 hold there tone (non-discovery) and 2) how do you get the second tone? the alert , like for when if a little smoke goes into it, it goes beeeeeeeep beeeeeeeeep beeeeeeeeep and then when more goes into it , it goes into evacuation? or is that just as standerd?

[@testlogs9005]

the tone hold is a fluke sometimes it happens sometimes it doesn't. it depends when its interrupted with a command to turn off. this test rig can do anything a normal fire panel can achieve and more because the limit is what i choose to include in the programming. this rig can achieve a simple thing like two tones depending on smoke level.

[@HenBasketFireAlarms]

Very cool video. I’ve actually got a few American XP95 pull stations (in the form of Gamewell MS-95DL pulls) and this video has me thinking if any changes were made to the protocol for the UL market, or if it’s just the same UL or EN54

[@testlogs9005]

the protocol as far as i am aware is identical to the uk devices. a pull station would probably operate a UK panel that's expecting a XP95 call point input. In essence the only thing different is the certification.

[@redfireandsecurity3643]

@@testlogs9005

[@HenBasketFireAlarms]

⁠@@testlogs9005So much testing later, the Gamewell pulls are actually S90 MCPs

[@bowsersean8098]

Connor did that call point used to me next to the fire alarm panel in the under stairs cupboard?

[@testlogs9005]

yes.

[@bowsersean8098]

Connor do you plan to keep that call point on the test bench

[@bowsersean8098]

Connor when’s test 29 coming?

[@michaeljohnson89]

Hi mate, just stumbled across your video. Looking at doing something similar & also creating a voice alarm "panel" to interfwce with it. Gonna do some more reading, if i get stuck, could i pick your brain? Thanks!

[@testlogs9005]

i guess you could :)

[@michaeljohnson89]

@@testlogs9005 I got very very stuck 😂 fancy open sourcing your project? 😂

[@testlogs9005]

@@michaeljohnson89 oh no dont think that would go down well if i did ahaha i think the guys down in Havent might have a little something to say to me if i did that haha.

[@michaeljohnson89]

@testlogs9005 meh, maybe, IIRC XP95 was just a modification of a protocol called meterbus. It was defo based on something open source. The first two series of Zeta Fyreye protocol was based on XP95 and was actually interoperable. Namely Fyreye and Fyreye Extra. The fyreye MKII protocol that's in use now however was completely designed in house by Zeta. It's actually a pretty robust protocol. Did you reverse engineer or find the protocol info online?

[@testlogs9005]

@@michaeljohnson89 one document i came across showed a diagram of S90 and Xp95 protocol and what each bit did etc, didnt even tell me what baud rate it was or what the timings were etc that i had to figure out by trial and error. i had to figure out the bus driver circuit myself based on the description of how the physical layer worked. i dont find the protocol to be all that complex. i have heard of Mbus but only after i got the rig working ahha.

[@bowsersean8098]

When is test 26 coming on?

[@testlogs9005]

read my reply to Siobhan O'Shea

[@bowsersean8098]

Connor where did those 2 smoke detectors used to be?

[@testlogs9005]

Don’t remember.

[@bowsersean8098]

@@testlogs9005 and Connor when is test 29 coming?

[@emanmohsen3493]

ok ,can you tell me more about this test and where is arduino i want to do your project as a projects of collage

[@mahmoudnasr2250]

good work!! please give me the names of the cards you used and the electronic components used in these cards

[@obsirensandalarms]

how do you work this, do you need the panel or is it all the arduino? (i have so many questions ahaha)

[@testlogs9005]

I literally show you how I work this in the video. What you see on video is what’s needed to operate the equipment.

[@bowsersean8098]

Connor where to you get the resettable element from for that call point?

[@testlogs9005]

It was some alarm wholesaler online, it’s been a while so don’t have the invoice anymore to tell you who it was. Sorry.

[@bowsersean8098]

Also when Is test 27 coming on?

[@testlogs9005]

good point i will look into it. from memory its mostly ready to go just had a rendering issue that put me off finishing it.

[@bowsersean8098]

@@testlogs9005 Connor can I show the beacon in the garage and can we lesson to the voice sounder different message in the garage when you test the cardboard monoxide alarm?

[@Club_vibes69]

Yo test logs best channel on KZbin I want to say I love your videos the funny thing is I’m 13 years old and I absolutely love fire alarms I have a couple different systems with no panel and an insane amount of devices that I’ve bought with my own money I’ve recently bought a kentec 4 zone panel and so I will be posting on my channel the one attached to this comment

[@testlogs9005]

Thanks, glad to be an inspiration. I wish you all the best. if KZbin lets you feel free to post your channel link in the comments.

[@Club_vibes69]

@@testlogs9005 okay thanks you should be able to click the green J and it will take you to my channel it’s got like 2 videos though also where did you learn all of your skills because that’s definitely not beginner stuff 😂

[@testlogs9005]

@@Club_vibes69 This channel is a very narrow slit of what i am and capable of as its dedicated to alarm content, i am and have been for a while, fed up of test videos just too repetitive for me. i learned how to do this stuff mostly just messing around tinkering, tearing it apart and well the internet is a treasure trove of information occasionally you will find a book that's invaluable(Art of electronics), i did go to college and university to study electrical and electronic engineering so this has added to what i know.

[@Club_vibes69]

@@testlogs9005 wow that’s a lot, it’s incredible what you can do I will have a look at finding that book or one simple. thank you I want to be capable of some of the stuff you can do it’s really good, and for 13 year old me it’s the best thing ever. By Wednesday I should have my panel but there’s still preparation to do like get batteries for it and all of the rest, but anyway see you in the next video. Enjoy the rest of your day. Oh one more thing in one of the system tests can you test all the call points for some random reason. 😁

[@testlogs9005]

@@Club_vibes69 i will say don't ever work on it while powered up even on batteries for your safety also double check everything is wired properly before powering up the last thing you want is to reverse the polarity and blow something up. play safe. i could do that for 27 haha. easier for me to film :P

[@redfireandsecurity3643]

how did you get the resettable element for an old style kac?

[@testlogs9005]

found it on a fire and security store online. its beem a long time now and cant remember where i got them from.

[@obsirensandalarms]

is the card you’ve got down at the bottom left an apollo loop card?

[@testlogs9005]

No, it’s my loop interface Card that extracts the signals from the Apollo loop and converts them to a form that can be chucked into a microcontroller for processing. I used arduino because it’s easy. That card can’t generate the signalling at all it’s purely reading data. The circuit to drive the Apollo stuff is on the breadboard. That card is being used to read the data coming back from the devices.

[@obsirensandalarms]

@@testlogs9005 how much did it cost you altogether?

[@testlogs9005]

@@obsirensandalarms as little as possible. tbh i dont really know i didnt keep tabs. i will spitball an estimate of about £20. i just slapped together a solution that did the bare minimum.

[@obsirensandalarms]

@@testlogs9005 fair. do you know at all it you could program it to act as if it’s an addressable panel as if it’s kind of like, “~~ analogue level = activation” such and such more or less cause an effect

[@testlogs9005]

@@obsirensandalarms yes. I have just been concentrating on getting the core functions working before making the code more complicated.

[@jacobhardy121]

is there a way to power a sounder base like the ancillarys or any sounder base just using a power supply?

[@testlogs9005]

you can but it would do nothing. you need to modulate a control signal onto the power supply to send a command.

[@jacobhardy121]

@@testlogs9005 what about the ancillary sounder base that rely on the smoke detector being activated. What is needed to set them off?

[@testlogs9005]

@@jacobhardy121 they probably turn on with the commands sent on address zero as this is a broadcast address. I don’t have an ancillary sounder base to test this out. I will get one at some point and do some testing. I will need to get a handful more features on my current rig completed before making a follow up video if I manage to get an ancillary SB I will demonstrate it on the rig when I make this follow up video.

[@WilmingtonOHProductions]

I can tell that took a heck ton of coding just to get all that working

[@testlogs9005]

It’s not even complete there is things I need to work on as it doesn’t fully support even the xp95 part of the protocol. This is sounder commands, sounder sync, change the parameters of the device. I can address multiple sounders and turn them on it’s just they are not in sync.

[@testlogs9005]

sync was figured out without too much drama and it now working.

[@Honekawasuneo646]

How can u do😮

[@OverloadedSolutions]

what did you use for power in this video?

[@testlogs9005]

bench power supply. it has a max voltage of 31V and 10A max current limit. the apollo gear ran less than 100mA

[@OverloadedSolutions]

@@testlogs9005 what do you mean by a bench power supply? I have a demo board with a sounder (smoke detector) and 3 call points is that enough? And if so do I have to wire call point to call point to sounder?

[@testlogs9005]

@@OverloadedSolutions it’s a power supply that sits on the desk or work bench hence bench power supply.

[@OverloadedSolutions]

will it work with 1 call point and sounder?

[@testlogs9005]

@@OverloadedSolutions if you wire them in series it may work, usually not very well. they must be conventional devices to do this it will not work with intelligent devices they need a panel or some controller/driver circuit.

[@zeinabkalboussi7483]

nice !! c est une video tres interessante , j'ai un projet pfe sur ces detecteurs apollo je veux le code ou une autre source qui m'aide bien de faire cette realisation ,cest tres urgent svp

[@testlogs9005]

English Translation: nice !! it's a very interesting video, I have a pfe project on these apollo detectors I want the code or another source that helps me to do this, it's very urgent please. Replay: There is no original Source code that is available for this project, i have wrote this from the ground up and will not be sharing the code for it, you will have to reverse engineer this yourself and write your own firmware. if i could share it i most likely would but i would rather not cause any agro by doing so.

[@wilsonramirez7569]

Er