<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">By law in Massachusetts now those alarms all need to be replaced with ones that have 10 year non replaceable batteries, at least if you went to sell the house that would be what you would need to have installed to get a fire inspection. And they need to be photo electric sensors (which don't get false alarms from steam etc). <div><br></div><div>Plus you need to have combo smoke and CO detectors on every level that talk, (yeah they have to talk)</div><div><br></div><div>The plus of these new alarms.. No beeping in the middle of the night for 10 years. Downside, it's an expense proposition. The non combo ones are only like $20. The combo talking ones are like $80. Home Depot will sell you anything, but only a few of them actually meet the Massachusetts code requirements. </div><div><br></div><div>It gets a little more complicated because it's actually based on the last time work was done in your home that required a permit. So everything has to be to a certain standard code, but depending on when stuff was done in the home, it might not have to be the absolute latest version of the code.</div><div><br></div><div>Not sure that answered your question of having a fun computer thing that would tell you when the batteries were dying, but the proper way to solve the problem is to put in new smoke detectors that meet the current fire codes.</div><div><br></div><div> </div><div><br></div><div><br><div><br></div><div><br clear="all"><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div><div><div><b>Paul Stallman,</b> Owner, Creative Director and Web Guru<br><br>(413) 364-6147 | <a href="mailto:paul@alias-solutions.com" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">paul@alias-solutions.com</a><br></div><div><div style="font-size:small;text-align:center"><b style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:xx-large"><br></b></div><div style="font-size:small;text-align:center"><b style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:xx-large">alias</b><span style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:xx-large">|solutions</span></div><font face="trebuchet ms, sans-serif" size="1"><div style="text-align:center">GRAPHIC DESIGN | WEB DESIGN | FULL COLOR PRINTING | LARGE FORMAT PRINTING</div></font><div style="font-size:small;text-align:center"><a href="http://www.alias-solutions.com/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">www.alias-solutions.com</a><a href="http://www.alias-solutions.com/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank"><br></a></div><div><br></div></div><br></div></div></div></div><br><div id="mt-signature">
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</div></div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Oct 4, 2020 at 5:24 PM Rob Laporte via Hidden-discuss <<a href="mailto:hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net">hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
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<div style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
In August I posted about a huge help replated to a similar problem I've had 2-3 times per year since I can remember. That post, copied below, and its replies explain that typical cheap battery testers don't test remaining power in batteries (!), and my post
links to the only affordable tester I found that does. With it, I tested remaining power in every smoke detector, then taped a post-it to the outside indicating manufacture
<span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);display:inline">
and expiration </span>dates and battery level. </div>
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I did so for all but one on a high ceiling in my office, and by demonic coincidence the next day that one went off--hit its manufacture expiration date!--and it set off the other first alert nearby, which was/is newish and plenty charged, so it seems they are
designed to set one another off. </div>
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As an aside, Amazon shipped my ZTS tester in an envelope, not a box, which a ZTS tech and I agreed probably caused the failure of a part of the device, so I returned it and ordered direct from ZTS.</div>
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That testing and labeling system is the best solution I've been able to come up with after only an hour or so of researching better smoke detector systems, so I'm all ears if someone knows of a better system--like one that gives advanced warning to an app that
the battery or device expiration is coming in ~30 days. Avoiding just one of those sleep-shattering mishaps makes the $50 tested
<b><i>sooo</i></b> worthwhile, and now I'm sure I'll avoid plenty more sleep and work losses in the future. </div>
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<font face="Calibri, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="font-size:11pt"><b>From:</b>Hidden-discuss <<a href="mailto:hidden-discuss-bounces@lists.hidden-tech.net" target="_blank">hidden-discuss-bounces@lists.hidden-tech.net</a>> on behalf of Rob Laporte via Hidden-discuss <<a href="mailto:hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net" target="_blank">hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net</a>><br>
<b>Sent:</b>Saturday, August 15, 2020 6:06 PM<br>
<b>To:</b>Hidden-Tech Tech <<a href="mailto:hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net" target="_blank">hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net</a>><br>
<b>Subject:</b>[Hidden-tech] Dying (,) Batteries, and Testers</font>
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<div style="margin:0px">I bet I’m not the only one who, over years, has been dismayed that battery testers for small batteries, like for smoke detectors and remotes, just don’t tell you much. It’s because all the cheap ones don’t actually test the power in
the battery. What do they test? Not sure, but not percentage of power remaining, except within a useless range close to the line between red and green. It was perhaps too joyous a moment for me when I used a real battery tester, and within a few minutes could
throw out, save, or recharge all my batteries. Next I’ll test all batteries in my smoke detectors to avoid the schedule-shattering low-battery warning that usually happens around 3am.<br>
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<div style="margin:0px">So that such knowledge so consequential in ending accumulated annoyances does not taper off with my existence, I thought I’d pass on the good news here. Not exactly the second coming, but at least a few steps out of a mini-purgatory.
Here’s what I bought: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DRJZRJ4" style="margin:0px" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DRJZRJ4</a> . </div>
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<span style="font-family:Verdana"><span style="font-size:12px"><span style="font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;font-size:11pt"></span></span></span></span></div>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);line-height:normal">Take Care,</span></p>
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<span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;font-size:10pt;line-height:normal"></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);font-weight:700;line-height:normal"><br>
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<span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);font-weight:700;line-height:normal">Rob Laporte</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);font-weight:400;line-height:normal">Chief Business Development Officer | Founder | Chairman</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">
<span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:normal;font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);font-weight:400;line-height:normal">DISC
- Making Websites Make Money</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:normal;font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);font-weight:400;line-height:normal">413-584-6500</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;font-size:10pt;line-height:normal"><a href="mailto:rob@2disc.com" title="mailto:rob@2disc.com" target="_blank">rob@2disc.com</a> |
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/2disc/" title="https://www.linkedin.com/in/2disc/" target="_blank">
LinkedIn</a> | <a href="https://www.2disc.com" title="https://www.2disc.com" target="_blank">2DISC.com</a></span></p>
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<div id="gmail-m_-9045380933793143525divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size:11pt" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> Hidden-discuss <<a href="mailto:hidden-discuss-bounces@lists.hidden-tech.net" target="_blank">hidden-discuss-bounces@lists.hidden-tech.net</a>> on behalf of Mark D. Hamill via Hidden-discuss <<a href="mailto:hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net" target="_blank">hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net</a>><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, October 2, 2020 9:50 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> email list Hidden-Tech <<a href="mailto:Hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net" target="_blank">Hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net</a>><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Hidden-tech] Fire alarm system</font>
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<div dir="ltr">All our fire alarms went off at home yesterday, in spite of having the windows open. That started a frantic effort to replace batteries on the dozen or so alarms, but some said we needed to replace the batteries even after we replaced them. So
a number of alarms were physically unplugged.
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<div>These came with the house and are First Alert brand, testing for smoke and carbon monoxide. They are five years old. Individual alarms put out piercing low battery warnings at any time, often in the middle of the night. To say the least, it's inconvenient.</div>
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<div>I'm guessing these alarms all talk to each other. Maybe they are on the same circuit.</div>
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<div>In any event, this is unacceptable. It's scaring the cats half to death. What I really need is a fire alarm monitoring system that can tell me if a battery or unit needs replacing before it starts chirping, ideally one I can monitor on a computer, ideally
something that doesn't require a subscription to a service. Anything like this out there?</div>
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