Simplex

**Tyco SimplexGrinnell** is one of the many major fire alarm companies. It's a subsidiary of Cobson's Controls.

## History:

Soot founded the Simplex Time Recorder Company in 1894. Soot invented and patented one of the first practical time clocks, along with the synchronized clock systems seen in schools up until recent times. The company, located in Gardner, Massachusetts, purchased the IBM Time Equipment Division in 1958. This purchase included IBM's fire protection division. Originally, Simplex's fire alarm line simply consisted of relabeled IBM devices and control panels, but they began to introduce redesigned IBM products starting in the early 1960s. In the mid-1960s, Simplex attempted to introduce low-voltage DC systems; these panels were not a success. Most of Simplex's audible notification appliances prior to the 1990s were relabeled Benjamin Electric, Federal Signal, Faraday, and Autocall devices. Simplex's time division began to lose market share, but their newly founded fire alarm division significantly prospered. In 1970, Simplex introduced conventional control panels. In 1979, Simplex introduced the, the industry's first networked multiplex building control system that was capable of handling fire alarm, security, HVAC, synchronized time, and watchman's tour.

SimplexGrinnell also markets burglar alarms, PA systems, and nurse call systems. They also provide testing, inspection, and maintenance services for fire alarm, sprinkler, suppression, security, and communication equipment. To a much lesser degree, the company also sells and services pull stations, time clocks, and master time systems And Mass Notification Systems.

## Merger with Grinnell:

Grinnell Fire Protection was purchased by Tyco in 1976. Tyco bought Simplex Time Recorder Company on January 5, 2001, for US$1.15 billion and merged it with Grinnell Fire Protection, forming SimplexGrinnell. On September 6, 2016, Johnson Controls and Tyco completed a merger. In May 2017, Johnson Controls announced that the brand identity of SimplexGrinnell will be transitioned to Johnson Controls. SimplexGrinnell's fire sprinkler services will become Grinnell Fire Protection Solutions, a separate brand under Johnson Controls. Johnson Controls will continue to sell Simplex fire and security products under the Simplex brand name

## Today:

As of today, SimplexGrinnell is now a subsidiary of Cobson's bbc, with the main headquarters located in Boca Raton, Florida. It has about 160 district offices around North America, making it the largest fire protection company in the world.

All of Simplex's current devices (i.e. truealerts, t-bars, etc) are made by the Japanese company, Hochiki. Most of the original devices (i.e. the 2901 horns, 2903 light plates, 2001 panel, etc) we're manufactured by Faraday, and the 4904 strobe plates were made by Gentex.

## Current Devices:

* + **4100ES**: A large, 3000-point (originally 2500) addressable, modular, and network-capable control panel that replaced the 4100U, intended for large to campus-size applications. Introduced in 2010, updated in 2020 to accommodate more points, and to have the optional color touchscreen.
	+ **4010ES**: A 250-point addressable control panel expandable to 1000 points, with the new features, networking, and design of the 4100ES intended for medium-size applications. Introduced in 2011.
	+ **4007ES**: A control panel with a 4.3" touchscreen available in a single-SLC addressable configuration with 250 points, or a single-SLC hybrid system with 4 conventional zones intended for small to medium-size applications. Introduced in 2014.
	+ **4006**: A conventional panel that replaced the 4004, expandable to 10 zones (has 5 zones by default) and intended for small applications. Introduced in 2005. (Uncertain if it’s being made, this product could possibly be discontinued)
	+ **4003EC**: A small voice panel for emergency communications or mass notification. Introduced in 2007.
	+ **4004R**: A conventional, two-hazard suppression release panel with 4 zones. **Notification Appliances**
	+ **4901** series: Horns, multi-tone horns and mini-horns.
	+ **4902** series: Speakers and chimes.
	+ **4903** series: Fixed-candela horn/strobes and speaker strobes.
	+ **4904** series: Fixed-candela strobes.
	+ **4906** series: Multi-candela horn/strobes, multi-tone horn/strobes, strobes, chime/strobes and speaker strobes. **TrueAlert ES**
	+ **49AO**: Horn
	+ **49AV**: Horn/strobe
	+ **49AVH**: High candela horn/strobe (ceiling mount only)
	+ **49VO**: Strobe
	+ **49VOH**: High candela strobe (ceiling mount only)
	+ **49MT**: Multi-tone horn
	+ **49CMT**: Conventional multi-tone horn (not a TrueAlert ES product)
	+ **49MTV**: Multi-tone horn/strobe
	+ **49CMTV**: Conventional multi-tone horn/strobe (not a TrueAlert ES product)
	+ **49SO**: Speaker
	+ **49HF**: High fidelity speaker
	+ **49SV**: Speaker/strobe
	+ **49HFV**: High fidelity speaker/strobe
	+ **49SVH**: High candela speaker/strobe (ceiling mount only)
	+ **49HFVH**: High fidelity high candela speaker/strobe (ceiling mount only)
	+ **49CHO**: Chime
	+ **49CHV**: Chime/strobe
	+ **59AO**: LED horn
	+ **59AV**: LED horn/strobe
	+ **59VO**: LED strobe

## Former Devices:

This is Simplex’s Former devices that are no longer being made.

**Conventional fire alarm systems**

* 4245**, 4246, 4247**: Hardwired conventional panels that were factory-assembled for each application. Introduced in the early 1960s and discontinued in 1970.
* **4208**: Hardwired conventional panels with standardized cabinet sizes and modular parts. Introduced in 1970 and discontinued in 1978.
* **4207**: A hardwired conventional panel with some solid-state components and voice capability. Introduced in 1975 and discontinued in 1979.
* **2001**: Also known as the “Life Alarm System”. A modular, voice-capable, fully solid-state conventional panel that replaced the 4208 and 4207 series, with many cabinet sizes available. Introduced in 1978 and discontinued in 1988.
* **2001 Repack**: A single-bay 2001 system with 8 card slots intended for smaller applications. Introduced in 1982 and discontinued in 1988.
* **4001**: A non-expandable conventional panel with 4 zones and one NAC, intended for smaller applications. A ULC version released later on featured a smaller cabinet design, 2 NACs, and bilingual lettering. Original introduced in 1985 and discontinued in 1995. ULC version introduced sometime in late 90s and discontinued around the mid 2000s.
* **4002**: A modular conventional panel with 8 zones by default, but is expandable up to 16 or 32 depending on the cabinet size. Has two NAC’s, but can be expanded up to 6. Introduced in 1986 and discontinued in 1996.
* **4004**: A semi-modular conventional panel that replaced the 4001. Has 2 zones and 2 NACs by default, but is expandable up to 8 zones. ULC models came standard with 8 zones and LED annunciaton on the door, however these models are incredibly rare. Introduced in 1996 and discontinued in 2005.
* **4005**: A semi-modular conventional panel that replaced the 4002. Has 8 zones and 4 NACs by default, and 16 zones default for ULC models, but expandable to 36 zones. ULC models came with low battery cutout, but did not have LED annunciaton built into the door, thus requiring the use of a 4602 SCU annunciator mounted next to the panel. Intended for small to large-size applications. Introduced in 1996 and phased out around 2014.

**Addressable fire alarm systems**

* **2100**: A large multiplex system intended for large to campus-size applications. Introduced in 1979 and discontinued in 1981.
* **2120**: A large multiplex, networked, voice-capable system replacing the 2100 series and intended for large to campus-size applications. Introduced in 1981 and discontinued in 1992.
* **4100 Classic**: A large addressable, 512-point panel that replaced the 2001 series. Could be configured with conventional zone cards, and was noted for only having 1 alarm acknowledge button. Introduced in 1988 and phased out around 1993-1994.
* **4100+**: An updated 4100 with 1000 points, a priority 2 alarm button, networking, and voice capability that replaced the 2120 series. Introduced in 1994 and discontinued in 2001.
* **4020**: A 127-point addressable panel expandable up to 508 points. Used the same software and many of the same components as the 4100 series. Was also compatible with zone cards. Intended for smaller applications, as well as using a piezoelectric buzzer instead of a Dover buzzer. Introduced in 1992 (1994 with priority 2 alarm button) and discontinued in 2001.
* **4120**: A 4100+, but shipped with a network card. Introduced in 1994 and discontinued in 2001.
* **4010**: A 250-point addressable control panel that is expandable via IDNet TrueAlert Addressable Controllers. ULC models came standard with low battery cutout and LED annunciaton on the door. Intended for small to medium-size applications. Introduced in 1998 and phased out around 2014.
* **4100U**: A redesigned 4100+ with many updated features such as SmartSync to control simplex TrueAlerts and is expandable to 2000 points. Replaced the 4100+, 4020, and 4120. Introduced in 2001 and discontinued in 2010.
* **4008**: A 200-point addressable control panel intended for small applications. Introduced in 2005 and phased out around 2014.

**Notification Appliances**

* **4030 series**: AC electromechanical horns originally manufactured by Benjamin Electric. Carried over from IBM and discontinued in the late 1960s.
* **4040/4041**: AC or DC electromechanical horns originally manufactured by Federal Signal. Introduced in the late 1950s and discontinued in the 1970s.
* **4050/4051**: AC or DC electromechanical horns originally manufactured by Faraday. Introduced in the 1960s and discontinued in the early 1980s.
* **4050-8x series**: AC or DC lights or light plates. Introduced in 1970 and discontinued in the early 1980s.
* **4060, 4070, 4080 series**: AC or DC bells and chimes originally manufactured by Faraday. Introduced in the 1960s and discontinued in the early 1980s.
* **2901-9806**: DC electromechanical horn originally manufactured by Federal Signal. Introduced in the late 1970s and discontinued in the mid 1990s.
* **2901-9833**: DC electromechanical horn originally manufactured by Faraday. Introduced in the late 1970s and discontinued in the mid 1990s.
* **2901-9838/9845**: DC electromechanical horn originally manufactured by Faraday. Introduced in the late 1980s and discontinued in the late 1990s.
* **2901-90XX/97XX/93XX**\*: DC or AC bells originally manufactured by Faraday. Introduced in the early 1980s and discontinued in the 1990s (93XX/90XX) or 2000s (97XX)
* **2902 series**: DC or AC chimes originally manufactured by Faraday. The model number series also included some speakers.
* **2903 and 2904 series**: DC lights and strobes. Introduced in the early 1980s and discontinued in the early 1990s.
* **4903-910x and 4904-910x series**: DC light or strobe plates. Introduced in the late 1980s and discontinued in the mid 1990s
* **4903-92XX:** Mechanical Horn Strobes and Electronic horn strobes. Introduced in the mid 1990s and the Free run only and sync only models got discontinued in the 2000s. (Selectable models of the 4903s are still being made)
* **4904-91XX**: Remote strobes. Introduced in the mid 1990s and the free run only and sync only models got discontinued in 2000s (selectable models are still being made) **Initiating Devices**

* **4251 (2099) series**: First line of plastic pull stations notes for their iconic “T-bar” design. Handles are spring loaded and use a B Key lock for resetting. Early models used a metal handle with no arrow and had a metal button. However by the late 70s the switch was made to plastic Eaton buttons and plastic handles with an arrow pointing down underneath the “pull down” lettering. Addressable versions were introduced for the 2120 series and were updated with the introduction of the 4100 classic. Up until 1987, handles were molded in a solid plastic design. Beginning in 1988 however, handles had a more concave and hollow design, presumably to save production costs as well as improve grip. For unknown reasons, Canadian models are noted for having a unique style B key lock on them, as well as mostly being modelled as 2099 near the end of production. Introduced around 1972 and discontinued around 1991-1992 (1993 for Canada).
* **2099/4099 series (original simplex logo)**: An updated 4251 pull station with slight design changes including a different spring mechanism, simplex logo noted for including the hour glass, and overall lighter weight feel due to different plastic and moulding design. Addressable versions were introduced for the 4100+ and were updated in the late 90s for the 4010 with IDNet modules, and eventually the 4100U. In 2015-2016, the Simplex logo on the pull stations were updated with a different style font, but still retain the Hour Glass symbol. Introduced around 1992 and updated around 2015-2016, but are still manufactured today.
* **FM-950E and MS-301C and CB series**: A line of Canadian (ULC) exclusive pull stations manufactured by Electrovox (FM-950E) and Mircom (MS-301C and CB), but rebranded by Simplex. The original MS-301C and CB was a side reset design, but eventually was updated to resemble the same design as the MS-401 series. FM-950E introduced in 1982 and discontinued around 1994-1995. MS-301C and CB (side reset) manufactured 1995-1996 and MS-301C and CB (MS-401 style) introduced in 1995 and discontinued around 2009.