How do I wire a siren to a VISTAH3 panel?

To connect a siren to the First Alert VISTAH3, attach the siren's positive (+) to panel terminal 16 and the negative (-) to panel terminal 17. The panel provides up to 2A of current for the sounder. This current comes from the panel battery, so a good battery must be connected to the panel.

The First Alert VISTAH3 includes a dedicated output for sirens or siren drivers, allowing you to connect a sounder directly to the panel. The bell output is supervised for an open when the siren is inactive and a short when the siren is energized. The bell output provides steady voltage during a burglary alarm, temporal 3 pulsing for a fire alarm, and temporal 4 for a carbon monoxide alarm. If the panel battery is low or missing, the bell output will not function. Follow these steps to wire a siren to the VISTAH3 panel:

1. Plan your installation. Choose a siren that operates on 12VDC, such as the Honeywell WAVE2. If using an exterior siren, ensure it’s rated for outdoor use. Total wired siren current draw must not exceed 2A. If the sirens needed will draw more than 2A, use a relay like the Altronix RB5 and an external power supply. A separate power supply like the Honeywell AD12612 or Altronix SMP3 should be used. Either of these requires its own backup battery and a separate transformer. To avoid this complex setup, consider using a combination of wired sirens connected to the panel's bell output, and wireless sirens installed in areas away from the wired siren's mounting location. The indoor Resideo PROSIXSIREN and outdoor PROSIXSIRENO offer an 85dB sounder that runs on four (4) non-rechargeable lithium AA batteries and is completely wireless. In addition to sounding, these sirens also offer a visual alarm indication via a built-in LED. This is useful for installations with deaf or hearing impaired occupants. The only limit to how many of these wireless sirens you can use is the number of available wireless zones to enable and supervise them.
2. Locate the bell output terminals. The VISTAH3 provides two screw terminals marked Bell (Terminal 16) and GND (Terminal 17). These are found on the main terminal strip inside the control panel cabinet. Bell (Terminal 16) supplies +12VDC during alarm, and GND (Terminal 17) is the negative (ground) reference.
   
3. Run the siren wire. There are no siren wiring limits outlined in the installation guide, as there are for other powered devices like keypads. It is generally recommended to use 18 AWG - 22 AWG stranded wire, depending on distance. The longer the wire run, the heavier the wire used should be. Avoid running siren wires parallel to high-voltage cables or close to data wiring, such as wiring keypads or expansion modules. For outdoor wired sirens, use wiring rated for exterior applications.
4. Make your connections. After powering the system completely down by disconnecting the positive battery wire and unplugging the power adaptor, connect the siren’s positive (+) lead to the terminal marked Bell (Terminal 16) and the negative (-) lead to GND (Terminal 17). Tighten the screws securely without over tightening. Connect the supplied 820 Ohm (color code gray-red-brown) resistor in parallel across the wires or terminals at the last sounder in the bell circuit. See the notes below about bell supervision. We'll discuss using a separate relay and power supply for siren wiring in another FAQ.
5. Power up and prepare to test. Once all wiring is complete, restore system power by first plugging in the DC power adapter and then reconnecting the battery. If your system is monitored by a central station, be sure your system is on test with the monitoring station before testing. Failure to do so may result in an unnecessary dispatch of the authorities.
   • Contact Criticom Monitoring Service (CMS) by calling 888-818-7728 and choosing Option 9.
   • Be ready to provide the monitoring station operator with your name, address, and false alarm password. If you provide the wrong password, or provide the duress password, they will be forced to dispatch authorities, so be prepared before calling.
   • To avoid this possibility, create a MyAlarms.com account. The MyAlarms webpage allows you to put your system on test, verify alarm signals, and more without calling the monitoring station.
   • For monitored Alarm Grid customers in Canada, contact Rapid Response by calling (800) 932-3822 and following the prompts.
   • Be prepared to provide the operator with your name, address, and false alarm password. If you provide the wrong password, or the duress password, the operator will dispatch authorities.
6. Test the siren. Trigger a test alarm by arming the system and then setting off a burglar, fire, or carbon monoxide alarm. The siren should sound clearly and stop sounding upon a system disarm. If it doesn’t activate, recheck polarity and wiring connections. Observe the panel for any display of low battery or bell trouble. A bell trouble may indicate an open or shorted circuit.
7. Secure and label wiring. Once you've successfully tested the siren fasten wires neatly inside the cabinet and label at both ends. Proper wire identification simplifies future service and ensures polarity is maintained during maintenance.

Following these steps ensures your First Alert VISTAH3 siren is properly powered and supervised. Always observe current limits, proper polarity, and use external power with a relay if the siren load will exceed 2A.

Notes:

• The bell output terminals always have 4.6 VDC on them, regardless of whether bell supervision is enabled or disabled in programming (it's enabled by default). Connecting the supplied 820 Ohm resistor brings this voltage down to 0 VDC. If you disable bell supervision, and leave the resistor out of the bell circuit, but notice a hiss or other noise on your siren, it's likely caused by supervision voltage. Install the 820 Ohm resistor to zero out this voltage.
• When using a siren driver with bell supervision disabled, the resistor should be applied in parallel at the driver to prevent supervision voltage from activating the driver.
• Swinger Suppression controls how many times your system will sound and report an alarm from the same zone while continuously armed. By default, this limit is set to two (2).
  Here’s how it works: once the system is armed, if a zone goes into alarm, the siren will sound and, if your system is monitored, it will send a signal to the monitoring station. When the bell timeout expires, eight (8) minutes by default, the siren automatically shuts off. If that same zone triggers again while the system remains armed, the system will once more sound and report.
  After two alarms on the same zone, Swinger Suppression kicks in. Any further alarms from that zone won’t cause the siren to sound or send a report until the system is disarmed and rearmed. This helps prevent nuisance alarms and unnecessary dispatches if a sensor is malfunctioning.