Strobe Light in Band Room for Passing Bells

[jmair]

I've been tasked with putting a strobe or action light in our band room to fire off when the passing bells go off. We have copper wire that goes to each classrooms speaker for passing bells. I believe there is a device I can put over the speaker wire that will flash or blink when it senses a signal in the wire. Any of you know what that device is called or can suggest a solution?

[Rob_D]

Are these wires carrying audio from a remote source? Power to the speakers? Low voltage signaling from a relay switch?

 

It might be worth looking at voltage detectors as a starting point.

[Andrew_C]

Are your bells on the fire alarm system? If so, I would be very surprised if your FA company don't have an off-the-shelf product. Equally, if it is the FA - DON'T add anything yourself!

[Chris_Cook]

I would find out what system you have in place as there are a wide variety of different technologys. The manufacturer or installer is best placed to recommend a solution, assuming they still exist. The best place to look is the box or control that triggers the system.

 

The strobes themselves normally require 12v/24v DC power supply, but how that gets triggered can vary. A lot of systems have a pre-made solution as Andrew says.

 

The systems can be 12/24v volt, 100v speaker line, SIP/Network, fire alarms or all sorts, so we won't be able to recommend something without knowing a bit more detail.

[MatthewL]

Do you have detectors in these rooms already, I would get these replaced with new ones as many of them have a strobe built in for this purpose.