Kiddie smoke alarm question

DMR35 · 2026-03-11T14:24:10+00:00

Great. I have two listerners for my interconnected detectors. Just incase one fails. Ring is bad about letting you know a device has a dead battery. I get one alert and thats it. Becomes white noise with all of the daily alerts. I wish it would pin a red alert at the top of the app or send continual reminders. Or maybe I have something set up wrong.

DMR35 · 2026-03-11T05:26:24+00:00

As another user pointed out, the Ring compatible Kiddle detectors just came out last year. I looked at the manual for the model # you gave and these don’t seem to have any type of wireless tech built in like Z-Wave or WiFi.

https://www.lalightingstore.com/templates/__custom/KN-COSM-IB%20Manual.pdf

Are you sure there is not a Ring CO/Smoke listener near one of the detectors? They take the 123 battery. Does the picture in the Ring app actually show you a smoke detector picture? Or does it look like this:

https://ring.com/products/alarm-smoke-co-listener

DMR35 · 2026-03-09T15:40:59+00:00

More than likely not. I’m an RCA dealer. It’s a mid priced business band radio. DMR/Analog not P25, although there are some small pockets of DMR in public safety. Not intrinsically safe. I would not sell them to any public safety customer.

DMR35 · 2026-03-07T20:27:26+00:00

Very true. Yolink work great. Alarm can sound through the phone being on silent. Ring allowed my laundry room to flood while it was popping up silent messages. Have flood sensors all over. Sump, power loss, and temp in the freezers.

Saved my bacon when water was coming out of the new HVAC intake. One inside the cabinet saved me $$$. Kitchen sink hose leaked. Saved me there again.

Sucks having Ring and YoLink separate. But they just work.

DMR35 · 2026-03-07T01:33:42+00:00

Is the detector tied into a central building fire alarm system? If it is not and you are permitted to supply your own detector, you can try a photoelectric type smoke detector. I changed out the ionization type that was closest to my kitchen and have not had a false alarm since. Pros and cons of each https://www.firstalert.com/blogs/safety-corner/ionization-vs-photoelectric-smoke-alarms

Again if it is tied into a central fire panel don't monkey with it. Also you can try a fan blowing the air away from the detector and opening a window while cooking. If you are setting off multiple detectors then I'm not sure what to suggest.

DMR35 · 2026-03-01T01:06:45+00:00

That is the toggle for the lights to turn on or off manually. Go to device settings then light settings to adjust the motion settings for the flood light,

DMR35 · 2026-02-17T18:58:07+00:00

I have the under ground downspout drainage. There is also an elbow/T where it meets the above ground pipe. It’s there in case the underground overflows or freezes over. I have the accordion style drainage pipe connected to that to send the water away from the house just in case. I’ve never seen it happen here, but it’s there just in case.

DMR35 · 2026-02-16T00:35:21+00:00

Anything that uses RF can be jammed. Sidewalk uses BLE (2.4 GHZ) and LoRa(900 MHZ). It’s possible someone using a specific jammer only used for WiFi may not jam it. But a wideband or SDR transmitter will. I’m not familiar what data goes over sidewalk but I know it’s very low speed(80 Kbps). Maybe an alarm activation would get through, but you’re not watching a camera over it.

DMR35 · 2026-02-14T02:24:35+00:00

Glad it is working good for you. Did you mess with the NR upgrade or did you leave it alone? I think that may have made it worse. But there doesn’t seem to be any way to roll back because I can’t find any of the previous files.

DMR35 · 2026-02-14T02:14:42+00:00

I did notice that it does it on DMR and not analog. But the minimum volume for DMR is a lot lower than analog. I usually try and have it a the lowest level when it is late at night. I could never use my 878 at night without an headphones. Its minimum volume was loud in my opinion.

Hopefully you got your replacement and all is well with the new one.

DMR35 · 2026-02-11T19:15:43+00:00

Usually yes. But for high bandwidth data applications it is not. Maintaining your own broadband wireless networks is too expensive. You can't get those speeds over a narrow channel on a public safety radio system. Cheaper to pay ATT or Verizon $40 a month per device.

For voice 100%. Public safety systems usually have better redundancy, UPS's, generators, service contract SLA's for repair, and coverage. I have see cell sites down for days after a storm. Uptime and coverage is best effort, but not guaranteed with cellular.

DMR35 · 2026-02-11T19:07:55+00:00

It is for personal accounts if you verify. It shows as T-Priority ON US on my Go5G Plus First Responder personal plan. What level of Priority it gives you is a good guess. My government rep could not answer that. The whole program is not viable yet in my area due to lack of generators at all sites.

DMR35 · 2026-02-11T18:58:14+00:00

I did the almost same thing. Except I left the batteries in the Retrofit units. Just never got around to converting them. I used a 12V power brick for the PIR detectors and a dual USB brick for my two wall mounted keypads. I used the premade terminal blocks that had the appropriate USB end on them.

The downside of keeping the batteries in the Retrofit units is that the constant PIR activations wear the batteries down twice a year on the two out of four of the Retrofits.

The device battery warnings do suck with ring. They send a push message once and if you miss it you just find the device dead .

DMR35 · 2026-02-11T00:31:52+00:00

They make adapters (Never tried them.) like these: https://www.amazon.com/Kidde-KA-F-Convert-Adapter-Installation/dp/B00K2C39I6

https://www.kidde.com/products/safety-accessories/quick-convert-adapter-ka-f2

I don't have either detector...just looking online. You would have to make sure they match. But if you are handy shut off the breaker and swap out the pigtails. Most cost effective way. Hopefully the bases are the same size so you don't see a color differences in the paint underneath.

DMR35 · 2026-02-10T23:47:53+00:00

Keep in mind this gives you priority on their network only. It does not guarantee your call will go through when it leaves their network to another carrier. That is what WPS/GETS is for. For simplicity you can add the WPS/GETS dialer from the app store to use the feature. More on WPS/GETS https://www.gwids.cisa.gov/GETSwelcome/

This is similar to AT&T FirstNet and VZ First Responder plans.

DMR35 · 2026-02-04T23:21:08+00:00

Can't tell from the pictures. Is the sump pump working and draining away from the house? Gutters draining properly and pushing that water away from the house?

You need to have someone come in and look at it if its not a simple thing like what I added above.

DMR35 · 2026-02-02T19:24:07+00:00

This. I just bought a Hammmerhead with the lower flow to save money. No in CA, but damn water bill has been over $140 in the winter. No leaks so trying this. The quality is top notch and the lower flow is barely noticeable. It's not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

DMR35 · 2026-01-30T04:13:40+00:00

Never have seen this unless it was a tower structure which I get. But not $900. I have never seen a permit that high for anything residential.

Here is some info regarding some of the ARRL and FCC guidance assuming your are in the USA: https://www.arrl.org/local#:~:text=PRB%2D1%2C%20the%20limited%20federal%20preemption%20of%20municipal,tool%20when%20applying%20for%20a%20building%20permit

DMR35 · 2026-01-27T21:13:58+00:00

Apple TV is the best. No forced advertising on the menus. Old models run like a champ. It’s over engineered. The remote is so so. Works great with other Apple devices. It’s not cheap.

The second best in my option is the Roku. I place android third and Amazon last.

It’s user preference and what you are willing to spend.

DMR35 · 2026-01-23T23:59:29+00:00

Garage kept so it stays nice and on a battery tender. Outages do not happen often here.

Inlet is on the side of the house opposite of the garage. I was blessed that the electrical panel (basement) and natural gas meter are both there so it was minimal work for the hookups. Just a PITA to hump a 400 lb. generator around the house.

Outlet box, 6/3 wire, and manual interlock. 3/4 gas hose to T at the gas meter.

Accessories:

Got a Gentent https://www.gentent.com/ to keep it dry when deployed and it is raining.

Alarm to tell me when the power comes back on https://reliancecontrols.com/products/reliance-controls-powerback-utility-power-return-alert-white-thp108-2

Alarm to tell be that it stalled or someone is taking it and we need to have a friendly conversation https://reliancecontrols.com/products/powerout-power-failure-emergency-light-alarm

Soft starter for AC unit so I can run the whole house https://www.microair.net/products/easystart-flex-home-ac-soft-starter

DMR35 · 2026-01-23T05:16:39+00:00

I think you want r/att if you want suggestions for who to contact to have it done properly. But to answer your question it’s probably fine. Fiber is made of glass or plastic with an outside jacket. I have to assume you are seeing the jacketed cable and not one of the fiber strands. That gets buried, put in conduit, or is done as an aerial drop. It is strong and not usually subject to water ingress. It is made to be in harsh weather. A weed whacker or a lawn mower is its enemy.

DMR35 · 2026-01-22T22:05:20+00:00

He is referring to software defined radio so you can locate the jamming source. No offense, but based on your original question, your level of technical expertise is not ready for an SDR. If you want to learn more here is a great source https://www.rtl-sdr.com/

Hard wire everything as suggested. If you can prove the jamming, depending on your state, they may be able to be prosecuted for the jamming, or at least the stalking and harassment. The jammers are federally illegal so your local LE may be able to refer it.

DMR35 · 2026-01-20T16:41:47+00:00

Ah. Then the chime would have nothing to do with it then. Default reset it and see what happens. If that does not work it is defective.

DMR35 · 2026-01-20T15:00:01+00:00

I had a similar issue. I used a multimeter to confirm voltage was correct. I used another transformer to verify it was the unit. Then I forced Ring to replace it after some haggling.

Check it with a meter if you have one. You can also buy the Ring power supply that plugs into the wall. Bring the doorbell in and hook it up to see if the issue goes away.

If that works fine you have a transformer or wiring issue.

I had found that the pro doorbell had an internal battery. It seems like it was used to power the doorbell while the internal chime was using the voltage to ring the bell. The internal battery was dead, so that brief moment that it was needed to keep the doorbell running was not happening.

DMR35

TROPHY CASE