CAT CAT Burglar Alarm Components & Detection 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary advantage of a supervised alarm loop over an unsupervised loop?
- Lower installation cost and fewer components
- Detects tampering, wire cuts, and short circuits as trouble conditions (Correct answer)
- Faster alarm response time to the central station
- Compatible with a wider variety of sensor brands
Correct answer: Detects tampering, wire cuts, and short circuits as trouble conditions
Supervised loops continuously monitor the circuit so that any wire cut, short, or tampering attempt is detected and reported as a trouble condition to the panel.
Question 2: A seismic (vibration) detector is best suited for protecting which type of asset?
- Open floor plan areas and hallways
- ATMs, safes, and vaults against physical attack (Correct answer)
- Perimeter doors and windows
- Wide outdoor perimeters
Correct answer: ATMs, safes, and vaults against physical attack
Seismic detectors are designed to detect physical attack vibrations on hard assets such as ATMs, safes, and vaults, triggering an alarm when drilling or impact is detected.
Question 3: What does 'pet immunity' in a PIR motion detector mean?
- The detector is weatherproof for outdoor use
- The detector ignores heat signatures from animals below a certain weight threshold (Correct answer)
- The detector operates on battery power only
- The detector has a sealed lens to resist contamination
Correct answer: The detector ignores heat signatures from animals below a certain weight threshold
Pet-immune PIR detectors use specialized lens designs and sensitivity settings to ignore heat signatures from animals typically below 80 lbs, reducing false alarms in homes with pets.
Question 4: Which alarm zone type remains active 24 hours a day regardless of whether the system is armed or disarmed?
- Entry/exit zone
- Interior follower zone
- 24-hour zone (Correct answer)
- Perimeter zone
Correct answer: 24-hour zone
A 24-hour zone is always active regardless of the system's armed state, making it appropriate for panic buttons, smoke detectors, CO detectors, and hold-up devices.
Question 5: What is the purpose of a tamper switch on an alarm sensor or enclosure?
- Detect motion occurring near the device
- Alert the panel if the device housing is opened or the device is removed from its mount (Correct answer)
- Remotely adjust the device's detection sensitivity
- Signal a low battery condition to the panel
Correct answer: Alert the panel if the device housing is opened or the device is removed from its mount
Tamper switches trigger a tamper alarm signal when a device enclosure is opened or the device is physically removed from its mounting, indicating a possible defeat attempt.
Question 6: A photoelectric beam detector triggers an alarm by:
- Detecting a rise in ambient temperature near the beam
- Detecting an interruption of an infrared beam projected between a transmitter and receiver (Correct answer)
- Emitting ultrasonic pulses and measuring their return time
- Monitoring changes in barometric pressure across the protected area
Correct answer: Detecting an interruption of an infrared beam projected between a transmitter and receiver
Photoelectric beam detectors project an infrared beam from a transmitter to a receiver; when an intruder crosses and interrupts the beam path, an alarm is triggered.
CAT CAT Burglar Alarm Components & Detection 2
What is the primary advantage of a supervised alarm loop over an unsupervised loop?