25 April 2024 - Matthew Hearn
Featured in: Product information and OPTEX tech tips, Tech Tip, Intrusion detection
Infrared (IR) beams offer excellent perimeter protection, creating an invisible barrier that if crossed triggers an alarm. OPTEX IR beams come in dual or quad options, but like any IR beam, aligning them is critical to getting them working correctly. Luckily OPTEX has technology in place that safeguards the alignment and makes this set up easier for the installer.
Aligning the Smart Line Series
Long range beams can be difficult to align for one person without any tools. The SL Quad beam series provide a number of easy alignment tools to make it as easy as possible.
Auto-alignment tool
The BAU-4 OPTEX can be used to independently align top and bottom beams for each set. Make sure you choose which beams you are tuning by selecting top or bottom.
Visual aid tool
All SL models have a vivid colour and a sniper viewfinder (magnifying) lens to help with visual alignment.
After the alignment, use the viewfinder to make any necessary adjustments with the voltmeter for more accurate optical alignment. The voltmeter should be set within a range of 5 to 10 VDC.
After checking the receiving level of optical axis by using the alarm indicator, make sure to make fine alignment for both transmitter and receiver with voltmeter to achieve a monitor output level of "Excellent" or "Good".
Sound and light tool
For higher-end models, are equipped with sound signals and LED features to indicate how strong the signal is between the transmitter and receiver.
Stacked beams
OPTEX beams can be stacked, one above another, often when used in our prebuilt beam towers. Being stacked, there is always the slight possibility of the two sets “cross talking”, meaning the transmitter from one set is trying to align with the receiver of another set.
OPTEX’s IR beams are equipped with ‘beam frequency selection’, which can be utilised to avoid unwanted crosstalk that can occur when using multiple photo beams for beam stacking applications.
To select between four separate beam frequencies, use the switch provided, but ensure the receiver and transmitter facing each other are set to the same channel.
Always switch the frequencies TWO channels apart when stacking units on top of one another. See in the example below, channels 1 and 3 have been selected.
Aligning the AX Series
The AX Series feature a highly durable structure and are designed to avoid unwanted crosstalk. The ideal optical pitch design reduces false alarms due to accidental beam interruption by falling leaves, birds, and so on. These features deliver performance with higher reliability in severe outdoor environmental condition.
AX beams are equipped with a 4-step alarm indicator LED for fast and accurate optical alignment. The alignment condition is visually displayed on the LED. It shows the alignment condition by using four different processes to achieve accurate and easy alignment before fine tuning.
