Wallace Perimeter Security ALPHA - Photo Eye Mounting and Alignment

Alpha/Delta (Kinetic Operator) Installation and Maintenance Manual Revision 1 - MAY 2023
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PHOTO EYE MOUNTING AND ALIGNMENT
Photo Eye Mounng and Alignment
Alignment:
Most photo eyes require careful opcal alignment in order to aim the emier beam to the center of
the receiver or reector. In order to avoid false triggering, it is important to carefully align the system,
especially with retro reecve photo eyes. The best way to assure true centering of the beam is with some
trial tesng where the emier is shied to move the beam le and right and up and down unl the range
of the invisible cone of the infrared beam is known. Photo eyes usually provide alignment aid LED’s for
this setup, but they can be hard to see. HySecurity has provided a unique feature that turns power on to
the photo eyes and causes the buzzer to chirp when the photo eyes enter and exit alignment. See “Table
5. SmartDC Controller - User Menu Funcons” on page 94 to enable this feature. Set the menu item
PE - PHOTO EYE ALIGN from a 0 to a 1. The buzzer chirps once when the emier and photo eye receiver
are not aligned. When the emier and receiver are aligned, the buzzer chirps twice. If they go out of
alignment again, the buzzer will chirp once. This “alignment mode” will automacally reset to 0 the next
me the Close Limit Switch is triggered or the RESET key is pressed.
Notes about retro-reecve systems:
Correct installaon and alignment of a retro-reecve photo eye and its reector is important for trouble-
free performance. Any system operang at a range greater than 16 feet (4.88m) is more prone to false
triggering due to dirty opcs, condensaon, or poor weather. If care is taken in the inial mounng and
alignment of the 3-inch (7.62cm) reector, the chance of problems is greatly reduced. Use only through-
beam photo eyes for a distance greater than 24 feet (7.32m) because the funcon of a retro-reecve
photo eye will be too unreliable.
Taking steps to protect the photo eye and the reector from being exposed to fog and being absolutely
certain the photo eye is perfectly aligned will greatly reduce any false triggering of the system. The ideal
mounng of a retro-reecve photo eye is inside an enclosure.
The ideal reector mounng suspends it inside a 12-inch (30.48cm) long piece of 3-inch PVC conduit. Cut
the opening of the PVC conduit at a 45-degree angle to act as a drip shield. Hold the reector against the
backside of the PVC conduit by aaching a 3-inch male connector. Do not cement the connector. This
would prevent the reector from being reached for future cleaning. To create a mounng base, aach a
3-inch aluminum ange (electric meter hub) to the connector. This whole package can be mounted to any
at surface.
Locate the reector in the center of the invisible beam of infrared light to achieve the most sensive
alignment. The beam center is determined by the following test: while holding the reector in your hand,
slowly raise it unl the beam is no longer returned and the photo eye trips. Mark this maximum height.
Now lower your hand and determine the lower limit of the infrared beam by watching for the trip point.
Mark this posion as well. Repeat the same procedure for le and right at the center elevaon of the
beam, as determined by the previous test. Once the four limits have been determined, either mount the
reector in the center of the area outlined or realign the eye for the posion of the reector. If the photo
eye is realigned, be sure to perform the centering test again to verify that the reector is truly in the center.