Panel Config Toolkit

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Panel Config Toolkit

panel configuration tools ·
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Engineering tool — not a commissioning shortcut. Output is a data-entry head start. Every converted configuration must be reviewed in the Advanced PC software and the system fully recommissioned to BS 5839-1 before being placed in service. Cause & effect is not converted automatically and must be programmed manually.

1 Load Kentec Syncro file (.syn)

Site summary

This site has cause & effect programmed — fully decoded below. It is not converted automatically: use the C&E schedule to re-program the new panel manually, then prove every action during commissioning.

Cause & effect actions

Full cause & effect decoded from the Syncro config — click an action to see its causes and effects. Use the report as the re-programming schedule for the new panel (C&E still has to be programmed manually and verified during commissioning).

Device schedule

PanelLoopAddrType (Kentec)ZoneActionLocation textFlags

Device type mapping protocol: Hochiki (default) verify before generating

Kentec type codes found in this file, with the Advanced DeviceID each will be written as. Defaults are unverified guesses — set them from a known-good Advanced site file (open one in the Advanced PC software to read off the DeviceIDs). Saved on this device for next time.

Kentec codeInterpreted asQtyExample labelAdvanced DeviceIDI/O

2 Generate Advanced site file (.skf) experimental

In the Advanced PC software, create the new site with the correct panel types and node addresses, save it, and load that file here as the donor. The converter injects the device schedule (loops, addresses, zones, location text) into it — panel settings, network config and everything else stay exactly as the donor was saved.

Panel mapping

Syncro panelDevices→ Advanced nodeFirst loop number
Loop numbering: Advanced numbers loops site-wide via each node's first circuit designation. “First loop number” defaults to the donor node's setting — Syncro Loop 1 maps to that number, Loop 2 to the next, and so on.

3 Generate Advanced Gen 1 file (.NCF) highly experimental

For Gen 1 (MxPro 4-era) panels. Workflow: install the new panel, auto-learn the loops in the Gen 1 PC software (this creates every device record with the correct type and learned serial), save the .NCF, and load it here as the donor. The converter writes the Syncro location text (23-char Gen 1 limit) and optionally zone numbers onto matching loop/address slots. It never creates device records — devices missing from the donor are listed in the report.

Panel mapping

Syncro panelDevices→ Donor panel (.pcf)

Compare two configuration files

Load two files of the same type (.syn, .NCF or .skf) — e.g. the config before and after a change — to see exactly what differs: devices added/removed, label/zone/type changes, panel settings and C&E modifications. Everything stays on this device.

Differences

Device-level changes

DeviceDetail

⚡ Cause & Effect changes .syn

Decoded cause-and-effect actions (sounder/output logic), matched by name between the two files — what was added, removed or had its causes/effects changed.

🔋 Battery impact

Indicative standby battery requirement for each file, with the change between them — currents are estimated by device category. Refine in the Battery tab before selecting batteries.

Click Calculate to size batteries for both files.

Interrogate a configuration file

Open any .syn, .NCF or .skf for a granular breakdown — by device, zone, device type, panel and loop — with colour-coded types, branded PDF export (choose the sections, preview first) and colour-coded Excel sized for A4.

Engineering tool — not a commissioning shortcut. Generated files are a data-entry head start. Open every output in the Advanced PC software, verify it, and recommission to BS 5839-1 before use.

1 Load source configuration (.syn)

Drop the existing Kentec Syncro file. Its panels, devices, zones and cause & effect are read in so you can edit the site details and generate a new file.

2 Site & panel details editable

Pulled from the source file — edit anything before generating. Each panel can be renamed, set to Apollo or Hochiki, and given its first loop number.

Source panelDevicesOutput panel name ?Protocol ?First loop ?Include ?

2b Device type mapping ? check interfaces

Every device type in the source is listed here so nothing is missed. Correct any mapping before generating — especially interfaces, sounders and relays.

Kentec codeInterpreted asQtyExample

3 Output file

Writes Kentec actions as Advanced output groups. .skf only.
working…

What this app does

It reads, explains, compares and rebuilds fire-alarm panel configuration files — all in your browser. Nothing you open is uploaded; the files stay on your device. Your settings and last work sync privately to your account.

Two panel families: Kentec Syncro (older panels being replaced) and Advanced (the new panels, in two generations). The app helps you move a site over, document it, and produce a station FastTrack.

Which tab do I use?

What do you wantto do? 🔍 Interrogatejust look inside a file ⚖️ Comparespot changes between 2 🔄 Convert / 🏗️ Buildmake a new panel file 🚦 FastTrackstation device-finder ⚙️ Settingsbranding/users Convert = drop a donorBuild = edit details first

The tabs

📖 Guide
This page.
🔄 Convert
Drop a Kentec .syn + a donor Advanced file; injects the device schedule into it.
⚖️ Compare
Two files of the same type → what changed (devices, settings, cause & effect).
🔍 Interrogate
Open any file; explore by zone / type / panel / loop with colour-coded icons. Export PDF or Excel.
🏗️ Build
Make a new file with editable site/panel details — from scratch or a donor — with optional cause & effect.
🚦 FastTrack
A station device-finder: devices by location (SID order), by loop, and a zone list. Themed PDF / Excel.
⚙️ Settings
Branding, full light/dark theme colours, PDF layout, your cloud account & (admins) user management.

The three file types, in plain terms

All three are really ZIP archives — a folder of smaller files zipped up — which is how the app opens them. What's inside differs:

🟧 Kentec .syn binary tables
  • Inside: fixed-width binary tables (klNode, klLoop, klDevice, klSubDev, klAction…).
  • Device types & cause/effect are decoded and verified against a panel printout.
  • Zone names: Kentec stores only zone numbers — no names — so on a FastTrack you type the zone descriptions in once.
  • Deleted devices/nodes are never erased, only flagged — the app filters those "ghosts" out.
🟦 Advanced Gen 1 .NCF binary + text
  • Inside: a binary .pcf per panel + a SITE index.
  • Zone names live in the SITE table and are read automatically.
  • Device types are decoded from the type byte (best-effort, confidence-rated).
  • Can't be built from scratch — each device holds a serial the panel learns — so Gen 1 needs an auto-learned donor.
🟩 Advanced Gen 2 .skf JSON tables
  • Inside: ~40 plain-text JSON tables — the friendliest format.
  • Zone names come from tblZone; device types from tblDevice (per loop protocol: Apollo or Hochiki).
  • Cause & effect is stored as output groups.
  • The app can build these most completely (from scratch or a donor).

How a conversion works

Source .synold panel read Editable modelsite, panels, protocols,loops, devices, C&E generate From scratch From a donor New file.skf / .NCF
1
Drop the source. It's decoded and shown.
2
Edit the details. Site name, each panel's name, protocol (Apollo/Hochiki), first loop — and check the device-type mapping.
3
Pick the output. .skf from a blank template or a donor; .NCF needs an auto-learned donor.
4
Generate & verify. You get the file + a report. Always open it in the panel PC software and recommission to BS 5839-1 before use.

Building a FastTrack (for a fire event)

A FastTrack lets station staff find a device fast by its SID (location code, e.g. 1/131).

Drop any config file Type zone names(prefilled where stored) Choose sections/ columns / icons PDF / Excel

Your account, branding & theme

You sign in with your own email. Admins create accounts and can assign each user a branding profile (logo + colours), which is applied automatically at sign-in. Everyone's settings and last-opened files sync privately to their account, so you pick up where you left off on any device.

In Settings you can recolour the whole app — separate light and dark palettes, every colour editable — and control the PDF report look (page size, margins, accent colour, paper theme, and a banner-style footer).

A word on safety

This is a fire-life-safety tool. Generated and converted files are drafts to review, never finished configurations. Device-type mappings and cause & effect transfer are still being verified — check every output device-by-device in the manufacturer's software before it goes near a live panel, and recommission to BS 5839-1.

FastTrack Builder

Build a station FastTrack from any config file — a simple device-finder for staff during a fire event. Devices by location (SID order), devices by loop, and a zone list. Export as a themed PDF or colour-coded Excel. Works for .syn, .NCF and .skf.

Document details

Report contents choose what to include

Sections
Columns

Zone descriptions editable ?

ZoneDescriptionDevices

Preview — devices by location

Guidance only — not a commissioning calculation. This mirrors the manufacturer battery spreadsheets, but the panel's real quiescent and alarm currents must be measured and the design verified to BS 5839-1 before batteries are selected.

Battery / standby calculator ?

Kentec Syncro

Loop deviceQtyQ mAA mA

Advanced MxPro-5

Per loop — enter the loop quiescent & alarm current from the Advanced loop calc tool (a loop-driver allowance of 42 mA is added per fitted loop):

Branding & appearance

Saved on this device and applied to the app, the PWA icon, and all PDF / printed reports.

saved

Theme & colours ?

saved

PDF report layout ?

Applies to every PDF the app exports. Reports use Helvetica and your accent colour.

saved

User management admin

Accounts for this app. Public sign-up is disabled — only accounts created here can sign in. Admins can manage users; everyone can sync settings.

EmailRoleBrandingLast sign-inActions

Branding profiles

Design a brand in the Branding & appearance card above, then save it as a named profile and assign it to users in the table. Assigned users get that branding automatically at sign-in and cannot change it themselves.

Add user

Activity log admin

Who did what, and when — sign-ins and sign-outs, files opened, conversions, builds, report exports and account changes. The trail is append-only: it cannot be edited or deleted from within the app.

WhenWhoActionDetail