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rocknrolla | February 04, 2009 03:41 AM | in Consumer Electronics

Is this a monitoring device?

What is this thing? (pictured)
It's stuck to the wall in my dorm, near the fire alarm.
I'm worried it's some sort of monitoring device.
Anyone have an idea what it could be?

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BEST ANSWER chosen by asker | aleghart | February 04, 2009 04:54 AM

Yes. This appears to be a monitoring device. Most likely an ROR sensor. Don't tamper with it or "test" it as others have unwisely suggested. You will be financially (and possibly criminally) liable for damages and any activities resulting from tampering with the building's life/safety system.

An ROR sensor monitors temperature rate-of-rise. It works in conjunction to the smoke sensor. If the room temperature rises quickly, the life/safety system will alert. Some fires can burn without releasing enough particulate matter to trip the sensors in a traditional smoke detector.

If in doubt, talk to your floor representative, who can verify with facility management or your safety/security group.

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emmett117 | February 04, 2009 03:47 AM

i don't believe it is, although it could be a microphone of some kind. It is too small to be anything else really, at least of what Iv seen. My recommendation would be to find a cheap metal detector and see if it goes off by it. if it does look into it more throughly.

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pazaq | February 04, 2009 03:56 AM

I'm reasonably sure this is just the strobe light for your fire system; however, I can't find an exact example that looks like this one.

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rocknrolla | February 04, 2009 04:06 AM

i dont know about a light. its definitely opaque, white, and kind of hollow sounding. the first thing i was thinking was a carbon monoxide device, but i couldnt find any that looked like it...

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drmatt | February 04, 2009 04:32 AM

Dang... your wall has a ZIT! Ahh... my college days all over again!

I know.. NOT a good answer.... but, at least, funny?

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albanian | February 04, 2009 02:41 PM

This looks to me like a Romulan Ionization Detector. They use them to monitor Human universities for evidence of accelerated thought processing which could prove dangerous to them in the long run. Try to relax and don't think too much.