Replacing Residential Alarm System

[rharman]

Our alarm system is almost 25 years old and due for retirement.

We can reuse our existing wired peripherals so a wired system is OK - no need for fully wireless although wireless add-ons would be nice to accommodate.

Has anyone replaced their alarm system themselves and done the programming? I may consider that route instead of the huge install costs from a big vendor.

Also interested in feedback on the newer wireless systems if any.

Thanks!

 

[Tmart86]

Ive had good luck with dsc and elk for wired systems. My go to wireless system was a 2gig go control when I installed alarms.

 

[Lamakocklee]

Hi rharman,

I haven't done the entire programming but I have limited experience with the GE concord 4 system. It is a pretty neat system that allows zoning. It also has the optional cellular module that can connect to alarm.com. That part is cool so you can use your phone to arm or disarm the system and see what sensors are active.

I'm not sure if you were to program it yourself, how to go about getting that provisioned with alarm.com as I had it installed. That part was free as long as I purchased the system and signed a contract to have it monitored.

As a bonus, you get a discount on your homeowners insurance for having a monitored alarm system. As usual, YMMV

 

[rharman]

Yeah, we have a monitored system now. One feature I definitely want is 2-way communication so we can arm/disarm remotely. Cellular backup would be a good option too.

Right now, we just have landline but I still feel more comfortable with landline as the primary although I think that would inhibit my 2-way communication checkbox - likely have to go IP for that.

I'll take a look at alarm.com. I was curious how the monitoring stations feel about taking on a pre-installed system. I *assume* the communications protocol and data packets must be standardized. One more thing to research.

 

[penright]

Also interested in feedback on the newer wireless systems if any.Thanks!

I have a discussion at https://www.doityourself.com/forum/electronic-home-security-systems-alarms-devices/592089-right-mix-hardwire-vs-wireless.html along the same lines. Mine is a new alarm, some places I can pull wire and some I can not. I am looking at Vista 20p. They make a keypad that is wired, but has wireless radio, so it becomes you wireless bridge.

Also that forum has some nice people who helps out the DYI. You might do some research on it for you alarm.

Why go with cell backup? If you have the signal just use cell. For years we kept our land line just for the alarm. Once cell technology and prices came down, we went to cell and dropped the landline completely.

One other note, make sure who you are going to ask to monitor the system, that they will accept a DYI.

 

[Dirtydan69]

Alarm Relay. 8.95 a month

 

[Lamakocklee]

Mine is a new alarm, some places I can pull wire and some I can not. I am looking at Vista 20p. They make a keypad that is wired, but has wireless radio, so it becomes you wireless bridge..

Hmm. that Vista20p looks pretty neat. I wonder if it is similar to the GE concord 4 system. Wired keypad with a wireless radio option. One thing that the concord 4 system has is partitioning like I mentioned before. It allows a detached building/shop to have its own alarm system. But in reality, it is only 1 system and you only pay 1 monitoring fee.

The neat thing about the concord system is that you can buy sensors off of amazon or ebay and program them in all wireless of course. I'm not familiar with the wired capability.

 

[rharman]

The Vista 20P looks like a newer version of what I have - originally from Honeywell-Ademco.

Not sure if I want to piece one together. Still pondering and appreciate all the info.

Penright... Yeah, getting someone to agree to monitor it is a concern.

 

[pgray007]

If you want to add some automation capabilities and other nifty tricks, consider an HAI or Elk panel. I’ve used both and they have their nuances but are both decent and can control lights, thermos, etc.

You’ll be partying like it’s 1997 either serial interfaces and clunky supporting apps, but you get a UL listed alarm panel versus the new Nest-style stuff that’s subject to going down when they push a bad update and whatnot.

Do note that except in some rare cases, when you replace the panel you’ll also need to replace he keypads.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jeffmoss26]

Honeywell Vista panels are pretty much industry standard.

 

[Bigbandguy]

I have a Vista 20p which was a legacy from an old ADT installation that was in the house when we bought it. The power supply and mother board were fried from a lightning strike but all the battery powered window/door/smoke sensors were still in place.

I bought a new PS and mother board off the 'bay along with enough batteries to replace all the sensor batteries and once powered up, had a local company come in to program the system and arrange for monitoring (20 bucks a month and very reliable) It is possible to program a Vista setup yourself from the large keypad but it isn't easy. The local company had it going in an hour and had the ties to the inexpensive monitoring folks. Works great and has for 10 years .

 

[Killer95Stang]

I installed my own DSC 1832 system with wireless radio keypad. This allowed me to used wired sensors / contacts where possible, but also wireless sensors / contacts where it wasn't feasible. I also added the Envisalink ($99) card which allows for self monitoring via phone / computer app or UL listed monitoring through a central station. I pay about $8.50 per month for monitoring.

With new self installed system in my 1961 house, including wired, smokes, heat detectors, wireless contacts, keyfob remotes, Envisalink add-on card, and all the extra components, I have about $800.00 invested. I used diagrams, tutorials and videos from the site I purchased my equipment from for install tips and programming. Everything else I had questions about I found on Youtube.

I think you should have an easier time and a lot less expense, since you are basically just changing out panel, but leaving all your wiring and contacts intact.

Good Luck..

 

[Mongo68]

Vista 20p with Envisalink.

 

[LifeLongWNYer]

Consider the shortcomings of cellular phone service when thinking of using it to transmit alarms. In emergencies, the amount of cellular usage skyrockets, and the service slows down or becomes so jammed that it is difficult to get a dial tone.

This situation could be prompted by a weather emergency, or a "human caused" one, in which everyone with a cel phone is calling their loved ones to ask "are you okay" or "I am okay".

If you have an "event" in your residence and the alarm panel get a dial time and therefore can't reach the central station, in a timely manner, dispatch for your alarm will be delayed.

A cellular communicator is okay for a backup, in case your primary means of communication fails, but I would not trust it for a primary call out. POTS is still the most reliable, all thing considered.



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[woodzy]

I'm on the Vista 20P also. I currently have a Vista 10SE in an outbuilding and I have now ran a cable between the house / outbuilding and in the next week or so, I will add a 4219 zone expander out there to control all those contacts and disconnect the 10SE. With the 20P you have two partitions which acts like two different alarms and you can set or disarm either one at either location. I can leave the outbuilding on and just disarm / arm the house. I have done all the programming and this partition work is a little tough.

There are tons of wireless / wired devices for these but I really like the wire over the wireless as I'm sure over the long haul they will be better. I added the wireless as there was one door in the house I forgot to run the wire and the only way to make it was the wireless without a lot of hassle.

The old Vista 10SE has been up and running almost 20 years and never had any issue with it.

 

[penright]

I'm on the Vista 20P also. I currently have a Vista 10SE in an outbuilding and I have now ran a cable between the house / outbuilding and in the next week or so, I will add a 4219 zone expander out there to control all those contacts and disconnect the 10SE. With the 20P you have two partitions which acts like two different alarms and you can set or disarm either one at either location. I can leave the outbuilding on and just disarm / arm the house. I have done all the programming and this partition work is a little tough.

There are tons of wireless / wired devices for these but I really like the wire over the wireless as I'm sure over the long haul they will be better. I added the wireless as there was one door in the house I forgot to run the wire and the only way to make it was the wireless without a lot of hassle.

@woodzy, I am in the same situation. I am marking this post, I may need to pick your brain. Looking at Vista 20p, expander, wireless keypad/bridge. The thread started as cameras and morphed into alarms. The post starts at https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7149470&postcount=1.

None of the house was wired. Some sensor I can get to and the shop will be no big deal. My challenge and why I will need some wireless sensors starts at post #8,https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7149761&postcount=8 Little later in the thread is better pictures of the challenge.

In emergencies, the amount of cellular usage skyrockets, and the service slows down or becomes so jammed that it is difficult to get a dial tone.
This situation could be prompted by a weather emergency, or a "human caused" one, in which everyone with a cel phone is calling their loved ones to ask "are you okay" or "I am okay".

Good points. In Oklahoma, the emergency usually involves the house being opened by a strong wind. Jammed circuits happen because cells are down and checking on "love ones" is true, but then only security is physical observations.

A cellular communicator is okay for a backup, in case your primary means of communication fails, but I would not trust it for a primary call out. POTS is still the most reliable, all thing considered.

I did qualify the cell signal first. You are correct cell is a back up to someone cutting the POTS. For me, I had to ask why did I have a landline. The only calls my wife and I received was from telemarketers. For us and it may not be for everyone, the risk of cell was worth losing the cost of the landline. Again, it may not be for everyone. If you have the landline for another reason then why not. Our new house does not have a landline to it. We could get one, just don't want one since our cells do all we need. Just thinking out loud and thanks again for bring up good points. I am just a DIY'er and not a security expert.

 

[LifeLongWNYer]

PenRight, you did your homework, good deal. A landline isn't for everyone, and having one only for an alarm system is tough to justify for some. If you get your TV and/or internet from a telephone company, you can get a POTS for free. BUT a dial tone from a cable company is NOT POTS. To check on what you have, go down cellar, find where the phone line comes in, and hook a plain, everyday, telephone to the incoming leads. If you have a dial tone, you are golden.

Also, to those programming an alarm system using the keypad, with a limited number of buttons and sketchy display.... Once you have all your programming, meaning the zones, sensors, users, etc. laid out on paper, call your central station provider and ask how much for them to sent a tech out with the programming software on his laptop. Many of them will make it reasonable because they won't have to deal with false trips, and inappropriate trouble alarms, if the panel is programmed correctly.



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[woodzy]

I can tell you programing this Vista 20P is time consuming. If I had a dime for every time I enter this I would be rich

4112800*56*******N*00**99... I may have missed a few *'s

Now I have found out how to do partitions, changing user codes so they have access to either or both partitions, how to put a garage door into the chain so you can see the ready light not on but you can arm the alarm with those garage doors open. I like the idea of the garage doors being monitored by the alarm - so at night if the green ready light is not lit, you know you left one of the garage doors open. Many of nights, I woke up and the garage door was open all night long.

Have my septic grinder monitored with a float in the event it quits working and alerts me before I have some disaster. Will put a plunger sensor in the dead bolt area of the shop to make sure I have that locked before I set the alarm. Plenty of things you can monitor with an alarm once you understand how to program them.

 

[rharman]

Well, I made a decision and have a Vista 20P on order with an expander board for 8 more zones, IP & cell communications. Ordered a regular keypad (6160) and a second one (6160RF) with RF capability (but still hardwired to the panel) so I can add wireless sensors down the road. Oh yeah, 2 new smokes since mine are 7 years old.

Now, I have to wade through the programming stuff. I've seen a couple of monitoring companies that offer remote programming so I'm wondering if there is some interface over IP to do that or what. If I could access that, I wonder if it's more intuitive than the keypad method.

 

[LifeLongWNYer]

Remember, there are sensors for other purposes which are useful if you have open zones for them.

You can put a water sensor above your sump pump, to let you know if the pump quits and the water is getting high, OR for the "snow birds" out there, low temperature sensors are available to monitor for a furnace failure.

All you do is program the zone for whatever type of sensor it is, and in your instructions to the central station ( you DID give them the alarm action plan in writing, didn't you? ) you say that if the high water, or low heat, sensor trips, they call you. ( ..or your neighbor, or your son, or whomever you wish )

I have a Knox Box, and one zone is to detect someone messing with that. ( ...or opening it with the key )

Every alarm in the panel doesn't HAVE to be an emergency zone.



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[Bigbandguy]

I am pretty sure some of the security companies have software that will program a 20P from a laptop. I don't know any details but have read that somewhere. What I did was find a security company that tied to a 20 buck per month monitoring service. Then I got the alarm completely set up and powered. I called the company, told them I wanted to subscribe with them and that I had a Vista 20P system in place that needed programming. They agreed to set it up for a service call which was quite reasonable without any equipment installation or hardware sale. As I mentioned, they had it done in an hour and it sure was easier than me trying to do it. Even with instructions those things are a bear to program.

In my opinion it was worth the money to have them do it. The system has performed flawlessly ever since and the monitoring is excellent.

 

[rharman]

Yeah, the software (Compass) is only available to dealers and installers.

I'm signing up with AlarmGrid and they include tech support and programming with the monitoring package. Have an appt tomorrow morning for the remote initial setup. They've been great with support answering some questions I had even before signing up.

I haven't run Cat-5 yet to the panel (hate going under the house!) but have it connected via wireless bridge in the meantime to my network for primary comm and will use GSM for secondary. I'm going to ask about landline for a third option as the run is already there from/to the phone demarc. Just have to finish tying together the new 2-wire smokes and my heat sensor and I should be good-to-go.