Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Communicating between Homeseer and Vista 20P alarm

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Communicating between Homeseer and Vista 20P alarm

    My house alarm is an Ademco Vista 20P which, as far as I know, does not have an RS-232 port available. I am thinking of getting Homeseer and would like for the Vista to tell Homeseer when an alarm occurs so I can have Homeseer do various things like call me and send camera images over the internet, in addition to its normal HA functions. My plan is to have the Vista send an x-10 signal to Homeseer upon alarm. Is this a viable plan? Is there something I am overlooking that will rise up to bite me?
    Plan B would be to get a Caddyx or DSC or such that has RS-232 output, but I would obviously rather keep the system I have.

    Thanks.

    #2
    The Vista20 has limited I/O capabilities, so sending X-10 is about your only option.

    Comment


      #3
      My last house I had a vista 20P, you need a special transformer and wiring harness to attach to a psc05, I think you are limited to a single house code if memory serves me correctly
      Over The Hill
      What Hill?
      Where?
      When?
      I Don't Remember Any Hill

      Virtualized Server 2k3 Ent X86 Guest on VMWare ESXi 4.1 with 3 SunRay thin clients as access points - HSPro 2.4.0.48 - ZTroller - ACRF2 (3 WGL 800's) - iAutomate RFID - Ledam - MLHSPlugin - Ultra1wire - RainRelay8 - TI103 - Ultramon - WAF-AB8SS - jvESS (11 zones) - Bitwise Controls BC4 - with 745 Total Devices - 550 Events - 104 scripts - 78 ZWave devices - 42 X10 devices - 76 DS10a's 3 RFXSenors and 32 Motion Sensors

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by jackpod View Post
        My last house I had a vista 20P, you need a special transformer and wiring harness to attach to a psc05, I think you are limited to a single house code if memory serves me correctly
        Thanks...I got the transformer and wiring harness when I got the 20P. I was not aware of the restriction to one house code, but I suppose that will not be a problem. Apparently, you can send the usual 16 channels for that house code.

        Comment


          #5
          I believe so, it has been a couple years ago, (back in HS1.7 days).
          Over The Hill
          What Hill?
          Where?
          When?
          I Don't Remember Any Hill

          Virtualized Server 2k3 Ent X86 Guest on VMWare ESXi 4.1 with 3 SunRay thin clients as access points - HSPro 2.4.0.48 - ZTroller - ACRF2 (3 WGL 800's) - iAutomate RFID - Ledam - MLHSPlugin - Ultra1wire - RainRelay8 - TI103 - Ultramon - WAF-AB8SS - jvESS (11 zones) - Bitwise Controls BC4 - with 745 Total Devices - 550 Events - 104 scripts - 78 ZWave devices - 42 X10 devices - 76 DS10a's 3 RFXSenors and 32 Motion Sensors

          Comment


            #6
            I think its even worse than that. There are a limited number of programming slots, so I don't think you can even use all 16 codes.

            Comment


              #7
              Trying to pull up this grey matter, the issue is the number of useable ACL I think it was called. I would have to see the manual (or maybe I don't) because from what I remember I had to get really creative but I did get it to work
              Over The Hill
              What Hill?
              Where?
              When?
              I Don't Remember Any Hill

              Virtualized Server 2k3 Ent X86 Guest on VMWare ESXi 4.1 with 3 SunRay thin clients as access points - HSPro 2.4.0.48 - ZTroller - ACRF2 (3 WGL 800's) - iAutomate RFID - Ledam - MLHSPlugin - Ultra1wire - RainRelay8 - TI103 - Ultramon - WAF-AB8SS - jvESS (11 zones) - Bitwise Controls BC4 - with 745 Total Devices - 550 Events - 104 scripts - 78 ZWave devices - 42 X10 devices - 76 DS10a's 3 RFXSenors and 32 Motion Sensors

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by anogee View Post
                I think its even worse than that. There are a limited number of programming slots, so I don't think you can even use all 16 codes.
                I just found the x-10 programming manual online and it indicates 16 output channels and that you can specify both house code and channel for each one. For present purposes this is overkill as I simply want Homeseer to be notified when the alarm goes off although I will eventually want to know which zone was faulted. I have only a few zones.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Well, not so fast. First of all, yes, it can use any house code, but only 1, so you can't turn on both a lamp at A1 and a lamp at B1. You get one and only one house code. This is set using *27.

                  Second, while its true you can use 16 outputs, remember these are shared with relays, so you only get 16 - how many relay outputs you use.

                  Third, keep in mind that most control requires TWO outputs to do what you want. If you want to turn On lamp A1 when zone 1 goes not ready, that's one output. If you also want to turn Off lamp A1 when zone 1 goes secure, that's another output. Believe me, they go fast.

                  I, myself, never had great luck with the 4300. It would work for several days, then suddenly just stop. I'd have to cycle power to get it working again for a few more days.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by anogee View Post
                    Well, not so fast. First of all, yes, it can use any house code, but only 1, so you can't turn on both a lamp at A1 and a lamp at B1. You get one and only one house code. This is set using *27.

                    Second, while its true you can use 16 outputs, remember these are shared with relays, so you only get 16 - how many relay outputs you use.

                    Third, keep in mind that most control requires TWO outputs to do what you want. If you want to turn On lamp A1 when zone 1 goes not ready, that's one output. If you also want to turn Off lamp A1 when zone 1 goes secure, that's another output. Believe me, they go fast.

                    I, myself, never had great luck with the 4300. It would work for several days, then suddenly just stop. I'd have to cycle power to get it working again for a few more days.
                    Yes...but...I plan to use HS for automation, so the 20P merely has to tell HS that the alarm has sounded. I'll let HS handle the lights and all when the alarm sounds. So number of outputs is of no concern.
                    Of greater concern is your experience with the 4300. I know that Ademco has now gone to the 1361, maybe because of problems with the 4300. I have the 4300 and will try it. If there is a problem, I will change to the 1361. I would have absolutely no patience with having to recycle the power.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      I'm not familiar with the 1361. I'm assuming they might have discontinued the 4300? I actually had the problem that I described with two different 4300's. Bought one, it had this problem so I bought a second one, same problem.

                      One other "fun" thing you will discover with the 4300. It sends out codes multiple times, at least mine did. For example, if you send an A1 on, in X-10 this is two commands, an "A1" then an "A-On." The Ademco panel will send it as "A1" "A1" "A1" "A-On" "A-On" "A-On" Works fine when you are controlling a vintage 1985 X-10 module. Not so fine when you are controlling HS. It gets even more "fun" when you attempt to send multiple X-10 codes at once. for example, turning on both A-1 and A-3.

                      You will see... :-)

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Thanks for the heads-up, anogee.
                        Sorry you had such a bad experience.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          I'm following this thread with interest, in that I have and Ademco Vista 20 (cheap builder version).

                          I was not able to follow how the discussion got from the Vista to something called the 4300. What is that?

                          Can someone clue me in please?

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Its not a big deal. I didn't even know the Ademco had that capability when I bought it. Considering when they were designed and how much they cost, you can't expect a whole lot.

                            The 4300 is power transformer that also contains an X-10 trasmitter in it. You have to replace your power transformer, as well as add some wiring, and you get X-10 support on your panel. What you can do with it, is rather limited, however. It can only transmit X-10, not receive it, and you are limited to one house code.

                            The Vista 20 is not an automation controller, its an alarm with some X-10 support when you add a 4300.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              I forget exactly what I did but ended up not using the additional taps on the transformer and used a psco5 or something, let me dig, I might still have some notes
                              Over The Hill
                              What Hill?
                              Where?
                              When?
                              I Don't Remember Any Hill

                              Virtualized Server 2k3 Ent X86 Guest on VMWare ESXi 4.1 with 3 SunRay thin clients as access points - HSPro 2.4.0.48 - ZTroller - ACRF2 (3 WGL 800's) - iAutomate RFID - Ledam - MLHSPlugin - Ultra1wire - RainRelay8 - TI103 - Ultramon - WAF-AB8SS - jvESS (11 zones) - Bitwise Controls BC4 - with 745 Total Devices - 550 Events - 104 scripts - 78 ZWave devices - 42 X10 devices - 76 DS10a's 3 RFXSenors and 32 Motion Sensors

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X