DSC plugin release version 2.0.0.14

[sparkman]

Originally Posted by Pandar

Anybody have a guess? It seems like a nice panel. I'd also like to have an idea whether I can talk to it without having to buy one first.

My guess is that it doesn't. It's intended as a combo HA and security panel. You may be able to use it as a secondary zwave controller, but I doubt that the security portion would integrate. Of course, the only way to know for sure is for someone to try it.

Cheers
Al

[The Profit]

Originally Posted by spud

I believe some users are using a serial to IP converter like the Global Cache one.

Alternatively, you could use the EnvisaLink board instead of the IT-100, which is IP based. In this case you would need the EnvisaLink DSC plugin

Does the EnvisaLink communicate directly with the hometroller like the IT-100 does or does the EnvisaLink send it out to a website and the hometroller gets it's updates from the website?
Just wondering if the IT-100 would be more secure in case of an issue where my internet goes down and events stop triggering.

[spud]

Originally Posted by The Profit

Does the EnvisaLink communicate directly with the hometroller like the IT-100 does or does the EnvisaLink send it out to a website and the hometroller gets it's updates from the website?
Just wondering if the IT-100 would be more secure in case of an issue where my internet goes down and events stop triggering.

the envisalink API is all local, no cloud connectivity needed, so it is like the IT-100 except that it uses a TCP connection rather than serial.

[The Profit]

Originally Posted by spud

the envisalink API is all local, no cloud connectivity needed, so it is like the IT-100 except that it uses a TCP connection rather than serial.

Great! Is your plugin comparable with EVL-4?


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[spud]

Originally Posted by The Profit

Great! Is your plugin comparable with EVL-4?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

yes the EnvisaLink plugin is compatible with EVL-4

[The Profit]

Hello,
I am thinking about which of the two communication boards to buy and have read a few posts about both. They both seem to have very similar features aside from either a IP or serial interface. I noticed that the Envisalink does not have the ability to indicate if a zone has been bypassed or not, does anyone know if the IT-100 has the ability to? I looked at the User Guide for HS DSC plugin and it seems to have the bypass control for the device but I thought I would check with those of you who are using the IT-100.

Ultimately, in HSTouch I'm wanting to click buttons for the zones that I want to bypass and then arm the system. My thinking is that when we have guests, we will want to bypass windows in the guest room in case they open them in the middle of the night or bypass motion sensors. I read there are ways to automatically bypass open zones but in the example above, they may not already be open.

Maybe setting a virtual device per zone that is bypassed when the alarm is set and then resetting them when it is disarmed??? Has anyone found a work around?
Thanks for any help you can provide!

[RJS]

Originally Posted by The Profit

Hello,
I noticed that the Envisalink does not have the ability to indicate if a zone has been bypassed or not, does anyone know if the IT-100 has the ability to? I looked at the User Guide for HS DSC plugin and it seems to have the bypass control for the device but I thought I would check with those of you who are using the IT-100.

Yes I verified that the Homeseer DSC plugin will bypass a zone and give the proper status.

- Robert

[Mack1979]

I'd check with spud. You can bypass a zone from homeseer with envisalink. My two penn'orth - the envisalink plugin has more features, is better supported and works reliably. The evl-4 just needs a network connection so you don't need an extremely long serial cable with the potential communications problems. I upgraded from the it100 and tried both alongside for about a week and the evl4 with spud's plugin is head and shoulders above.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[The Profit]

Originally Posted by Mack1979

I'd check with spud. You can bypass a zone from homeseer with envisalink. My two penn'orth - the envisalink plugin has more features, is better supported and works reliably. The evl-4 just needs a network connection so you don't need an extremely long serial cable with the potential communications problems. I upgraded from the it100 and tried both alongside for about a week and the evl4 with spud's plugin is head and shoulders above.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Thank you Mack, I have talked with Spud a little bit. According to him, the Envisalink can pretty much do everything the IT100 can, except show if a zone has been bypassed. I don't mean bypass a zone, just to show the status of the zone as "bypassed".

My goal is, when we have guests in our house, we always feel like we don't want to set the alarm because it's such a pain on the keypad to bypass each zone that a guest might accidentally trip. It would be great to show them on a wall tablet, which zones have been bypassed so they can open their guest bedroom window without tripping the alarm.

My original thought was to get the Envisalink for the reasons you stated in your post. I still haven't purchased the IT100 and would be interested in hearing what you like better about the Envisalink over the IT100...what features does it have that aren't available in the IT100? Which plugin did you use with the IT-100?

I purchased Spuds Ecobee & Easy Trigger plugin, so I know how much effort he puts in to make a great product and is very well supported. In researching some of the posts from his Envisalink plugin I could tell he tried really hard to figure out a way to get the bypassed status to show, but due to a limitation of some sort, was just not able to.

Thank you for any help you can provide in making this decision!


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[Mack1979]

Yes. It's always fun trying not to freak out guests with setting alarms off! I've found if people start opening windows at night or going out the front door and they're not used to an alarm, knowing the alarm is even set, let alone which zones are bypassed is too much. Best to bypass zones they might use and a sticky note on the door!

I used the homeseer DSC plugin. This got updated a year or so ago and stopped working reliably for months which pushed a LOT of people into alternative solutions. I already had run alarm cable to my study for the key bus, avoiding long serial cables (30m+ to get to my alarm panel) but spud's plugin worked reliably from day 1. It has some neat triggers and can do things like trigger a fire alarm in the panel so my non-dsc smoke detectors (nest) can trigger the full alarm including the message to the monitoring service which the DSC one can't. It can also sync the alarm time. I find the panel battery starts struggling after 2-3 years and the alarm time going out is the first indicator of this. I now sync time hourly (daily turned out not to be enough as we're having electrical work done so power has been out a bit).
The plugin and board combined have been rock solid but the convenience and removing the serial cable reliance has meant I can move to a smaller, simpler PC as my movie storage has gone off to a NAS. I have network TV tuners, network z wave controller so network alarm adaptor seems logical.

Hope that helps and you find a solution for the bypass thing. I'm afraid that's not something I'd ever tried and rarely bypass a zone so can't help you with.

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[spud]

Originally Posted by The Profit

Thank you Mack, I have talked with Spud a little bit. According to him, the Envisalink can pretty much do everything the IT100 can, except show if a zone has been bypassed. I don't mean bypass a zone, just to show the status of the zone as "bypassed".

My goal is, when we have guests in our house, we always feel like we don't want to set the alarm because it's such a pain on the keypad to bypass each zone that a guest might accidentally trip. It would be great to show them on a wall tablet, which zones have been bypassed so they can open their guest bedroom window without tripping the alarm.

My original thought was to get the Envisalink for the reasons you stated in your post. I still haven't purchased the IT100 and would be interested in hearing what you like better about the Envisalink over the IT100...what features does it have that aren't available in the IT100? Which plugin did you use with the IT-100?

I purchased Spuds Ecobee & Easy Trigger plugin, so I know how much effort he puts in to make a great product and is very well supported. In researching some of the posts from his Envisalink plugin I could tell he tried really hard to figure out a way to get the bypassed status to show, but due to a limitation of some sort, was just not able to.

Thank you for any help you can provide in making this decision!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I just checked the latest docs and it looks like the possibility to get Bypass status of zones has been recently added to the API.
So, I will test it and implement it in the plugin.

Regarding the implementation I envision to add 2 new additional status for a zone device: "Closed and Bypassed" and "Opened and Bypassed", but I'm not 100% satisfied with this solution as it would ask existing users to update their events that check zone status
i.e

IF zone becomes "Opened" THEN

would need to be replaced by

IF zone becomes "Opened" OR IF zone becomes "Opened and Bypassed" THEN

the alternative would be to not add new zone statuses and only show the bypass status as a string status. Additionally I could add some specific triggers/conditions to know if a zone has been bypassed.

ideas?

[The Profit]

Originally Posted by spud

I just checked the latest docs and it looks like the possibility to get Bypass status of zones has been recently added to the API.
So, I will test it and implement it in the plugin.

Regarding the implementation I envision to add 2 new additional status for a zone device: "Closed and Bypassed" and "Opened and Bypassed", but I'm not 100% satisfied with this solution as it would ask existing users to update their events that check zone status
i.e

IF zone becomes "Opened" THEN

would need to be replaced by

IF zone becomes "Opened" OR IF zone becomes "Opened and Bypassed" THEN

the alternative would be to not add new zone statuses and only show the bypass status as a string status. Additionally I could add some specific triggers/conditions to know if a zone has been bypassed.

ideas?

Hey Spud! That is great news!! That makes my decision easy!

My opinion on the implementation would be not to affect existing users either, it would be important to get their feedback on this topic as well in case they do or don't mind making those changes with the new added benefit of the feature.

However, if their event is already evaluating on an "Opened" or "Closed" status, you aren't removing those status options so their events should still work accordingly, correct? You are just adding two additional status options for triggers or conditions. Not having used the plugin yet, I'm at a bit of a disadvantage...just want to put in my two cents.

Ordering the EVL-4 now!
Thank you Spud for checking into this further!


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[brientim]

Spud there are probably two distinct logics that need to be considered WRT the implementation of Bypass zones and reporting.

1. Bypass implies the security reporting as part of the alarm state.

2. Bypassed zones can still be effectively used for HA triggering.

The open/close state if effectively reporting the sensor state and with the simple use case for automation event, this could be a very different scenario to triggering the alarm.

That being the case,
1. the only state of the zone should be opened/closed.
2. Zone Alarm state is active or bypassed.

The above is exactly how this is reported in the panel and hence the distinction in the API. The second part to reporting is therefore, providing the capability for the user to change from active/bypass which is also available in the API.

[spud]

I have implemented optional new "zone bypassed" devices in version 3.0.0.32 of the EnvisaLink plugin see here: https://forums.homeseer.com/showthre...06#post1294406

Note that for this feature to work with an EnvisaLink3 board you need firmware 1.12.182 or later, which I don't think has been released yet.

[mrwebguy]

I have an IT-100 board that I got from Homeseer and I have the installer password to my DSC system. I have a couple questions if anyone here has a few minutes.

1. Does anyone have a reliable parts list including known working cables and and/or any dongles needed?
2. Do I need anything else besides the board, cables/adapters and installer code?
3. Are there any steps anywhere on how to add the controller to the existing alarm system?
4. Any tips or pitfalls anyone has run into with installation?
5. Which is the best plugin for the IT-100 Board?

Thanks in advance for anything you guys can provide.

[brientim]

Installation is very simple and it is wired directly to the keybus in the same way as any keypad expect you can install a ferrite.

If your unsure about which plugin to use, start with HSC and then try the others.

No real pitfalls.

http://tinymicros.com/mediawiki/imag...ion_Manual.pdf

[mrwebguy]

Gotcha. I've installed a few ferrite filters in my lifetime.

So from what you attached... just kill the AC power, kill disconnect the battery, make the connection and plug everything back in. The disconnection shouldn't dump the config that's in there, right?

No programming needed at the keypad to make it active? Nice. Sounds like making the serial port passthrough to the Hyper-V VM into the guest OS is going to be the hardest part. hah!

[brientim]

Correct.

[bankingdom]

Hi guys,

I have the IT-100 with serial cable and homeseer DSC plugin.

Everything is set up great, I am able to see all my zones and I am able to ARM my system, but I am unable to DISARM. Nothing works. I double checked my 4 digit code multiple times.

Any help or suggestions?

I have HS3. Thank so much!

[RJS]

Originally Posted by bankingdom

Everything is set up great, I am able to see all my zones and I am able to ARM my system, but I am unable to DISARM. Nothing works. I double checked my 4 digit code multiple times. !

How are you trying to disarm the partition? Using an event, or a script?
A method that works in a an event is to use the action "DSC Security: Send Command Code", Command to Send "Disarm Partition".
I assume you are using the HS DSC Plugin version 3.0.0.56.

- Robert