adt security panel

[TeleFragger]

Ok so I know people had adt before and got rid of it..

my wife likes adt.. and keeping the home automation and alarm seperate = a positive waf which in return is fine with me...

now I am looking in to my alarm system some...
found my manual
http://adt.com/wps/wcm/resources/fil..._caretaker.pdf

on the first page it says 1994!!!!! I am going to see if ADT will upgrade it to something newer for free... for us to keep their system...

anyway with that aside..

my question is... (actually on hold with adt right now)

when I arm my system I get a P ALL ON for 5 minutes then P ALL OFF.....
I want to change that as I dont want that to be the case..

but in any event.. has anyone ever heard of when the alarm trips it will send a different command?
right now when our alarm tripps there is nothing in my log.. Id like the adt to trip and HS to receive something then email me.... yes I know ADT will be calling but email to my work and text message to my phone will give me a heads up....

 

[CollinR]

The reality is you can use just about any UL listed alarm control with ADT. It's their technicians that give them a bad name not really the monitoring service.

Now they may be a PITA about it as their personell have only been trained to program and operate so many controls. You should be able to get them to use just about any Ademco product as thats wht they normally use anyway so they will be able to program and monitor them without question.

 

[TeleFragger]

The reality is you can use just about any UL listed alarm control with ADT. It's their technicians that give them a bad name not really the monitoring service.

Now they may be a PITA about it as their personell have only been trained to program and operate so many controls. You should be able to get them to use just about any Ademco product as thats wht they normally use anyway so they will be able to program and monitor them without question.

so is there an ademco unit out there that I can configure, monitor and do all the cool local home automation with? that adt will monitor?

I dont mind paying the monitoring fee as the wife is happy with that...

 

[CollinR]

Well not really.

I think you have to setup up to something like the 128BP which will provide 96 outputs, the Vista20p will only provide 16 outputs.

 

[TeleFragger]

Well not really.

I think you have to setup up to something like the 128BP which will provide 96 outputs, the Vista20p will only provide 16 outputs.

the other requirement is 100% wireless as that is what I have now.. so I dont want to run any wires....

 

[TeleFragger]

funny how a little phone call can go a far way...

seems the adt guy is going to come out .. .gonna schedule with the wife....

and he said we can get a new system for free.. I told him what we had and he agreed we need a new one....

he said the best bet is the concord 4
anyone deal with that?

and it is a free upgrade for us....


anyway.. .im going to see if this integrates anyway with doing x10 commands on the line or what it does......we will see


ta boot some googling... i have found that some of the accessories even say...

caddx

see here
http://www.homesecuritystore.com/ezS...ductID=1479#a1

 

[gatchel]

free with how many months of monitoring at $30 per?

If you looking to do X-10 I would stay away from the Vista 20P, it is very limited. The Elk M1 panel would be a better way to go at a cost of course.

 

[Steve]

TeleFragger: First let me just say that I totally respect your decision and thats great if it works for you. But I just felt like I had to post and explain the logic behind why I think most ppl leave ADT (myself included). Understand, nothing is FREE. ADT's model is essentially you are 'leasing' the equipment from them for a monthly fee that include equipment and upgrades. You are paying for the system, probably much more than its worth. ADT will typically charge you around $30 month for the 'monitoring' and then give you the equipment, plus you get locked into a multiyear contract. Also, you are limited to what equipment ADT will 'allow'. I spent a bit of time with a pro integrator at Ehx who was looking at Elk. Their issue was that they were an ADT dealer/reseller and ADT will only support and monitor what they have direct 'ownership' of, meaning all the codes and ability to read and program remotely.

Other UL listed monitoring companies that offer even most features than ADT (like NextAlarm for example) are much less expensive for monthly monitoring. So... you can go an purchase ANY alarm panel - DSC, GE, Ademco, etc. you want with whatever features you may want and they will still monitor it (they all use standard reporting like Contact ID or SIA). Especially if you are talking a less expensive 'typical' alarm system, you will find that the payback will be very short (less than whatever ADT locks you in for), maybe as low as a year. So you wind up with a system of your choice, perhaps more robust monitoring features and no contracts. Even if you go for a higher end security+automation panel like the Elk M1, you still have a payback of maybe 3 years or so and the system is 100% YOURS. Plus you have much lower monthly payments (assuming you can affort the few hundred front $$ for the panel).

So, its about the bottom line $ - people save alot of money with their own equipment and other monitoring company - plus you have the freedom of owning the equipment, programming how you like, choosing your monitor, etc, all while saving money. That's why it is very popular with the technical diy crowd. Now on the flip side there are people who want nothing to do with any details and just want to pay their $30 month and know its done for them. In that case ADT is a good solution.

I hope that helps explain it a little - good luck with your decision...

 

[TeleFragger]

that definitely helps...

since I have an alarm in the house.. you say that other comanies will monitor it cheaper..
however I fall in that crowd... where my wife is happy with me not touching it and it is there


now could I use my existing alarm and have another company monitor it?

I have the alarm box in the basement
magnetics on all 3 doors (front, back, into garage)
magnetics on 9 windows (all downstairs)
2 glassbreaks
3 keypads
5 smoke detectors
1 carbon whateverside (too early for me to think)
2 basement window bars


so with that... it would cost me a good penny to upgrade to a diy set and also to setup and configure myself.... then have someone monitor...


however it is something for me to look into.... I just found out from adt that I pay $133 a year in insurance on the hardware...

I think my full bill is $47.15

so lets do it this way...

133/12 = 11.08 a month
47.15 - 11.08 = $36.07 a month for monitoring

so if I went with a side company and if it was
$15 a month
$00 insurance

id save $32 a month...however if I bought a new system it would take me maybe a year for it to be a return on my investment....



now I dont have the money for an elk...

however what if I bought the concord4 myself and all the parts.. put it in... then how do I configure it to work with all that stuff above?


id really like to hear on how I could do it for less than $300 out of my pocket, wireless and use my hardware...

that would be awesome...hmmm wonder how much of a contract I still have with adt....

 

[Steve]

now could I use my existing alarm and have another company monitor it?

Yes. You would need to be able to access the programming of the panel though. In order to do that you usually need an installer code. You would simple access the programming and change the phone # it is dialing to the new monitoring company instead of ADT.

I'm sorry to say you are paying waaay too much imho. You can't afford an Elk because you are too busy giving all your money to ADT! Not only are you overpaying for your monitoring at $36, but then they are getting you for insurance too! I would highly suggest you do 1 of 2 things...

First, look up how much of your contract is left - I'm thinking if you have had the system a few years already and have not had new hardware and resigned, you will be free to choose - so...

1. If you want to stay with ADT simply tell them they need to drop their price to something like $25/mo for monitoring and ins or you will go elsewhere. They may actually go for it, so be sure it is what you want. I still only recommend this option if it is the only thing to please the wife.

2. Put your own system as discussed and switch monitoring companies.

If you go with 2, there is good news! The link you provided to your current system did not work, but I think you were referring to this one... Usually the problem is wireless since it is proprietary to the manufacturer. In this case it looks like a GE type system and it uses GE/ITI sensors. The good news is they are more generic (used by more) than others like Ademco. They're even the ones Elk supports... So, here are a few recommendations/examples to look at... And these are at full advertised retail prices - you can do better... And all of thiese assume monitoring by NextAlarm and pre-paying a year at a time (can always cancel at any time for refund) for best rate of $11.95 (2 months free)

BEST
Full Elk M1 system

Not priced at this time...

BETTER
Elk EZ8 $330
Wireless receiver: $130 (Elk) or $80 (GE)

This would be compatible with your current sensors - just swap panel and keypad(s). Total with Elk receiver = $460

Figuring you are paying $47.15 and will pay NA $11.95, that leaves $35.20 month. 460/35.20 = call it 14 months, so in as little as just over a year you have paid off a nice Elk panel which is very easy to program, support and maintain on your own. And after the 14 months you will be saving $35 month!!! Now if that doesn't get the wife excited....

Good
GE Caddx System $242
Receiver $80

Not an expert on GE stuff, but I think that is right... so thats a total of $322 or 322/35.20 = around 10 months.

So, as you can see you can go on your own, choose ANY system (as long as it supports GE/ITI wireless) and get monitored on your own. And the NextAlarm monitoring you get the internet features, email, etc you were looking at trying to do with HS.

And as I said - those are retail prices and I'm sure you can do better :lol: So imho its a no-brainer to go on your own, assuming you know how to use common basic tools and can follow directions

Edit: The Concord appears to be an even less expensive basic GE panel, which would probably give you a 6 month or less payback.

 

[TeleFragger]

wow... yeah something for me to look at... Guess I will have to do some research on my own... then also have the wife read this and see what she thinks.....

Thanks for your time and input....

 

[TeleFragger]

just taking a quick look... maybe I will wait until tax time... I was going to hit the wife up with doing a sprinkler system but maybe instead I will do the elk...

only makes sense.....
$500 and up and running (high price just as an example)

but they even have some nice stuff for it too.....

not like the wife would go for it but
at $1300 i can see why but looks cool....

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Just an FYI, but I found the GE Caddx programming to be not for the faint of heart (I've said this here many times on CT). Not impossible mind you, but I know there have been more than one "holy cow" statements when DIY types first open that manual! :lol:

 

[TeleFragger]

Just an FYI, but I found the GE Caddx programming to be not for the faint of heart (I've said this here many times on CT). Not impossible mind you, but I know there have been more than one "holy cow" statements when DIY types first open that manual! :lol:

well with all yall up here that may not be a problem!!!!!!


also I just threw it out to the wife and got a reply I never expected!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

she said get everything figured out..

so what I will be doing next week is #1
finding out exactly what hardware I need
contact elk and verify that 100% certain that my door window, smoke detectors and all can be used with it..

also contact the monitoring company listed here

figure out how much each item will cost... see what else the elk can do for me and what is needed...


so expect this thread to jump tremendously!!!!!!!!!!!

I always thought that elk was out of my way but actually seems not too distant..... possibly..!!!!!

 

[IVB]

and another newbie has gotten sucked into the "save money, get better stuff" web, and another tight cocoon spun.

bwah hah hah!