HAI II

Is there any trade up\trade in program for old HAI systems?  I have an old HAI II system and was wondering if they have any programs or I will need to buy a new one.  Are there any rumors about a HAI III\3 coming out soon?
 
Thanks
 
Mike

Which model?
 
 
No tradeup that I'm aware of.

I have an old HAI II or 2.  I would love to update it to a IIe or a Pro II to get Ethernet ports.  Hate to spend the money.  Does anybody know if they are updating their controllers anytime soon?

You can look for a used Omni Pro II maybe.  The swap out from the legacy Omni Pro II is not painful.
 
A friend who had his system installed in the 1990's was looking to upgrade in a similiar manner.

So I looked at pricing for a new Omni IIe (board only) and it can be had for ~670 online.  While the ELK M1Gold kit (board, keypad, battery, etc) can be had for $505.00  I do not know that much about the M1 but it seems like a deal.  
 
Any recommendations?

Both are good systems.  If you choose the Elk, realize that you may need some zone expansion boards if you need more than the 16 zone inputs and 8 outputs the base board can handle.  Also, an ethernet interface is not part of the base, so you will need to add in the price of the M1XEP.  Plus UPB, Z-wave, X10 or whatever automation interfaces you need.

Its not always easy to directly compare the two, but generally the M1 is cheaper when you have a small system, and the Omni IIe (or Pro) is cheaper if you gave a fully loaded system.  I would start to map out what interfaces and how many serial ports you will need, then compare THAT system with both, if cost is your main factor.  Its like anything else, watch out for those add-on's.  If you get a fully loaded system, with light, lock control, security, the cost of the board is pretty small compared to the cost of everything else.

Yeah and the footprint is smaller with the Omni Pro than the Elk. 
 
But that small HAI footprint can make it difficult to maintain.  I have one configured in a closet in a closet and it looks nice.  Thing is the closet is only a bit wider than me and I hit my elbows working in it.
 
That said though with the two panels; HAI or Elk; once they are configured and working; you never touch them; as they both work just fine.