Elk M1 wireless option

[Del91574]

Be very careful with Resolution products....they are a 3rd party removed from both GE and Elk. Just because they are listed as compatible with GE products does not mean they will work on a 2nd party device. Even many GE labelled devices don't work on Elk's receiver properly. There are also very specific instructions as what should not be connected to these products.

 

[jdespars]

Good point for the compatibility.  Hmmm.  Resolution says their RE108 translator (wired to Wireless) is compatible with the  ELk M1XRFEG.    But when I look at the ELK documentation for the M1XRFEG it has a list of the compatible Reolution products, but the RE 108 is not there.  
 
Same thing goes if I chose the Honeywell road.  The Re208 translator is compatible with the ELK M1XRF2H,  but ELK does not mention it is compatible with RE208
 
I am tempted to say it is comptaible.  But if i run into problems not to sure ELK will support
 
Anyone out there using the RE108 with the M1XRFEG?

 

[Del91574]

If you're going the route of installing a translator, it's no different than if you installed a repeater and RF devices, barring hardwired motions. In the case of the M1, I fail to see the attraction to go that route unless you already had an outbuilding, in RF range, that was prewired to a central location and you didn't have the thought or ability to connect the buildings via copper.
 
Keep in mind, all the resolution products are NOT listed for use with any fire alarm equipment.

Will it work, probably. Could there be issues or strange occurances? It's happened to me with other devices in the past that should have been compatible (back in the day a buddy had a large takeover for an enterprise client that Elk had to write firmware to support GE billtraps) based on their nature. The devices learned in and transmitted but strange things would happen with no explanation.
 
The real reason why Resolution is out there (discounting the non-UL issue) is to facilitate a panel takeover on a non-compatible device or to allow an all-in-one mass market panel to take over an all hardwired system or in the case of the old, obsolete panels (ITI comes to mind) that are hit or miss compatible with some newer panels.

 

[ddennerline]

In talking with CEO of Resolution products, he indicated the sensors are designed by the same Engineers the built the ITI sensors.  My driveway sensor is rock solid after two years and survived a tornado.
 
The M1XRF2H does list various Resolution product sensors as compatible. I don’t know if Elk did any testing/verification prior to adding them.

 

[Del91574]

I've dealt with ITI all the way back to their first wireless systems (SX-V era) and they are decent, but there are a lot of quirks and some bad design choices, but overall they're not bad, they are presently lacking the variety that Honeywell offers and the greater difference that pushes me one way or another is the discontinuance of long life battery devices.
 
I've also dealt with Resolution many times. They have their niche and they do what they do, but the item of contention is they only build the product to the "ITI" spec, same as Elk only supporting specific items of the ITI/GE spec and devices.
 
Elk would have had to do verification for compatibility to obtain any UL listing for their receiver and the connected devices. Nature of the beast.