New Elk Panel

Maybe adds to the fact they have not announced new integration with Lutron RA3.  Would make sense to integrate with a new platform if they were building… SJ
 
This is a picture of Elk's new E27 Alarm Engine from Elk's Facebook page.  It looks like it has onboard ethernet integration.  Let's hope this means better ethernet integration and reporting than the current setup with XEP.
 
277231400_10158410246670925_7499674333072974794_n.jpeg
 
I specifically reached out to Elk Products about what the release of a new series had in regards to the M1 series. Michael Burrell replied that "Absolutely the M1 Gold as well as its supporting products will be supported and updated. We have some new products planned for the M1 platform in the future as well."

In addition there was the following response when asking about existing M1 series expansion modules "The M1 Bus Devices (keypads, input expanders, outputs expanders and serial ports expanders) will not work with the E27. the E27 has a different bus protocol."

While it is very exciting to see that Elk is continuing to develop a new series, it's also good to know that the M1 series will also continue to receive development and support.

As I already have an M1EXP module and integrate Z-Wave via a HomeTroller Pi G3 with HS4 and The UltraJonesM1G3 plugin, I would need to see more compelling reasons to upgrade at this time. Especially in light of the need of new keypads and expanders.
 
I have not heard to much additional progress, but it appears to be much closer to official release. In fact, you can now download their installation guide from their site: https://www.elkproducts.com/elkdoc/e27-alarm-engine-installation-programming-reference-guide/
What is interesting to me, is there are a significant number of similarities to the M1 Gold. For example the expansion bus is RS-485 and the same hub I use for expansion (ELK-M1DBH Data Bus Hub) is also used for the new system. Not sure why the older keypads are incompatible, looks just like an ELK-M1KP2.

In fact, when looking at the expansion options, many appear to be nearly identical to the M1 Gold versions. I suspect some additional IP features are communicated via the RS-485 bus, or it's speed has been increased, that required re-releasing the expansion modules/keypads.

The specifications are listed in the guide I've provided a link for above. Almost item per item compared to the M1 Gold.

The interesting part is that the connector for the Z-wave module looks like a Raspberry Pi GPIO connector.
 
Links for several of the modules and keypads are up now as well.

ELK-AEKP, which looks identical the KP2 in my opinion -> https://www.elkproducts.com/product/low-profile-lcd-keypad-for-alarm-engine/
ELK-AEXIN 16 zone input expander -> https://www.elkproducts.com/product/alarm-engine-16-zone-input-expander/
ELK-AEXOU - 8 output expander -> https://www.elkproducts.com/product/alarm-engine-8-relay-output-expander/

These two appear to mount on the E27 board in a location for Wireless.
ELK-AERF3 - wireless receiver for 319.5MHz sensors -> https://www.elkproducts.com/product/alarm-engine-wireless-receiver-for-319-5-mhz-sensors/
ELK-AERF9 - ELK two way transceiver -> https://www.elkproducts.com/product/alarm-engine-wireless-receiver-for-two-way-wireless-sensors/
ELK-AEDD - ELK Digital Dialer for landline and cellular connections -> https://www.elkproducts.com/product/alarm-engine-digital-dialer/
ELK-AEWF - The E27 has ethernet built-in, this is the WiFi module -> https://www.elkproducts.com/product/alarm-engine-wifi-adapter/
ELK-AEZW - Z-Wave module! Note it lists 500 series, would have been nice if this was at least 700 series if not the new 800 series chipset -> https://www.elkproducts.com/product/alarm-engine-z-wave-module/

The ELK-AEZW does give me some hope, as ELK Products, when I had inquired indicates that they'll continue to develop and support the M1 Gold. The continued use of the RS-485 bus does provide Elk Products the ability to release modules in both M1 Gold and Alarm Engine flavors.
 
Many similarities with the M1G for sure. The Z-Wave module is a little disappointing. The photo shows a date stamp of 2015, which lines up with this being a 500 series controller. I don't see any activity under their FCC ID, so I'm guessing they're reusing existing M1G designs, and outsourced some of this stuff (such as the ELK-AEZW).

As long as they keep supporting the M1, I'm happy (really feel bad for the HAI OmniPro owners). Alarm Engine looks like it's focused on generating recurring revenue for the company, and making it easier for dealers/installers to manage their customers (which isn't a bad thing).
 
Just about to start a new system install for a six unit multifamily apartment in a 1890 house. Tempted to wait but probably won't.
 
The Elk M1 Gold is a proven system. While I'm sure that there are greater differences, the E27 almost feels like an M1 Gold with the M1EXP module built onto the panel.
 
I received an e-mail today from Elk that says the new E27 alarm panel is now shipping. Dealers can sign up to purchase a discounted demo system. No further details given. The Elk product page still shows all the various parts as "coming soon." But maybe some distributors will start offering the E27 for sale sometime soon.

Elk also announced a new 7" touch screen that can be used with both the E27 and M1.

 
The touchscreen looks nice. The 3.5" Navigator screen is just too tiny for old guys with bad eyesight and fat fingers. It is about time they came out with a normal size touchscreen, and glad it is M1 compatible. But I'd like to see exactly how it integrates with an M1G before I get too excited.
 
Mark S. said:
The touchscreen looks nice. The 3.5" Navigator screen is just too tiny for old guys with bad eyesight and fat fingers. It is about time they came out with a normal size touchscreen, and glad it is M1 compatible. But I'd like to see exactly how it integrates with an M1G before I get too excited.
Click to expand...
Since it connects to the Elk data bus, I'm thinking alarm system functions will work pretty much as they did with the KPNAV keypad. But they say the new touchscreen has WiFi capability, which opens up lots of new possibilities. Would be nice if that could be used for viewing security camera video, as well as for home automation control.
 
I am also looking forward to the 7" keypad. The fact that it works on both seems to indicate that it's really only some firmware differences between the modules for the E27 vs M1G as both still use the RS-485 bus.
 
Was interesting to see the CEDIA expo video, A large deisplay of Elk M1 Gold systems and the new 7" LCD keypad expected to ship in January (want it now, so it's a long wait for me).


Looks like plenty of legs left for the M1 platform.
 
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