Caddx to ElkM1G Conversion Questions

[cipherwar]

I am currently in the processes of converting a Caddx NX8e panel to the Elk M1G and have a few questions that I was hoping members of this forum could help answer:

1) I have approx 20 wireless sensors on the existing Caddx NX8e. I am using the Elk-M1XRF2G receiver on the M1G. Is is possible during the transition from the Caddx to the M1G to have a wireless sensor enrolled on both the Caddx and the M1G at the same time? My belief is yes since my understanding is that the sensors are transmit only. Does anyone see any problems with this approach?

2) Is there a way to get a Zigbee interface on the ElkM1G? I am specifically interested in controlling the Zigbee enabled HAI Omnistat2

3) If not, would the Leviton Zwave interface on an Elk serial expander be able to interface to any thermostats? If so, which would be best?

4) Regarding the Leviton Zwave interface, how limited is it? Can I expect to be able to control any Zwave device with this interface?

5) I have been reading that there are problems with the ethernet Java web control page with anything but web browsers on windows PCs. Has there been any progress with working out the kinks on a MAC? When I try and login on a MAC it prompts be for a user/pass and then the page with the user id number. From there a pop-up indicates that the "control is busy or unavailable". Tried on a windows machine, no problems.

6) I find that the ELK touch screen interface is a bit pricey. Has anyone used another WindowsCE based touch screen (or other) with the RMS software?

7) Finally I am a bit concerned with the security of the RS-485 connection. Is it possible to generate an audible siren if there is a loss of a module (or other bus tampering) while the system is in an armed state?

Thanks in advance. I really appreciate the assistance.

 

[electron]

hi cipherwar, welcome to CT!

1) The sensors are transmit only, so you shouldn't have a problem with that approach (unless I missed something). Are the sensors Crystal or SAW? ELK tends to work better with Crystal (but personally don't have too many issues with SAW).
2) Not sure about this, but I don't think you can do this. The problem with ZigBee is that there are many variations out there, and even if it supported one of the ZigBee PRO profiles, I don't believe there is an ELK/ZB interface yet.
3-4) I'll let people who use Z-Wave respond to this, the only thing I know is that the Leviton VRCOP is what ELK recommends.
5) I believe this is still an issue, but there are a few threads about this, and I thought I read somewhere that someone got it working with a workaround (but don't remember the details).
6) ELK RMS will run on many CE screens, just make sure the CPU/memory matches (or is better) since it does require some CPU power. That said, I think I would rather go with an iPad, a wall mount and eKeypad (will be posting a video of the iPad version soon).
7) I believe you can create a rule for this, but I would have to check my install to verify this.

 

[cipherwar]

Thanks for the quick response. I did purchase the iPhone version of eKeypad. Is there now an iPad version...I couldn't find it in the app store. I know that the iPhone version will run on the iPad but the graphics are pretty ugly when scaled up 2x

Agreed that a tablet device would be nice. Does anyone have experience with the Andriod Elk control app. This might also be a nice economical option given the growing competition in Android tablets.

 

[electron]

the iPad version is still in beta, but it's running pretty well. I'll try to post the video tonight. As for ElkDroid, it's a pretty good app. I don't have the latest version, but here is a video of when it was first released. An Android tablet with ElkDroid is definitely a good solution, but since there are so many different tablets out there (and I wouldn't buy one until Android 3.0 starts shipping), it's hard to find a nice mount.

 

[Del91574]

Personally, though an Ipad would be nice, from the pro standpoint, I'd use Elk's TS because it's UL listed for the purpose and I wouldn't want to expose myself to liability. Ipad for audio/video is another story altogether.