Cortexa 7202 controller

[Herdfan]

I am looking at getting the Cortexa 7202 controller to use with my Insteon lighting system. I plan on adding an Elk M1 in the future and already have HAI Thermostats.

Has anyone used this controller? I know it is relatively new on the market, but I know there are some early adopters here .

Thanks. Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[electron]

I am actually planning on reviewing this unit in a few weeks, it definitely looks promising.

 

[Steve]

The Cortexa seemed very nice at EHX. Of course I think the 7202 and an M1 are a bit redundant, but thats my opinion. The Cortexa and a GE type alarm is all thats really needed but the M1 is still supported.

 

[Herdfan]

I think the 7202 and an M1 are a bit redundant,

In what way? I see the 7202 as an interface for the M1. Where am I missing the boat?

 

[Steve]

The 7202 is a standalone automation controller with a software interface that controls it. It supports all your lighting, etc. The piece it doesn't have is security and so they interface with a number of panels like GE, DSC, etc. They had some pressure to support the Elk so they did. If all you want is a nice interface to the M1 then I think you should be looking at something like Mainlobby or CQC. The 7202 does do some things that the M1 doesn't juch as video, routing, etc, but it is a full fledge automation controller and therefore will overlap somewhat with the M1's automation cababilities.

 

[Herdfan]

The piece it doesn't have is security and so they interface with a number of panels like GE, DSC, ....... If all you want is a nice interface to the M1 then I think you should be looking at something like Mainlobby or CQC.

I have a DSC system now, but I don't think it one that interfaces with the 7202.

One reason for looking at the 7202 is that I don't want a software solution. And the 7202 fits the bill as a hardware based one even though is has a software front end.

Plus I want the video capability. Main Lobby and CQC are great programs, but I just want the system to work and not be an ongoing project.

Ideally, and this probably won't work, but I would like to be able to interface the HAI thermostats with both the ELK and the 7202. That way I can control the temp from a security panel as well as the 7202 interfaces. I just don't know how they would react being controlled by both systems.

 

[DavidL]

Herdfan, MainLobby (and probably CQC as well) can be set and use. The posts you see here are from hobbyists that are always dinking as it is a hobby. Most of our dealers install the product and the homeowner just uses it. If you don't want to do any of the setup, we can set you up with a turn key system once we have your requirements.

 

[Steve]

The 7202 will interface with the DSC Power 432, 632, 832 or 864. Its probably not a good idea to hook a t-stat to 2 separate control systems. I believe the Cortexa just uses the Elk as just a security system and won't be able to access the stat on it. Hopefully the Cortexa guys can jump in here and maybe add more clarity.

I don't want to discourage you from either, but besides video what do you like about the cortexa that the M1 doesn't do? Or why would you like the M1 over a simple security only panel? The Cortexa software IMHO is no different then running Mainlobby or CQC as a simple client. CQC and probably Mainlobby is very reliable if setup right and not monkeyed with.

 

[Herdfan]

The 7202 will interface with the DSC Power 432, 632, 832 or 864..

I don't want to discourage you from either, but besides video what do you like about the cortexa that the M1 doesn't do?

I have a 12 year old DSC 3000. So no go there. It needs replaced. My DSC dealer is also an Elk dealer, so that makes it easy to get it installed if I decide I don't want to DIY.

My main reason for the 7202 over ML or CQC is I don't want to have a computer dedicated to it 24/7. This may not be a good reason, I really don't know since I am just getting into full-scale HA. Currently neither ML or CQC support Insteon which is my lighting system although they probably will in the future.

And the 7202 looks very easy to set up and get running. One thing that has kept me from using something like ML is that you need to cobble together several things to make it work. Not just plug-ins, but for example, it will access your camera system, but you need to have one first. With the 7202, you just plug them in.

Edit: AccessHA.com has some screen-shots of ML3. And it does look pretty nice. Even has Insteon support.

 

[Steve]

Dave,

I think you are missing the point. The M1 is a hardware only box that requires no pc (and technically not an interface either). The M1 will run all of your lighting, HVAC, etc. The few things it does not directly support are Video and IR. Using ML or CQC with the M1 is like using the Cortexa software with the 7202. If you are going to be using the Cortexa interface to control things that is no different really then running ML or CQC to control the M1 except for the fact that ML or CQC may support things in software (that you don't have to use) that are already built into the M1 (like lighting control for example). So, the bottom line is you can not escape a pc if you want an interface into the system unless you have the interface also embedded in the hardware and not as an application running on a pc or CE device.

In my situation I will just run something like ML or CQC as a touch screen interface to the M1 plus use it for anything else the M1 doesn't do like IR or real TTS. If the pc fails, all I lose is my fancy interface (still have phone control, keypad access, etc) but all mission critical things still work. You could run the M1 with an Elk touch screen and the lightweight ElkRM and that is pretty darn close to hardware only. Of course you would need a different solution for video but there are hardware dvrs you could use there.

Again, not trying to discourage you from the Cortexa, its a nice system, I just want you to understand the redundancy in the M1 and how it works. If you go Cortexa, I would probably save a few dollars and use the Elk EZ8 if all you want it for is security.

Does this make any better sense now?

 

[jbdww]

The current software release in the Cortexa just supports the security only part of ELK. The development effort is on its way to control HVAC and Lighting threw ELK. We do this already with HAI, and we won’t to make sure that we are very agnostic about who and how we interface to. So right now I would say go ahead and wire your HVAC to the ELK.

Yes there is some redundancy between ELK and the Cortexa. Since the Cortexa does not have boundaries like ELK does, like having to stay with in UL security rules, the Cortexa can do much more. The Cortexa has these extra features.

1. Built-in network Router with VPN, traffic shaping, and dynamic DNS.
2. Built-in I-Tunes player.
3. Built-in Video, and video archiving.
4. Control to whole house audio like Nuvo, and Netstreams.
5. Weather collection either by local weather station or from the internet.
6. Almost two years of logging or 14MB of logs.
7. IR control.
8. Endless amount of rules/event code, or 4MB of code.
9. Configurable from a web browser. No need to install extra software.

You can control and setup the Cortexa buy using any web browser, or you can control the Cortexa with many other available access points, like Windows XP, Windows CE, and Windows Mobile. We also have in-wall touch screen, and a TV module.

I thing the ELK and Cortexa combination makes for a strong automation system. We do interface with other security panels, but ELK, HAI and GE Networx is the best solutions for the Cortexa because these panels allow you to turn a zone into an auxiliary zone allowing you to get data from items like the garage door is open with out setting off the security. ELK’s protocol is my favorable protocol, because you do not have to poll the panel for new state changes, the ELK panel tells the Cortexa right away of new state changes.

You have to remember that all security panels, has UL regulations because the security panels have a much higher liability issues, so they have to keep the automation part scaled down, so that the panel will not go down. The security panels have to make sure that when an alarm happens it does not go down because it is trying to control something.

Thanks
JBDWW

 

[Herdfan]

The development effort is on its way to control HVAC and Lighting threw ELK. .......So right now I would say go ahead and wire your HVAC to the ELK.

Thanks for the input.

I will go ahead and plan on wiring the HVAC through the Elk. Not so sure about doing the lighting control via the Elk. It seems to have a few bugs with the Insteon protocol.

How does the 7202 work with the Insteon protocol?

Thanks.