DS10A Questions

mstarks01

Member
I have a couple of questions before I start down the DS10A road...

1. Will it provide status? For example, if I use one on the shed and the shed door is open when I arm the system, will it tell me that a zone is not ready?

2. It seems that I need a W800RF32A for my Elk. As I currently have an RC80 thermostat hooked up to the serial port expander, and the only way it would work reliably was with the specific firmware for those thermostats, will both work with the same expander firmware?

Thanks!
 
The DS10A should NOT be used as a security device, it should only be used for home automation purposes. The stock XSP firmware supports the W800RF32, not sure if the customized firmware has support for the W800RF32, so I would just try it.
 
You'll need another serial expander too; many people run several of them (I use 3). If they're similar devices, like T-Stats, you can often daisy chain several on the same serial port, but if they're different types of devices, as far as I know, you pretty much always need separate serial expanders. The expander for the W800RF32 can run the standard firmware.
 
As Dan indicated, you are strongly encouraged not to use DS10As for security purposes (yes it is marketed that way by X10, be warned you get what you pay for.) While it can serve in a security function it is a dumb 1 way device, there is no way to poll the status of a module. The DS10A sends a heart beat with the current state of the module every 15-30 minutes (variable as far as I can tell) Your system (software / hardware) will have to monitor and maintain module state in order for you to know whether your shed door is closed during the arming process.

The DS10a is a great inexpensive automation device that is reliable up to a point. If you are truly concerned about security, as an example, on your shed and want to remain wireless you should consider one of the wireless add on receivers for the elk. (caveat; I am not certain whether the elk add on can poll its wireless devices as I do not own one yet.)
-Ben
 
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