Elk Internet Monitoring with Cell Backup

[tmbrown97]

OK - here's another question to one I've been thinking about lately...

I know they have the cell-adapters that hook into the panel to serve as a backup... but that's more in the panel, etc...

Has anyone tried using a broadband router that'll do a cellular backup with a 3G card or otherwise, and using that as a backup? I'm pretty sure the router I have can support it... Granted, it's probably going to cost more per month to have a dedicated card, but if you happen to have one... it's potentially less equipment to buy.

I'm just wondering what the elk does if it tries to send the signal and can't... example situation - someone cuts your power and cable line and immediately breaks in - the backup line hasn't been established yet so when the elk goes to transmit, there's no connection - but about 20 seconds later, the connection is up - will it keep trying to resend and get that message out?

Seems like if it worked, it'd be the simplest way to go... you have failproof internet access and alarm monitoring - and very little extra to set up. For many it might be costly, but the way the cell cards work for my work, it's pooled MB's, not per month per card - so they could care less if I left an extra one in the home router.

If anyone has any experience or insight into something like this, I'd love to hear it.

 

[Spanky]

OK - here's another question to one I've been thinking about lately...

I know they have the cell-adapters that hook into the panel to serve as a backup... but that's more in the panel, etc...

Has anyone tried using a broadband router that'll do a cellular backup with a 3G card or otherwise, and using that as a backup? I'm pretty sure the router I have can support it... Granted, it's probably going to cost more per month to have a dedicated card, but if you happen to have one... it's potentially less equipment to buy.

I'm just wondering what the elk does if it tries to send the signal and can't... example situation - someone cuts your power and cable line and immediately breaks in - the backup line hasn't been established yet so when the elk goes to transmit, there's no connection - but about 20 seconds later, the connection is up - will it keep trying to resend and get that message out?

Seems like if it worked, it'd be the simplest way to go... you have failproof internet access and alarm monitoring - and very little extra to set up. For many it might be costly, but the way the cell cards work for my work, it's pooled MB's, not per month per card - so they could care less if I left an extra one in the home router.

If anyone has any experience or insight into something like this, I'd love to hear it.

Telular has a cellular backup module available that simply connects to the telephone line of the M1. If the telephone line is cut, the alarm message goes out the cellular module.

There are ways to send the digital communicator tones to the central station via a cellular module, but some special tweaks have to be made in the module for reliable communication. HAI has or is about to offer an add on cellular module that will send the alarm data via GSM cellular that also connects to the telephone line. I have not heard if they have gotten PTCRB GSM and AT&T approval yet.

Getting a cellular module approved for the US GSM market is a quagmire of testing and expense in which you better have it right the first time with no additional changes.

Just having a GPRS cellular modem will not get an alarm signal into a central monitoring station.

 

[tmbrown97]

Hey Spanky - I appreciate the response - however, I think you may have misunderstood. I'm talking about relying on 100% IP-Based monitoring - and having a router with cell-card backup... many higher-end routers can detect WAN failure and reroute traffic over a 3G data card (connected via USB) - so it'd definitely be over IP either way - but there may be some delay and dropped packets while the router is firing up the cell card.

In that case, will it keep attempting to resend the message over IP until it goes through, or will it just think the WAN failed and give up?

 

[tmbrown97]

Hrm - Guess I'm on my own to test this and figure it out.

 

[electron]

Have you found a company which supports IP based monitoring of the M1 Elk ?

 

[TXFlatLander]

Have you found a company which supports IP based monitoring of the M1 Elk ?

The problem with IP-based monitoring is that no one supports full digital, it is all analog telephone out from the panel. When I was looking into this, the only company that I found that supports IP-based monitoring directly is NextAlarm.com through their "ABN Broadband Adapter". All they do is have Asterisk boxes on the their end with a Contact ID plugin that someone wrote (I have the link somewhere to it) and their "ABN adapter" is just a Linksys PAP2T-NA configured to go to them as the VoIP provider. The config is locked so you can't get the configuration to program your own Linksys PAP2T-NA. When the system dials out, it goes via VoIP to their Asterisk box. There is no modulation to analog so they get all the tones. What irks me is they charge more than twice retail for the rebranded Linksys PAP2T-NA. I have thought about getting an ABN and brute forcing the unlock code to get the config. I have an example somewhere. If someone is interested, I can send you the link to the script.

The Elk M1XEP supports IP monitoring, but according to the manual the CS has to have a Osborne-Hoffman OH2000E. I haven't found one that has one.

I researched all this about 9 months ago, so all of this may have changed by now.

 

[tmbrown97]

Well that sucks - I thought you could configure full IP based monitoring (not some hoaky conversion to analog but native IP) - all the way from the elk to the monitoring company. It'd be so much quicker to alert them without the dialing delay.

Business opportunity anyone? - tie it into the iPhone's new push app - could be handy!

 

[AceCannon]

The Elk M1XEP supports IP monitoring, but according to the manual the CS has to have a Osborne-Hoffman OH2000E. I haven't found one that has one.

I researched all this about 9 months ago, so all of this may have changed by now.

Any new data here? I'm about to have to choose a monitoring company. As of now, it seems the best option is landline with cellular backup. No one has direct IP monitoring of the XEP?

As far as cellular products: Uplink, Telguard, others?

 

[TXFlatLander]

Any new data here? I'm about to have to choose a monitoring company. As of now, it seems the best option is landline with cellular backup. No one has direct IP monitoring of the XEP?

There was a post recently from a member who found a company that has a OH2000E installed. I will try to look back in my favorites and find it. The kicker was that the monitoring company was used through a dealer account of a friend or something like that. I will edit this post once I find it or if someone else finds it first.

 

[TXFlatLander]

As far as cellular products: Uplink, Telguard, others?

If memory serves me correctly, Telguard gives full zone reporting where the Uplink does not. HAI just came out with a cell backup product.

 

[DeLicious]

my Uplink is connected to my Elk by serial, and gives full zone reporting, i.e., it tells me which zones were violated that caused the alarm, if that's what you mean.

 

[AceCannon]

It really is too bad no monitoring companies are able to interface with XEP. Seems like it would be so easy / cheap for them to do.

I saw the thread about the OH200E. It was a guy who could MAYBE do dome monitoring for DIY'ers in NC and SC only. No dice for me.

So Uplink and Telguard will require an M1XSP if the on-board serial port is already used?

So how are people managing SMS messages when their Elks are armed / disarmed? Have the XEP send them out via email? Or is the cellular device making a phone call each time these events happen?

 

[WayneW]

So how are people managing SMS messages when their Elks are armed / disarmed? Have the XEP send them out via email? Or is the cellular device making a phone call each time these events happen?

The XEP is quite limited in its email ability...no way to send the offending zone name or number, for example.
I let the Elk notify NextAlarm for alarms/arms/disarms/troubles and then NextAlarm notifies me. I use the UpLink as the primary for alarms; but have the landline/VOIPline as the primary for all the arms/disarms/troubles, with the Uplink as backup for those. Reason being is that UpLink has a 50 message per month usage plan. They didn't charge me extra one month when I went over that while learning, but I don't want to abuse it every month.

For anybody searching for direct XEP monitoring, search CT for "Statesville". Apparently there are at least two dealers there supporting it.

 

[DeLicious]

If I remember correctly, Wayne, you're limited to 50 messages a month because you activated your AnyNET directly through Uplink, correct? I activated mine through NextAlarm, and I have no such limitation on the number of messages. I get 5-6 notifications per day from NextAlarm about arms and disarms and whodunit each time.

Ace, I don't think the Uplink (or Telguard for that matter) will work with the on-board serial port. I think you have to buy the XSP either way because that is where you would load the custom firmware to communicate with the cellular devices. And I don't think the cellular devices use SMS or make phone calls... I believe they send data packets via EDGE (or its predecessor... I forget the acronym) to the monitoring company. NextAlarm sends me emails on every event I tell it to.

 

[electron]

I personally would get the HAI Cellular communication center once it is available.