ELK M1 + Uplink 2500 GSM communicator + Alarm Relay service

[mikejrc]

Here are my findings about cellular communications using Uplink, Alarm Relay and your M1 Gold:

- The Uplink 2500 is a cellular GSM communicator that connects to your M1 control panel using a serial expander XSP, there is a cable made by elk that goes from the DB9 port to a molex plug on the Uplink radio. The XSP has a special firmware for the Uplink as well.

- Full reporting capability is enabled, direct communication without the use of dial capture. The only other communicator not dial capture based is the AES Intellinet, (radio not cellular) which also connects to an XSP with a special firmware. Any other communicator out there will use dial capture and will fake a dial tone making the control panel believe is talking to a central station receiver.

- This Uplink 2500 is also one of the few you can buy directly without being tied to a specific service, dealer or central station. It has also a reasonable cost.

- The signal path will be: from M1 control panel, to XSP module via serial, to Uplink 2500, to Uplink's operation center, to alarm central station or directly to you via SMS. If using a central station you could receive text or email if the central station software allows it.

- To receive SMS without a central station but directly from Uplink, a dealer must set it up or allow it. Some dealers specially central stations will not allow this because they want to charge you their standard monitoring fee plus the Uplink service fee.

- I contacted Alarm Relay and they provide monitoring via Uplink, but they were not aware of the full reporting capabilities when connected to an ELK M1, and were not aware of Uplink's capability to send you SMS directly. Alarm Relay then contacted Uplink and verified that the ELK M1 and Uplink does support full reporting and that Uplink can send you SMS directly if Alarm Relay allows it.

- Alarm Relay will not sell the Uplink 2500, you can buy it online then call them to activate it. They will allow SMS to be sent directly to you, but signals will still be sent from Uplink to Alarm Relay. They will charge instead of $8.99 for dial up monitoring, $20.99 for Uplink service, far lower than any other radio or cell service (average $50). No limit on how many signals your M1 sends, since the Uplink service covers the cost of the cell communication.

- When calling Alarm Relay you can talk to Camber at extension 118, she has all the details and she was the one that called me back with their findings after Alarm Relay contacted Uplink. I told her that other M1 owners may follow and call her for details on this.

- I talked to Uplink sales 1800 number and they also confirmed that the 2500 is the unit listed to work with the M1 for full reporting and that SMS could be sent directly to a cell phone when they receive the alarm reporting codes, but Uplink will not activate this or activate service directly with end users only via dealers or central stations.

I hope this info helps, I encourage others to look further into this.

It's a great opportunity to have a well priced full reporting GSM based service without paying so much to those greedy central stations with their multi year contracts.

I will be posting in the future my experiences with this service once I activate it, if anyone does it sooner please let us know your experience.

 

[Del91574]

I pretty much already said the same thing prior without the specific details, however you can also get a dialer capture unit from Uplink (anynet) that communicates to any central station via a retransmission of the information from Uplink to your CS via tradional phone lines or IP to their reciever, depending on the Uplink unit and comms contract. This would forgo the need for a serial port.

Other vendors, like Connect 24 or Telular, you would need to verify your CS supports them and would allow you to add as a sub-dealer.

Depends on the service provider and which network they support in your area, GSM or CDMA or both and the cost of the unit and serial port, if you're already using the on-board one (M1G) or if you're looking at a dialer capture, however it is prudent no matter what the unit, to set up supervision of the unit via the dry contacs that the majority of the manufacturers provide on the units. Using the serial and 2500 on the Elk, while the panel will notify via a rule, it should still be recommended to hook the supervisory relay(s) to a zone to generate additional feedback at the panel.

 

[mikejrc]

thanks for your input.
but I don't believe in the monopoly and business practices central stations have in the US
that's why I am on a mission to find a service that will report directly to me regardless of a central station.
I am aware of the dial capture units out there as well as how central stations work, communication protocols and reporting capabilities of most burglary control panels
I have set up 2 central stations where I was born.

 

[Kevin L]

Panamanian, thank you for starting dialog about how to enhance our systems/automation. That's what is great about CT. However, I don't find it necessary to editorialize with personal opinions like "those greedy central stations with their multi year contracts" and " I don't believe in the monopoly and business practices central stations have in the US?" I'm tired of those that equate profit with greed. Why don't you just say don't want to spend the money?

I have the M1G and GSM reporting. I own my equipment and am not locked in with a contract with my central station company (a local company that's been here for 30 years.) I pay $27 plus tax per month, far less than the $50 you quote. If I relied on POTS or IP for notification, it would only be $20. I think that's quite reasonable compared to some of the prices I've seen. Of course, if a company provides free or reduced-cost equipment, the company needs to recoup the up-front costs through higher prices and/or a committment, similar to cellphone companies. There's no monopoly, since there are many firms I could change to with a variety of services and fees.

I'm also curious why anyone would want to leave security response to themselves. How great is your security when:

• You're in an area where your cell phone is not working or must be turned off, like on a plane?
• You're in a situation where your phone is on, but you can't check it or respond, like in a business meeting?
• Someone breaks into your home while you're there, and you're unable to summon help?

These are just a few of the situations I'm glad to have someone else as a backup for my home security. When my alarm company receives a report, if it's an emergency, I get a call in about 15 seconds to see if everything's okay. They can tell exactly what the violation is and if they don't get an answer or an answer without the code word, they summon the appropriate response.

Would I like to pay less for the service? Of course, and I probably can by using one of the online companies. But I prefer to have my security handled by a reliable local company. Plus, if I need it, they can service the system if I can't handle it myself.

Kevin

 

[Digger]

Kevin your local company has a Central Station close to you or the company is located close to you and the Central Station is hundreds or thousands of miles away? If they are local to you do they have a backup (technically they pretty much have to for liability etc). Just curious as I have been told (I dont have any facts other then UL website shows 54 UL Listed Central Stations in the USA under the Burglar Alarm Category {UL Category CPVX}) and several Central Stations you see advertised are just reselling someone else's service or in a very few cases may not be UL Listed.

The cost to set up a Central Station is significant. I am working on a similar project (an intermediate location from the premise to the central station similar to what others have done) at work to get the UL Listing. We have been working on it for over a year now and I doubt we will finish by the end of the year with the time it will take to get the beta testing done and the UL Listing. At them moment we are looking at a hot backup in the USA and overseas just in case.

That is why I am curious if there is a local CS to you as some companies imply that and others actually do it.

I did my own monitoring (to my cell phone) the first 6 months or so to make sure I had no issues. Turns out I had a PIR that would false when sun hit a mirror and reflected on the PIR at a certian time of day.

While I use NextAlarm at $12 a month (prepaid for several years but you can cancel and get a refund) there are even cheaper ones out there. Eventually I will probably switch over to GSM from TCP/IP or at least use them as a backup but that may double my costs.

Profit margins are huge in the CS business after things are up and running but it takes a few years to break even with all of the upfront costs.

 

[Kevin L]

Hi, Digger.

They're about 8 miles from my home and operate their own facilities. Here's a link to some info about them http://www.securityalarmcorp.com/DEALER_INFO.html. I have been to the facility and they do have multiple generators as backups.

I've had them for over two years, and their response and service is top-notch.

Kevin

 

[Digger]

Took a few minutes to find them in the UL site as their UL Listing is under a different name (very common to see that) SECURITY CORP OF PORT CHARLOTTE which does appear to be a Full Service Central Station.

Not that many people will care but there are different types of Central Stations :

Full Service Company. A central station that provides all elements of service required by the Standards either directly or through the sub-contracting of certain elements. A full service company is considered to be a prime contractor and has been qualified to issue UL Certificates for alarm systems.

Monitoring Company. A central station that is recognized only for signal monitoring, retransmission, record keeping, and report. A monitoring company is not eligible to issue UL Certificates for alarm systems as this type of company does not bear responsibility for activities at the protected area involving equipment installation, inspection, testing, maintenance and runner service.

Fire Alarm Service — Local Company. A company that provides installation, testing and maintenance for a protected area with its own personnel, and which subcontracts the monitoring, retransmission, and associated record keeping and reporting to a central station. Required runner service is handled either by the local service company or the central station full service company. A fire alarm service - local company is considered to be a prime contractor and has been qualified to issue UL Certificates for alarm systems.

A company shown in the listing without any qualifying description is considered to be a full service company. Those companies that are identified in each individual listing as a monitoring company or a fire alarm service — local company are not considered individually to be full service companies.

A central station alarm system is considered to be Listed only if a current active UL Certificate has been issued for the alarm system. Certificates for alarm systems can be issued only by a full service central station company or a fire alarm service - local company, either of which are defined by NFPA 72 as prime contractors. A monitoring company is not authorized to issue Alarm System Certificates because this type of company has not been investigated for providing installation, testing, maintenance, and runner service for a protected area. An alarm service company is not obligated to issue UL Certificates on all of its systems. Systems which are not covered by a Certificate are not required by UL to comply with UL's requirements for Certification.

Central stations, both full service and monitoring only types, and fire alarm service--local companies are listed according to the city from which they provide service.

The limits of coverage, as determined by response time for runner response, and for service and maintenance, are based on identification of a service territory through the use of United States Post Office zip codes. An alarm service company selects those zip codes (areas) it will serve, as verified through periodic audits of its response capability by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. The area coverage is defined by five digit or nine digit zip codes, or some of each. A response area need not include all zip codes within the general area. A zip code shall be for the physical address of a Certificated installation.

Each central station signaling system covered by a Certificate is required to be maintained by the prime contractor who is the alarm company responsible for issuing the Certificate.

UL maintains a Certificate Verification Service (ULCVS) that allows authorized Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) to verify up-to-date Certificate information and identify companies eligible to issue Certificates as of the date of the inquiry. Only those alarm or signal system installations for which a Certificate has been properly issued are covered under UL's Certificate Service. The verification of a Certificate on ULCVS is the only method UL provides to identify the Certificated alarm systems actively covered under its Listing and Follow-Up Service.

Information on the Central Station Certificate includes the name and address of the central station, the name and address of the installed system, the extent and type of system, central station alarm retransmission means, issued and expiration dates, and the alarm service company. Each Certificate also bears a unique serial number. Underwriters Laboratories Inc.'s inspection program which is a counter check of an alarm company's certification practices is extended only to those systems which have an active, unexpired Certificate.

The Certificate Service is evidence that the alarm service company (1) is Listed as providing central station signaling service; (2) is authorized to issue the Certificate for the installation as its representation that the equipment and service is in compliance with the requirements in NFPA 72 "National Fire Alarm Code;" and (3) is subject to the Laboratories' field countercheck program whereby periodic reviews are made of representative installations and also at the central station to check the correctness of certification practices.

The Certificate is intended to provide an Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) with basic information on the installation and maintenance of an alarm system including the extent to which the system complies with specific NFPA Standard referenced on the Certificate as permitted by the AHJ.

Inspections and tests of representative installations in the field are made to determine the correctness of equipment and wiring, operability of circuits, maintenance and extent of protection indicated.

Periodic inspections at central stations are conducted by the Laboratories to check for compliance with applicable Standards. Records involving alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals for systems covered by UL Certificates are subject to periodic audit. The response to alarm signals may be periodically checked by "surprise tests" initiated from an alarm system covered by a UL Certificate. Such a test is conducted under the supervision of the local fire department.

Underwriters Laboratories Inc. makes no representations or warranties, expressed or implied, that the alarm system will prevent any loss by fire, smoke, water damage or otherwise, or that the alarm system will in all cases provide the protection for which it is installed or intended. UL may at times conduct inspections of the alarm service company, including inspections of representative installations made by it. UL does not assume or undertake to discharge any liability of the alarm service company or any other party. UL is not an insurer and assumes no liability which may result directly or indirectly from inspection of the equipment, failure of the equipment, failure to conduct inspections, incorrect Certification, nonconformity with requirements, failure to discover nonconformity with requirements, cancellation of the Certificate, or withdrawal of the alarm service company from inclusion in UL's Directory prior to the expiration date on the Certificate. If an installation is found not in conformity with requirements, it shall be corrected or the certificate is subject to cancellation.

The basic Standards used to investigate systems and services covered in this category are UL 827, "Central Station Alarm Services," or NFPA 72, "National Fire Alarm Code," or NFPA 71, "Installation, Maintenance and Use of Central Station Signaling Systems" .

My current project at work is a Monitoring Company not a full fledged Central Station.

 

[Kevin L]

Thanks for the update, Digger. I never checked the UL listing when I hired them, but I did tour the facilities and spoke with other customers. Plus, the builder of my home, who is a friend, recommended them. I like dealing with local businesses if they can provide what I need, even if it costs a little more. In this case, they were local, and lower in price. A win-win.

Kevin

 

[Digger]

Thanks for the update, Digger. I never checked the UL listing when I hired them, but I did tour the facilities and spoke with other customers. Plus, the builder of my home, who is a friend, recommended them. I like dealing with local businesses if they can provide what I need, even if it costs a little more. In this case, they were local, and lower in price. A win-win.

Kevin

Yes you got lucky having a CS close by. I to like dealing with local companies for many things but I have never found a central station local that supports DIY. I can get a local CS to do it for me as a favor through work but I prefer not to owe them anything.

Technically nowadays with TCP/IP a CS can be anywhere in the world.

I would like to use the Uplink as a backup to the TCP/IP or possible the HAI 70A00-1. Both are good products and I have to see which is best for my needs. I have a few other systems I would do this with once I try it out for a few months.

 

[Kevin L]

I am lucky with them, and they were very accomodating with my setup. In fact, their lead tech was out at the house (they did all the wiring as part of my home build) and really liked the Elk compared to his DSC, and was going to put one in at his house.
I'm orignally from Long Island. Where are you in NY?

Though I'm a Giants fan, GO JETS!

Kevin

 

[Del91574]

Not to carry an argument over, but I can count the number of times I've had to have a residential alarm UL listed and certificated on all my extremities over the last 15 years, so truthfully, citing the central station/monitoring service for specific UL listings in a residential application makes for 9/10 times, a moot point for most users that are having monitoring done, as long as the central station is UL listed for the application it's being implemented as rather than being located in Uncle Jimmy's garage.

I doubt that many installs out there can be tested or even inspected to the extent classifications that UL prescribes in their documentation.

The big thing is that, contrary to some people's beliefs, a properly listed UL central station monitoring setup with appropriate backup, even though it is an expense out of pocket, will far surpass the capabilities of one to self monitor their system using their own means, as Kevin has noted some examples of. We've experienced more underwriters being involved with the installation and extent of our systems than in years prior, which I believe is in conjunction for the insured value or loss risk, which many contemporary "installers" have not experienced, including requiring the homeowner to install fire, low temperature or other non-burglary related devices, not to mention installing MORE devices, including fire alarm, to satisfy their requirements prior to underwriting the particular party.

I'm an exception, as I can obtain my service wholesale as a dealer, but most people, paying for a service around here typically see the insurance costs discounted to offset the typical monitoring expenses, with the exception of the upkeep and initial equipment investments, with the insurance company generally providing a larger discount depending on the amount you mitigate their potential loss.

Frankly, with the exception of POTS starting to disappear we offer 3 transmission methods (POTS, cell/LRR and TCP/IP) on the same account for the $50/month that was cited before, and with cellular and TCP/IP combinations being around $30-40 typically. which, as stated is far from the greedy or multi year contracts...even if we only ask for a 1 year agreement, which is even less than most cellular carriers offer, with the exception of the pre-paid ones.

As Kevin said, it's you either want to spend the money or not, and honestly, self monitoring is a hell of a gamble to undertake.

 

[Digger]

I am lucky with them, and they were very accomodating with my setup. In fact, their lead tech was out at the house (they did all the wiring as part of my home build) and really liked the Elk compared to his DSC, and was going to put one in at his house.
I'm orignally from Long Island. Where are you in NY?

Though I'm a Giants fan, GO JETS!

Kevin

I live in West Suffolk County off Rte 231.

I work for a fairly large alarm company mfg and a bunch of people at work went with an ELK and took out their existing systems as well. They had various mfg panels and it was not a case of they didnt like them it was the ELK offered them features that their previous systems did not have. Lately though some of the mfg's have been coming out with some additional features similar to what the ELK and HAI but not on the same scale/level.

 

[Kevin L]

No way. I lived in West Babylon, Sandpiper Ln, right across from Bergen Point Golf Course until I moved to FL in 2007. Worked right on Deer Park Ave. Small world.

Most people have no interest in their alarm systems, but if they did, they really would want an ELK or HAI.

Kevin

 

[Digger]

Not to carry an argument over, but I can count the number of times I've had to have a residential alarm UL listed and certificated on all my extremities over the last 15 years, so truthfully, citing the central station/monitoring service for specific UL listings in a residential application makes for 9/10 times, a moot point for most users that are having monitoring done, as long as the central station is UL listed for the application it's being implemented as rather than being located in Uncle Jimmy's garage.

I doubt that many installs out there can be tested or even inspected to the extent classifications that UL prescribes in their documentation.

The big thing is that, contrary to some people's beliefs, a properly listed UL central station monitoring setup with appropriate backup, even though it is an expense out of pocket, will far surpass the capabilities of one to self monitor their system using their own means, as Kevin has noted some examples of. We've experienced more underwriters being involved with the installation and extent of our systems than in years prior, which I believe is in conjunction for the insured value or loss risk, which many contemporary "installers" have not experienced, including requiring the homeowner to install fire, low temperature or other non-burglary related devices, not to mention installing MORE devices, including fire alarm, to satisfy their requirements prior to underwriting the particular party.

I'm an exception, as I can obtain my service wholesale as a dealer, but most people, paying for a service around here typically see the insurance costs discounted to offset the typical monitoring expenses, with the exception of the upkeep and initial equipment investments, with the insurance company generally providing a larger discount depending on the amount you mitigate their potential loss.

Frankly, with the exception of POTS starting to disappear we offer 3 transmission methods (POTS, cell/LRR and TCP/IP) on the same account for the $50/month that was cited before, and with cellular and TCP/IP combinations being around $30-40 typically. which, as stated is far from the greedy or multi year contracts...even if we only ask for a 1 year agreement, which is even less than most cellular carriers offer, with the exception of the pre-paid ones.

As Kevin said, it's you either want to spend the money or not, and honestly, self monitoring is a hell of a gamble to undertake.

While I will not dispute how many UL installations you have done or if your customers care about a UL Installation or UL Central Station others do. I will "guesstimate" it is well below 50% of installations it will be a concern but I really dont know that for sure.

AHJ's here in some towns on Long Island will inspect an alarm installation (even one already installed) if a homeowner applies for a permit to dormer or add a room (Baylon abd Brookhaven towns to name a few I have dealt with). I know of one case someone was putting in an in-ground pool and the inspector walked through the house and noted a few "issues" (GFCI's, venting of the furnace, and the smoke detectors). The homeowner had to bring things up to code and we were contacted because the 2 wire smokes in use were never evaluated with the panel (while the AHJ was 100% correct you could tell the guy was looking for anything he could find). It was not cheap for the guy to have have his alarm installer change out the 4 or 5 detectors (the installer should have done it out of pocket but that was between the homeowner and the installer).

In Maryland where new construction was going on last summer in a Residential Community the AHJ questioned the grounding method of the alarm systems being installed in the housing because the instructions for the alarm said to ground to a cold water pipe. With the PEX being used that was not possible and I had to go back to UL to ammend the instructions to allow for a ground rod or electrical system ground in place of the cold water pipe (10 years ago PEX was not on our minds when we wrote the instructions). The AHJ verbally agreed a ground rod was better but unless our instructions were amended and UL accepted it he was not going to accept it officially so we had to spend the money at UL. Otherwise no Certificate of Occupancy was going to be issued. It was one of the "easy ones" to address.

Some insurance companies will not offer the homeowner a discount if the Central Station is not UL Listed. Some I am told require compliance to the International Building Code but I have not had to deal with that directly since that is an installer issue more than a mfg issue. I feel for those installers who need to deal with that.

In most cases if you call and get one of those "free installs" or $99 specials there will be no AHJ involved (and odds are they may not comply with UL). But a few years down the road it may be looked at if you change something else so it is always best to follow the UL requirements where practical ( I think most people dont want to make that large of an investment when they are starting out with a "free" system). I will also agree some of the requirements make no sense based on changes in technology etc since the requirements were written.

In some states the AHJ's will not sign off on an install if the control panel is not evaluated to ANS/SIA CP-01 (which all panels have to be ere-valuated to the 2010 requirements by 12/31/11 or the mfg can no longer mark them as compliant to that ANSI Standard). That is NOT a UL issue but UL and ETL do evaluate to that standard as a service to its customers.

So while you dont feel the need to worry about UL in some localities it can be a concern or even a requirement.

 

[Digger]

No way. I lived in West Babylon, Sandpiper Ln, right across from Bergen Point Golf Course until I moved to FL in 2007. Worked right on Deer Park Ave. Small world.

Most people have no interest in their alarm systems, but if they did, they really would want an ELK or HAI.

Kevin

I have lived in Deer Park for 11 years and I dont know where that Golf Course is You probably know the Olympic Diner. I am not far from there.

I have some friends that drool when they see what my system will do and others are like "yeah so what". Depends on the person. The average person does not "need" and ELK or HAI system but I always think an alarm system is a wise investment if done correctly. There are many mfg that make great equipment and many great installers that provide a sufficient level of protection. Then there are those that give a warm and fuzzy but no real protection.

So would you rely on Cablevision for TCP/IP or get the Uplink 2500 if you still lived here