HAI OmniPro II Vs Elk M1G Gold what to buy?

S

SoxFan1

New Member
Right now I use Homeseer to run lighting and such in my home. I have been happy with this setup to this proint but I am looking Change out my outdated ADT alarm so I am thinking about the the HAI OMNI PRO Vs ELK. Price wise the ELK Might be a little less But when I add all the add in's to elk Might be really close in price. So I am more intrested in the two models for what they do! not price. I have seen a lot of news comming from HAI all the time as far as new products and such posted here and on there site.

I just really need help deciding whitch way to go.

I dont mean to make this a This againsed that just help info that would help me decide what way to go!

Thanks
 
JonW said:
FYI - set your browser zoom level to 100% or the grids/data will not display correctly.
Click to expand...

"This presentation was optimized for more recent versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer."

They mean it. I get squat in FF 3.6.3, but IE8 works fine.
 
I would also search around here. There are at least a dozen multi page threads comparing the two. You may need to use the Google search option to find all of them. Bottom line: They are both great, it will come down to perhaps a specific feature or option you may be looking for.
 
sda said:
JonW said:
FYI - set your browser zoom level to 100% or the grids/data will not display correctly.
Click to expand...

"This presentation was optimized for more recent versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer."

They mean it. I get squat in FF 3.6.3, but IE8 works fine.
Click to expand...
I sent them an email to let them know they had lost a potential customer by trying to force compliance with MS technology.
 
Also note that while that comparison is a good start, it also seems to be quite old. HAI has added MANY features since it was produced and I'm guessing that ELK has as well. For example, one major part of the HAI OMNI is how it integrates to so many types of video and audio systems, including those made by HAI. In this comparison this was only mentioned in the most basic way. There is just so much more to this.

The reason I say this is because when you select a system like this, you are not thinking of all the possibilities like audio, wireless RFID, etc. but once your system is in place you may want to add those later. That is why looking at a comparison like this can be so misleading, because it focuses on the details but you loose the big picture. Instead, stop worrying if the panel tops out at 176 zones or 225 and instead look at the optional equipment that works with it, to see if someday that might interest you. Realize that either HAI or ELK makes competent panels for security, its things way outside of that which separates the two. You might only care about security now, but in 3 years it might be different. Be careful with just looking at the trees in the forest and not seeing the forest.
 
I agree with ano but his own logic can be used against him ;) HAI (and to an extent Elk) are always coming out with new products and interfaces. So even if there is something you see today chances are good there will be other products you don't even realize tomorrow. HAI has been on a bit of a tear coming out with more products recently but I would not count Elk's relative silence as they are not contenders.
 
Steve said:
I agree with ano but his own logic can be used against him ;) HAI (and to an extent Elk) are always coming out with new products and interfaces. So even if there is something you see today chances are good there will be other products you don't even realize tomorrow. HAI has been on a bit of a tear coming out with more products recently but I would not count Elk's relative silence as they are not contenders.
Click to expand...

Always new products maybe, but it's pretty risky to assume there will always be more products. It can go both either way and home automation and even security is a big expense to pay only to later find out that future product won't be coming out for whatever reason. Even though HAI and ELK and others are established companies I've seen many come and go. I'm not saying HAI or ELK are going away, but they could one day. Before any big project its good to make sure everything is there.

Back in 2004 I went with HomeSeer because they told me an Ethernet interface was being designed to connect with the HAI panel, to replace the clunky serial interface they used at the time. After serval years waiting for it I switched to CQC because this interface existed on CQC, and guess what? That serial interface on HomeSeer is still not there. Don't believe anything is on the way until its actually here.
 
I like both the HAI OPII and the Elk M1 Gold. A little bit over a year ago put a second OPII in FL. I was on the fence whether it was going to be an Elk or another OPII. I went with an OPII because of the limited footprint that I had. (very small).

Today my primary lighting / HVAC /security control is via the OPII. I have my HSPro connected to the OPII (since around 2004) and utilize it some but don't really depend its "clunky" serial interface for much. The standard HAI plugin release works somewhat with the new Omnistat II thermostat (but I don't use it to control it) and the communications is mostly used for reading the status of the hard wired IR sensors but I don't depend on it. The "beta" HAI HS release version of the HS plugin never worked with my "old" HAI RC80 and doesn't work with the new OmnistatII. The standard HSPro HAI release of the plugin doesn't recognize UPB/ZWave devices. The "beta" release of the HSPro HAI plugin does "see" the UPB devices but not the ZWave devices. HS has stated repeatedly over the last few years it has no intentions of writing a new interface for the HAI panel.

Personally though I wouldn't utilize any HA software based server as a primary controller for security but more as a means of monitoring security status only.
 
pete_c said:
I like both the HAI OPII and the Elk M1 Gold. A little bit over a year ago put a second OPII in FL. I was on the fence whether it was going to be an Elk or another OPII. I went with an OPII because of the limited footprint that I had. (very small).

Today my primary lighting / HVAC /security control is via the OPII. I have my HSPro connected to the OPII (since around 2004) and utilize it some but don't really depend its "clunky" serial interface for much. The standard HAI plugin release works somewhat with the new Omnistat II thermostat (but I don't use it to control it) and the communications is mostly used for reading the status of the hard wired IR sensors but I don't depend on it. The "beta" HAI HS release version of the HS plugin never worked with my "old" HAI RC80 and doesn't work with the new OmnistatII. The standard HSPro HAI release of the plugin doesn't recognize UPB/ZWave devices. The "beta" release of the HSPro HAI plugin does "see" the UPB devices but not the ZWave devices. HS has stated repeatedly over the last few years it has no intentions of writing a new interface for the HAI panel.

Personally though I wouldn't utilize any HA software based server as a primary controller for security but more as a means of monitoring security status only.
Click to expand...

For me the HAI interface problems with the serial port was that it was so slow. I have 64 zones and response time was a few seconds at best. When I initially switched to CQC, it used an Ethernet interface but still had polling with UDP. Then I actually had a different problem, speed was quicker, but the demand on the panel was so high that timers just didn't work. HAI exchanged my board but the new one had the same problem. Then HAI upgraded to v3.0, CQC supported the TCP/IP access mode, and its been working great since then.

I only bring all this up because I know the process of picking a panel is hard, and its impossible to see all the obstacles in advance. Anyone deciding should learn all they can before jumping in, because once you choose, its pretty hard (and expensive) to switch.
 
I am currently using the plugin with HAI FW version 3.5.

9/17/2010 9:18:49 PM - HAI System - HAI Plug-In Version 2.0.19
9/17/2010 9:18:49 PM - HAI System - About to initialize HAI System on COM10
9/17/2010 9:18:49 PM - HAI System - Panel Model: 16 (HAI Omni Pro II) with Panel Software Version: 3.5
9/17/2010 9:18:49 PM - HAI System - Security code is number X, which has a level of Master
9/17/2010 9:18:51 PM - Plug-In - Finished initializing plug-in HAI_System
Click to expand...

Getting an "odd" status on security (never seen this before - but never really look). The HAI system is not armed.

Panel Status and Arm/Disarm Action Table
Panel Status: Armed UNKNOWN 112 (Delay)
Disarm
Arm in Day Mode
Arm in Night Mode
Arm in Away Mode
Arm in Day Instant Mode
Arm in Night Delayed Mode
Arm in Vacation Mode
Click to expand...

HVAC Status and Control Table

Name Current Temp Current Mode Fan Mode HEAT Setpoint COOL Setpoint Hold Status

Thermostat 73.4 Cool ----AutoHeatCool Off On ----AutoOn 68.9 73.4 Not Holding ----Hold UnHold
Auxiliary Temperature and Humidity Sensors
Name Current Temp
MB Temp 73.4
MB Humidity 41.9

Outside Temp 65.3
Click to expand...
 
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