M1 Questions

[Spanky]

The M1 has the siren driver built in. All you need are 8 ohm speakers, not self contained siren/speakers. However Output 2 can be configured for voltage output and a self contained siren added to it. Sort of waste of money though.

The nice thing about using the built in siren generator is that all the siren sounds are coordinated and the same siren sound is coming out of all speakers. You do not have a mismatch of siren sounds.

 

[electron]

toymaster, do you have any pics of your setup? Thanks!

 

[hgupta1]

Alright.. I finally finished the basic part of the installation. (Just alarm and the RP software...not the automation stuff). So far I have been really pleased with almost everything. However, there is one severe annoyance:

I have a motion detector in the entry hall that sees you when you are at the alarm keypad. Unfortunately, my Elk system won't let me arm the alarm while this Motion detector is activated. So we have to be very still for a while until motion sensor doesn't see us before we can arm the alarm. Thats very hard hard with two people. Nearly impossible with three.


I tried setting the zone as "force armable", which is slightly better, but you have to enter your code once, get yelled at by the alarm system, and then enter the code again.

My old Napco alarm was configured to allow the system to arm despite the motion sensor detecting motion. It was very convenient to just press one button to arm the alarm on my way out the door.

Is there a work around that will let me do the same thing with the ELK?

 

[torgrimj]

Thanks for the replies,

Looks like I might go with the 28" Can. Just wondering if the leviton can would also work? I can get one at Homedepot for about the same price, and then no shipping charges?

Also on the starter packages, are a small number of the EOL resistors included, or do they need to be purchased seperate.

 

[un-wired]

We offer a nice discount (I believe it's 7.5% right now) for all cocoon members, just use the word "cocoon" when you check out.

:blink: Ugh, I just received my Insteon stuff from SmartHome this week and didn't know about the discount.


Edit:
Oh wait, is SmartHomeUSA different than SmartHome?

Yes, Smarthome and SmartHomeUSA are different, SmartHome is in California, and we are in NY. We are two totally seperated companies.

 

[Digger]

Does Smarthome USA sell Insteon?? I didnt think so. I am a few miles from Smarthome USA and would rather just buy off the shelf rather than order and wait for it to be shipped.

 

[un-wired]

We do have alot of local clients who will stop in to pick up merchandise, so that's no problem.

We unfortunately don't sell any Insteon products.

 

[Mike]

Also on the starter packages, are a small number of the EOL resistors included, or do they need to be purchased seperate.

EOL resistors are included with the panel, and with expansion modules that would need them as well.

 

[Spanky]

hgupta1,

This should solve your issue of a motion detector pointing at a keypad and not being able to arm the M1 if you are moving around.

Currently there is not a zone definition that allows you to arm the M1 with a violated zone with only one code entry, but you can program around the issue:

Use a relay contact to short across the motion detector contacts on a Normally Closed hardware defined zone. Write a Rule that if the system is disarmed the relay contacts will be closed, shunting out the motion detector. The motion detector will now not cause a violated zone into the M1 even if you walk in front of it.

Write another Rule that if the M1 is armed to away mode the relay contacts open allowing the motion detector contacts to trigger the M1. The motion detector zone should be defined as an interior or entry/exit zone so that after arming the motion detector will not cause an alarm during the exit time.

 

[WayneW]

But that bypass relay prevents using that motion detector for any other rules or HA tasks when the system is disarmed. I have run into this issue also and wifey doesn't like entering the code twice. I don't use the codeless arm feature as that doesn't track who did the arming, which is used for occupancy rules & logging. Might Elk add the ability to have a zone be non-secure and still allow easy arming to the enhancement request list?

 

[hgupta1]

Thanks Spanky.
I was hoping to use the Motion Detector for other home automation rules like WayneW was talking about.

We do have it set to single key arming, but it doesn't work quite right.... you still have to punch in the code first, hear the message, then hit the Exit button.

Although Elk might consider having to type in the code twice a security feature, it looks like a fault, and the whole system got the lowest WAF in history. She's been tolerant of my spending on gadgets as long as it makes her life easier, but this time things went the opposite way. I tried explaining to her that it was designed so that we know that the motion detector is working, but as she astutely pointed out, the lcd screen shows this info all day long.



Elk should really add the ability to allow easy arming despite a violated zone.

 

[Guy Lavoie]

This may or may not make sense (I haven't played with the Elk long enough...) but what if you could connect that motion detector to two zone inputs? One input could be setup the way Spanky is suggesting with a shorting relay while it is unarmed, while the second input would not be part of the alarm triggering inputs and would be used only for HA applications. In this scenario, you would need to add isolation diodes so that the "shorting relay" only shorts the zone input, but not the motion sensor itself.