Notification/Mobile access to ELK M1 with C1M1

[Steelhead]

Hi I'm a newbie to this forum. I found this forum from searching ELK M1 related info and have already benefited from some of the great postings -- thank you!
 
I recently bought a house with ELK M1 & C1M1 dual path communicator. I'm still trying to figure out how to receive notifications and/or use mobile app to remotely arm/disarm the system. The previous owner told me which company installed the system and I contacted them. The installer said they usually use a local alarm monitoring company which charges ~$35/month and they also need to come to my house to do the setup which will take 3-4 hours (rate is more than $100/hour). I'm a bit skeptical -- the previous owner already hooked up with their recommended monitoring service, why would it still take hours to setup C1M1 again?
 
Anyway, from reading some of the posts in this forum it looks like I can't do self monitoring of the system without going through a monitoring service due to Telguard as a mandatory provider? If I want to have self monitoring capability that only option is for me to replace C1M1 with M1XEP?
 
Here is what I think my options are -- please let me know if there are better ones:
 
1) Go with the installer recommended monitoring service. Since C1M1 is already pointing to the backend of the CO, there should not be much configuration on C1M1 needed anymore? Is the understanding correct? I suppose I can call up the monitoring company and reactivate the account. That way I should be able to get an end-user account with ELKLink that allows me to use ELKLink or eKeypad mobile app to remotely arm/disarm the system, as well as receiving e-mail/texts after configuring.
 
2) Go with a different monitoring service such as Alarm Relay -- I read some users have had success with Alarm Relay. Does anyone know how much is the monthly charge? One post said it's higher than normal again due to Telguard cost, but did not see exact cost. In this case C1M1 would need to be re-configurated. The C1M1 setup utility is for dealer only? Would Alarm Relay be able to help configuring C1M1 somehow?
 
3) Replace C1M1 with M1XEP, setup port forwarding and setup DDNS, then use eKeypad mobile app to do the remote arm/disarm. What about e-mail notification in this case? Is it easy to setup with M1XEP? I understand this option won't have cellular path and will solely depend on Internet availability. M1Cloud would be alternative -- that will remove the need of port forwarding and DDNS. Does anyone have experience with M1Cloud and know how much does it cost per month?
 
Thanks a lot in advance for your help!
 
-Steelhead
 

 

[Madcodger]

Hi all. Bumping this thread as Steelhead got no replies. Does anyone have experience with the C1M1? I’m buying a vacation home where satellite is the only real option for internet, except probably enough cellular to do some basic connectivity as a backup. So, any experience connecting via C1M1 would be appreciated. And if you have experience with satellite internet and Elk, via either C1M1 or XEP, that would also be nice to hear. Thanks!

 

[pete_c]

Here have been using a Cellular modem as backup to ISP and telephone line.
 
There are plenty of 3G / LTE modems on Ebay used or new.
 
3 G will provides up to 8 or so Mbs download and up to 1 Mbs upload which is plenty for the Elk panel.
 
Ideally if you are at fringe cellular reception then an outdoor directional antenna with a cellular booster would suffice.
 
I am using one SIM card from my T-Mobile account.  ($20 per month)

There are also a couple of Homeseer users that utilize Satellite today. One has for many years and lives in a valley which doesn't have cellular reception in Montana.
 
Have an old friend here that lives on the family farm in Indiana.  He uses local wireless ISP provider (not cellular) and tower is over 10 miles away.  It's been over 10 years and it works for him. 
 
He built a new home a few years back and I suggested a point to point wireless connection to a building that he owns in the nearest town some ~ 15 miles or so away.  Very inexpensive to do this today.

 

[Madcodger]

Thanks, Pete. Always appreciate your input and thoughts.

We’ll be onsite at the house late this week and next, and I’ll do my planning then. The thing I liked about the C1M1 was the dual path. But I’m all but certain I can make cell more reliable than satellite via an external antenna, so that might be the answer. I’ve read that Uplink works well, so may look at that. Getting the cell providers to cooperate on anything other than their little wifi hotspots is a pain I’ve found, as that’s all the kids in their stores or call centers understand. But will try to just drop in a sim and see what happens.

More to come, I’m sure...

 

[pete_c]

Yeah here T-Mobile did not have a modem that I wanted at the time.
 
Tried the little WiFi hub and while that works for creating a little WiFi network it did not work for my OmniPro 2 backup line.
 
So purchased an old Ericsson W25 3G combo modem.  This provides you with a WAP, Network switch, RJ11 (X2) with a battery backup.
 
The W25 is no longer made.  That said picked it up a few years back on Ebay for $25.
 
This was a default device utilized globally for temporary transport back in the day.
 
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:1216]
 
I understand that today you can purchase a combo LTE modem except the rates will be different with this.

That said you remote locations most likely will only have access to a 3G network anyhow.
 
The newer style combo LTE modems is sold today for use say with boats et al.
 
I also purchased a two SIM card communications hub (used for police / emergency site communications which works well but only provides you with a WAP and network switch.  This device has two sim slots plus a GPS for geotracking.
 
 
If you DIY your LTE modem and yagi antenna you can go with something like this (provided that you have an LTE tower around).

There are online Cellular tower search tools. Only issue with these is that the cellular providers like to keep this info to themselves.
 
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:1217]

 
 
 

 

[Madcodger]

Thanks, Pete. Great ideas as always.

 

[pete_c]

Check the area for long range WiFi access.  Old friend on a farm is getting his internet via a WiFi tower some 20 miles away.  Its been a few years and you do share the connection that is reasonably priced.
 
Both of the above would work fine with the M1 panel and maybe Homeseer if you disconnected the cloud connectivity to Homeseer. 
 
Here only utilize VPN for HS3 remote connectivity.