Rebuild Omnipro setup for new homeowner

[architechnj]

A friend moved into a new home with an HAI OmniPro II system, with a handful of Omnitouch 7 screens around the house. There are also Leviton consoles for climate control that are functioning. With the help of many threads on this forum, I was able to get his controller online, and connect to it with PC Dealer Access.
I retrieved the setup from the controller, and it looks like someone cleared out most of the setup/automations that were in place. The home used to be a model home for the builder, and had automations before, and still has lots of sensors around the house.

We've been unable to reach the original installer, so I'm here to figure out how to rebuild his system. No local home automation dealers want to touch the system. I eventually want to go the Home Assistant route using OmniLinkBridge, but Dealer Access doesn't tell me what sensors are where, what zones are available, etc. All the OmniTouch7 screens are blank, save for alarm setup. No lights, volume control, climate control, etc...

They also have a Russound MCA-88x + streamers set up for whole house sound. We've been able to get that up and running.

How should I rebuild the system? Is there a way to autodiscover what sensors are attached?

 

[pete_c]

@architechnj

Welcome to the Cocoontech Forum.

How should I rebuild the system?

Trace all of the hardware wiring to the panel. Use pictures and post them here for a DIY.

Is there a way to autodiscover what sensors are attached?

no.

Post here on the forum that you want to subcontract someone to do this for you. Where are you located geographically?

 

[architechnj]

Located in Central New Jersey. So far all dealers have refused to work on the system, and the one who built it has no idea what is in it. Everyone is quoting a replacement instead. No idea why someone wiped the setup.


So for DIY, what do I do once I trace wires? if I figure out which wire is a temp sensor/motion sensor/etc. what do I do in Dealer Access? I see a whole bunch of "Units" in the setup, but they don't have names or descriptions.

Automation isn't my area of expertise (networking is), so I don't even know what the right questions to ask are.

 

[ano]

So, hopefully you have at least one real keypad. Does it say "System OK"? If you go to the Zones tab, do you see zones defined there? Each zone has a type, and hopefully they are defined, but it sounds like names are gone. With one person watching the PC access, and another opening doors and windows, you should be able to figure out some zones, I would start there. With some trial and error, you should be able to figure out most of it. Start with zones.

 

[architechnj]

@ano What am I watching for in Dealer Access while walking around/turning lights on and off?
Do I look in the Units section, and see some sort of value update?

 

[pete_c]

If the panel is not configured not really sure what you will see in status section of PCA.

Is the alarm still working?

Take a picture of the panel with the wires and post it here.

if I figure out which wire is a temp sensor/motion sensor/etc. what do I do in Dealer Access?

motion sensors, temperature sensors, thermostat are plugged in to zones. Power from motion sensors, temperature sensors come from the 12VDC board. You configure PCA to what zone these devices are plugged in to.

Baby steps here...do one at a time...post a picture...

 

[pete_c]

Here is an OmniPro 2 board....last revision note the 5 ports on the top left...to the right is the Ethernet port then the X10 port...
Firmware is upgradable via the Ethernet Port



Here is an early version of the OmniPro 2 panel. Firmware is upgradable via upgrade chips.

 

[ano]

@ano What am I watching for in Dealer Access while walking around/turning lights on and off?
Do I look in the Units section, and see some sort of value update?

Again, do you have the "System OK" displayed? If your alarm works, in other-words, is not displaying zones "not ready" than at least the zone definitions are OK. If your system was completely reset, then nothing would be set up at all, then most of the zones would be "not ready or in alarm. What to look for? On PC Access, go to the tab that says "Zones." You should see a list of zones, they may not have zone names and may be called something like zone1, zone2, zone3, etc. If they are all setup, and you open the front door, that zone will change. That is the front door, etc.

 

[architechnj]

@pete_c I'm working on a photo of the board for you.

@ano System OK is on the console and the alarm works. This is the screenshot of Zones in PCA. What will change on this screen, just so I'm clear? And
can I use that to determine what is a motion sensor in PCA?

 

[ano]

OK, that isn't too good. Try this, do you see the four tabs, Setup, Automation, and the right one says "Status/Control?" Click on that Status/Control, then click on "Zones." That will show if anything is connected. Looks like all your zones are set to Auxilary, which is the default, so nothing will actually trigger your alarm, but click on Status/Control and the Zones and it will show you the actual status. Then open the front door and see if one changes state.

 

[architechnj]

OK, that isn't too good. Try this, do you see the four tabs, Setup, Automation, and the right one says "Status/Control?" Click on that Status/Control, then click on "Zones." That will show if anything is connected. Looks like all your zones are set to Auxilary, which is the default, so nothing will actually trigger your alarm, but click on Status/Control and the Zones and it will show you the actual status. Then open the front door and see if one changes state.

It's blank. Not a single Zone is listed under status/control. Same goes for all the sensor/thermostat/etc categories in that tab.

 

[ano]

It's blank. Not a single Zone is listed under status/control. Same goes for all the sensor/thermostat/etc categories in that tab.

So this tends to indicate that nothing is connected to the panel. They should show up on that screen. Are you sure that PC Access is really connecting to the panel? Are you using a serial connection or network connection? At the top of PC Access there is a tab in the middle that says "Connection". You need to connect to the panel to actually see what is going on. If you know the IP of the panel you can connect via network, otherwise its RS232, which is a pain nowadays, but might be required. So, are you REALLY connected to the panel? You should see "On-Line" if you are connected. Sounds like maybe you aren't.

 

[ano]

So it sounds like your PC Access might NOT be connected to the system, so that is our next goal. Do you have any keypads on your system, or are they all Omnitouch 7 screens? Both will work, but the keypad is better. You'll need some information from it to login. A key, IP address, port number, etc. You have the master PIN? I hope.

Its like an onion, you have to work through the layers.

 

[architechnj]

I'm connecting remotely via Network. I'm confident I'm connected to the device. Here are PCA screenshots showing the System Status, and the ONLINE status on the bottom-right of the window.

 

[architechnj]

@ano @pete_c Here's the HAI console: