Electronic Alarms and Home Security Devices - Advice for Simon 3 w/Detached Garage

I recently installed Simon 3. I put the main panel at my back door and a talking keypad at the front door. I have a detached garage and used door sensors for both the overhead door and the normal entry door.

This arrangement doesn't work too well, due to the time it takes to get in and out of the house when using the garage. My plan was to order another talking keypad for the garage, but I thought I'd get some advice first. There is also a handheld keypad I guess I could carry in the car.

I also have a keychain remote, but the problem is I'm never sure if the system arms/disarms. This would be true with the handheld keypad also (but maybe it has a better range?).

The main issue is confirmation. Right now I'm leaning toward adding a talking keypad in the garage. But are there other options?

Get an X-10 powerhorn siren to plug into a garage outlet (or multiple if you wish). Set it to house code "B" and unit number 9. This will give you status sounds (like arming level beeps) as well as alarm sounds. If you want to get really fancy, swap out exterior light switches with X-10 wall switches (like exterior garage lights) and set the house code to "A" and the unit number to "10". This will cause these lights to flash the arming level. They will also flash for burg alarms.

Since you mentioned a keyfob, you might as well get yourself an X-10 universal relay module that you wire the garage door opener to. You then can set the keyfob * button (on a 4 button fob) to open/close the garage door.

Pull up the driveway, press your * key on your keyfob to open the garage door. Then hit the unlock button on the fob, it disarms your system and flashes the light one time (for level one disarm). You'll also hear the powerhorn siren chirp one time (also for level one).

Oh yeah, make sure you have a line carrier transformer for the panel (required for X-10)!!!

Thanks. I will consider your suggestions. Do you know much about the fob's expected range? And, the fob communicates only with the main panel, correct? I get very inconsistent results with the fob. I'm afraid I couldn't rely on it to work from the garage, if it has to communicate with the main panel (even though that's only about 50 feet away. It's a brand-new fob. Is something wrong? I'm just wondering about the range of it and how much it might be affected by walls and such.

Fob is one of the weakest transmitting sensors due to it's size (can't fit a big antenna in there). It all depends on where the panel is located (cause that's where the receiver is!). Good thing is that a Simon panel can be moved fairly easily (like to a wall nearest the garage). As with ANY wireless device(s), what the walls are made out of, how many a signal has to go through, etc, etc, all play a part in the range. One trick you can do if you haven't already done this is to take the white antenna from the inside of the Simon panel (I'm assuming you have a Simon 3) and hang it out the back of the panel. By doing this, you are getting the antenna away from a source of RF noise, the motherboard!

Yes, the fob has to be heard by the panel.

You should reasonably expect a 100 feet or so from a fob in most scenarios.

Get an X-10 powerhorn siren to plug into a garage outlet (or multiple if you wish). Set it to

Will this solution work with a Vista 20P system?

The 20P has X-10 capability. If you have the 1361X10 transformer, you can use X-10 protocal devices.