Electronic Alarms and Home Security Devices - New To DIY and Home Alarms

I'm building a new home and am looking for recommendations on a new system. I plan to wire all my doors, windows, etc before drywall in a few weeks. I have looked at ADEMCo Vista and DSC but too many models and options to choose from. I want at least 32 zones of which I would like at least 8 to be wireless for future expansion.

I would like 3 backlit Keypads that will display words when faults occur (no talking necessary) but not all need to be deluxe, touchpad, RF enabled, etc... I was planning on master bed, front entry and rear entry keypads.

I'm looking to sleep securely, not have it monitored by outside alarm company (been there, done that). I plan to have smoke/fire & carbon monoxide too.

Also, what kind of wire do I need from the control panel to contacts, keypads, motion sensors, sirens, .........

Most zones in a system are wireless.

Typical Ademco systems come with 8 hardwired zone (with ability to expand) and 16-40 wireless zones.

MrRonFl or another pro will chime in later with more specifics about what might be good for you.

If you planned on hardwiring window sensors, you could probably put all the windows in one room in series so they do not take up all your zones in the panel.

Almost all the wiring for alarms is done with regular 1 or 2 pair 24-26gauge telephone wire depending on length of run.

IMHO, you may find it easier and more convenient to have more wireless then wired.

Good luck and hang in there for a pro.

For the most part, any of the major brand base 8 zone systems will do the trick. Basically you are looking at expansion cards to get the larger amounts. Most can be expanded to the 30-40+ zone range in one way or another.

All have their quirks, some more than others. Browse the archived posts here. The whole system recommendation question pops up once or twice a month.

Most systems will support wireless. The Concord series panels have wireless receivers built in as well as the hardwire inputs.

As has been pointed out, you may have 40 openings, you can group them into more efficient groupings very easily. For the wire, you need 22 gauge minimum. The 24-26 gauge _will_ work, but is more fragile, and the systems all spec 22 gauge. If you are going to use hardwired smokes, those generally require 18 gauge (these are all manufacture and UL specifications).

Home run all of the openings. Daisy chain from window to window is a bad idea, because if you get damaged wiring, you loose many openings instead of one. The one exception are grouped/mullioned windows. Those are _usually_ safe to drop one home run and daisy chain the contacts at the window end.

Do yourself a favor and use 4 conductor wire for everything. It saves trying to remember which wire to run for keypads/motions/glassbreaks and can sometimes save your bacon if a cable gets nicked or pinched.

When drilling holes to pass cables, use a bit at least twice the size of the cable(s), wood swells and these cables are easy to crush.

Recently (2006) I installed a DSC 832 with one keypad, four motions and five doors all hardwired. I had some difficulty in programming but with RonFL's I was able to get it running faultlessly for the last 12 months. Last month I installed a Ademco VISTA 20P in my elderly neighbor's house, he is legally blind but otherwise very able. I installed it with a 5883H transceiver, 5 wireless motions, 2 wired motions, 4 wireless smoke detectors, 2 wireless glass breaks, 6160v, 5828V keypads, siren/speaker driver, speakers, remote relay with "old air raid" type siren.

Again with RonFL's and SamBIG Chief's help this system was set up and is quite an electronic marvel. It is amazing how easy, once I got the idea on the programming, to add new devices, either wired or wireless.

I am also in the process of building a new house and have bought the following system about to install:

Vista 20P, 6160, 6160RF, 6150 and 6270 keypads. 5 wired door, 3 wired motions, 2 wired smoke and 1 wired heat. I am also installing 6 wireless door/windows contacts, 2 wireless motions, 2 5804BDV keyfobs, siren/speaker driver, several speakers and anything else I come across to add but with the help of this forum I have no, well few, qualms about the upcoming install.

I would highly recommend whatever system you get that it has a keypad that displays text i.e 6160 to do the initial programming as it shows you what is happening where the DSC I now have doesn't and simply accepts #'s in sequence. I am sure I could have gotten a "real" keypad when I purchased this system but I simply didn't know better.

The pros's here such as RonFL, SamBIG Chief, HotinOKC could obviously do this stuff in their sleep so they are a great asset in problem solving.

I personally prefer the honeywell, or the caddx. Hardwire is the way to go for three reasons. First of all, it's a lot less expensive. Second is the batteries. Most important, with hardwire, you don't have to worry about interference or range issues. You can always have or add wireless for a keyfob or whatever.

Make sure the panel you select will handle the zones you want. Every manufacturer has a base panel that is cheap, and very limited. Great if you have a shop, or 1000 sq ft building. But not so much for a house with all the windows, etc.

As for wire, I agree with MrRonFL, but I will add that I prefer stranded over solid wire in most cases. 22 gauge and smaller (24, 26) tend to break to easy. All it takes is a slight nick when stripping, and it'll break real easy when you end it. So I vote for stranded.

It sounds like you've made up your mind on monitoring, but I would ask your insurance agent how much it will save to have monitored fire. It sometimes pays for itself. Also, I have seen recently where the insurance company REQUIRES a monitored alarm system. I guess it depends on the value of the house.

An additional note, if you get this system, during the programming phase you can use either *98 or *99 to exit programming. If you use *98 the installers code will be locked out forever where using *99 you can use the code time and time again. I would recommend, knowing how many times I have been into the programming mode, use *99 to exit until you know for sure you are completely finished programming and have installed all devices you initially foresee. If you do use *98 to exit, you will have to power down the unit both AC & DC, then power up and press * & # within I think 50 seconds after powering up to reenter the programming mode. I think all Vista 20P panels use the same "installer's code" so I do see if one was concerned to use *98 once all programming is done but I am not sure I see the need as I do not imagine many of the 'half wit" B & E artists know how to spell their name correctly let alone have any idea on compromising the alarm systems. In a commercial situation I can see the need to "lock out" the generic installer code in case some professional type of criminal "cased" the place first and identified the system as a Vista and was aware of the default installer's code.

Good luck

Thanks for all the great adice and timely responses. Any suggestions on suppliers of equipment? (i.e. web ordering).

By the way, I plan to use a marshaling box in my attic to run all openings separately and group zones as necessary between the cabinet and the master panel.

Thanks again,

Big Lug

I think you may have a misunderstanding about the installer codes. All system models have a standard default installer code, but it can be readily changed. On nearly all systems, the installer code either cannot arm/disarm the system at all, or can only disarm if it was the code used to arm the system. Basically, it only has access if the system is disarmed.

For the Ademco units, especially the xxP series panels, the *98, *99 thing isn't a _permanent_ lockout. If you use the *+# to get back in, once you exit with *99 instead of *98, you will be able to use the installer code the next time. There _is_ an option in the *88 programming section to make the lockout more restricive (for a DIY, _not_ safe to monkey with, as you can actually disable all local programming access other than the download software)

The lockout feature was actually concocted to keep installing companies from "stealing" system accounts from each other. It's kind of a hangover from the days when alarm hardware was typically leased.

I am not sure if it is proper to recommend supplier's on this forum but I would be happy to provide the supplier I used if you are interested. I am not affiliated to any firm just willing to share my personal experiences.

As I mentioned earlier, the guys on this forum really know this stuff inside and out and you can take what they say to "the bank".

Feel free to email me if you want the name of the supplier I have been using, it is an online seller out of Maryland, I live in western Canada so hopefully it is clear I have no vested interest in this company.

{address removed by moderator}