Grr, PAD1 remote keypads for GC3 have no visual indicator that system is armed/not armed. I’m getting weary of GIG2 claiming TLS1-equivalent will be released “soon”. Any ideas for alternate remote solutions (3rd-party replacement) with “armed” indicator or add-ons to PAD1s? Thx.
Literally every manufacturer does this. It is to be expected with new panels that there will be a delay until the secondary is released, and the GC3 is only a couple months old.
The GC3 secondary keypad is, as far as we have been informed, in development since release, so it should enjoy a sooner release than the IQ2 or TS1 did.
A couple workarounds until then:
- Your smartphone will tell you status.
- You could wire up an indicator light to one of the open collector outputs and the +DC voltage on the terminal block, but that would require running cabling to the location you want to have visual indication of armed status.
The open collector would then be programmed to follow the armed status of the panel.
A-OK. I guess I need to be patient (not one of my best traits). Thanks for the interim idea on the collector outputs and hardwire indicator lights. I wish there was a wireless z-wave solution that just indicated if the system was armed or not, but I’ve been unable to find one. So my wallet is wide open for an alternate solutions.
Following recommendations, I installed the GC3 panel upstairs where it couldn’t be viewed through the windows downstairs (but you can’t hear the GC3 chirps downstairs) with PAD1s at every downstairs entry point. So if/when my family (teenagers) does one more accidental “trip the alarm” because they couldn’t tell or remember if the system was armed or not, I’ll wire in the indicator lights with a relay as you recommended. Ugh, more crawling under the house and into the attic.
More important, thanks for providing this forum for us DIYers!!!
Yeah we are just as excited about the secondary panel as you are.
Thanks for the kind words!
Actually, something much easier which I forgot:
The GC3 has smarthome device associations, which will allow you to set a Zwave binary switch to turn on when armed and turn off when disarmed. You could use something as simple as a lamp or get creative and plug in an Led light of some sort mounted near the PAD1 being controlled by a Z-wave Appliance module.
It will save you from wiring!
System Settings - Installer Code - Smarthome Settings - Device Association. Select the GC3 Panel section to manage and set up associations for “Armed: On” and “Disarmed: Off”
Jason - That’s a great idea and saves my old knees and back going under the house and into the attic. Luv the idea, many thanx!
And, my teenagers say thanks because Dad won’t be yelling at them when they trip the alarm, which seems to be a guarantee lately. 
I am installing 2GIG dealer and was excited about the GC3 secondary panel. Kind of sucks if you ask me. The biggest let down is that there is no visual system status indicator. Short of running LEDs or rigging a Zwave device there is nothing you can do. I have already had four complaints about this from customers. Second, the 2GIG product page says one touch arming. These are making me use a code to arm stay or away, which is quite annoying. Third, the units only makes sounds when a sensor is tripped. Id like to see the panel to announce armed stay, away, and system disarmed. I am going to discontinue offering these until 2GIG comes out with something a little more practical.
The 2GIG SP2 is intended as a simplistic arming/disarming station where necessary. Similar to its parent panel, it can receive USB firmware upgrades, but there will likely be a limit to the overall changes.
I think based on all the comments above you are looking for the SP1, which is a secondary touchscreen almost identical to the GC3 in terms of capability. SP1 should be available soon from 2GIG. We do not have an ETA.
I am thinking about the SP2, but your comment that it has no visual indicator of system status has me concerned. It says on the product info sheet it has “at-a-glance status” and the picture of it shows “ready to arm”. I would assume that if you arm it, that status changes to something else, like “armed stay”. So, just trying to understand what the shortcoming is? Is it that it doesn’t have an led that glows red or something (my honeywell keypads have this) and you have to wake the unit to see what status is?
Is it that it doesn’t have an led that glows red or something
That is correct. There is no status LED on the SP2.
Currently, the screen on the SP2 has a timeout that can be set from 30 seconds to 12 minutes. There is no “always on” feature for the screen, so eventually the screen will go into sleep mode and you wont be able to see the panel screen until you physically wake it up again.
This concern has been brought up to 2GIG but there is no ETA on a resolution for an always on screen. You may be more interested in the SP1 which has the same physical features of face buttons as the GC3.
Thanks this is helpful. I remember my blackberry had a red light that flashed when I got an emailZ. When I went to iPhone it didn’t have that and I was upset, but now I don’t even think about it. Hopefully will be the same.
Another question though is will the sp2 show zone faults. So, alarm is armed stay, someone opens a window and trips the alarm, will it tell me which zone is breached. If not what does it show?
Another question though is will the sp2 show zone faults. So, alarm is armed stay, someone opens a window and trips the alarm, will it tell me which zone is breached. If not what does it show?
Yes the SP2 shows currently open zone names when the system is disarmed, with an option to bypass them before arming, and it shows the zone name which tripped an alarm in an alarm scenario.
I have now seen the SP1 for sale at a few internet outlets. So looks like its making its way to customers.
I have now seen the SP1 for sale at a few internet outlets. So looks like its making its way to customers.
Those would likely be pre-orders. I haven’t heard of it shipping from the manufacturer yet, but it should be soon.