We have a ‘Honeywell (First Alert) Household Fire & Burglary System’ Mdl: FA148CP that we had installed w/ all sensors when we built our home in 2011. Unfortunately, the company installing the system has closed its doors and we have no support for our, now un-working, system. We have installed central to a structured cable panel, full wired network as well as Gigabyte LAN networking support throughout the home. We have smoke detectors, window & sliding glass door security, as well as motion detectors throughout the home. Further, we have an 8-camera Lorex video security system that accesses the network and can be monitored via the Internet – but is not integrated with the Honeywell (First Alert) Household Fire & Burglary System.
Recently, I assisted a neighbor, in a similar situation, install/convert his system to one of your DIY systems. The conversion is working well and we’re interested in a similar approach for our Honeywell/First Alert Mdl: FA148CP system.
Do you have a product that will fit the bill for the conversion and bring our system back online with some effectiveness? From what I can tell, we should be able to use existing, wall mounted power from the wires running to the ‘old box’ for power to your solution. What do we need to do to make this happen?
Your help and recommendations in this matter is appreciated.
The existing control panel board where all the sensor wires currently go would just be reused to power the existing motion detectors (and the Take-345 if going 2GIG) If you decide on the type of control panel, specific instructions can be found for the installation.
Neither would be able to reuse wired smoke detectors on the wired to wireless translators. It is not a UL listed solution and neither the Take nor the Hardwire 16 support smoke detectors.
Wireless smoke detectors are available for either. 2GIG.Qolsys.
From what I can tell, we should be able to use existing, wall mounted power from the wires running to the ‘old box’ for power to your solution.
You can typically reuse the wires, yes, but the new alarm panel should be powered off of the included plug in power supply (don’t power the new panel itself off of the old board)
All products and services are available on our store pages. You can filter out incompatible devices by selecting the panel type from the compatibility drop-down menu on the right hand side.
What about the “system enhancement module” from alarm.com. It’s supposed to convert Vista Panels to be compatible with ADC. A quick web search indicates the panel mentioned is a 15p. Do you guys sell this?
I’ve looked into the new SEM and it looks like a great addition to the Alarm.com product lineup. I will double check to make sure the model of First alert you reference would be supported (there are limitations) but off the cuff I want to say yes it would be.
We do not yet sell the SEM, but I will work with our team and see when it will be supported. They look like they will be a bit more expensive than a standard cellular module. Certain features won’t make the transition - stuff like Image Sensors and Two Way Voice are not available with the SEM.
Thanks for the reply. I am definitely interested in this as I have a 20P that I would rather not rip out if possible. Its all hardwired so this would be cheaper than buying 2Gig panels + takeover module. I did hear from my current security dealer (who is also a friend) that ADC was trying to reserve this as an offering through full service security dealers and not have it sold on the internet to DIY’ers. I guess the reasoning is that they want to give them a path to upgrade their clients to ADC, but don’t want their clients doing it themselves?
Anyway, this friend/security dealer also wants $60 a month for ADC gold + central station. Some friend!
We sincerely appreciate the comprehensiveness of your reply which has been key in our decision for capability and model. We are leaning towards the Qolsys IQ Control Panel for it’s scalability and expandability. We have a couple more questions that impact our decision:
Our home has a ‘shadow control panel’ installed in the Master Bedroom. How is this additional wall mounted control panel handled with the Qolsys IQ Control Panel? With the 2GIG GC2 system?
Does the system support real-time eMail notification of security events to, e.g. our cell phones?
Our installed Honeywell (First Alert) Household Fire & Burglary System’ Mdl: FA148CP has power/battery backup remoted to the Master bedroom closet. Will this approach remain valid with new system?
Our alarm system module is mounted in our family room. When we connect the system, the alarm continually ‘chirps’, even with the backup battery power to the system. Any ideas or recommended solution to this apparent fault?
Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter. ~ Steve
I did hear from my current security dealer (who is also a friend) that ADC was trying to reserve this as an offering through full service security dealers and not have it sold on the internet to DIY’ers. I guess the reasoning is that they want to give them a path to upgrade their clients to ADC, but don’t want their clients doing it themselves?
It is a new product, so some dealer education is required to ensure smooth installation. That said, it looks to be no more difficult than a Takeover Module for the other systems.
1) Our home has a ‘shadow control panel’ installed in the Master Bedroom. How is this additional wall mounted control panel handled with the Qolsys IQ Control Panel? With the 2GIG GC2 system?
Existing secondary keypads would not be compatible with either Qolsys or 2GIG. Both the GC2 and the Qolsys IQ have their own secondary touchscreen pads which can be installed where the existing secondary pad is located. They communicate wirelessly with the main panels.
The IQ2 (and the newer IQ2 or IQ Remote) communicates via your home wifi. The 2GIG TS1 communicates via special 900 mhz radio.
2) Does the system support real-time eMail notification of security events to, e.g. our cell phones?
Yes, this is standard with Alarm.com interactive accounts. Included features of both Basic and Gold Interactive can be found here.
3) Our installed Honeywell (First Alert) Household Fire & Burglary System’ Mdl: FA148CP has power/battery backup remoted to the Master bedroom closet. Will this approach remain valid with new system?
The existing panel can battery and board would be used as back-up and direct 12V power for existing powered sensors and the TAKE-345 in the case of 2GIG.
With Qolsys and a Hardwire 16, the battery would be used as backup, with the Hardwire 16 powered from its included power supply.
4) Our alarm system module is mounted in our family room. When we connect the system, the alarm continually ‘chirps’, even with the backup battery power to the system. Any ideas or recommended solution to this apparent fault?
With Qolsys, the existing panel would not even need to be there. The Hardwire 16 can completely replace the old panel board as it has its own 12V power output and battery charging circuit.
You would want to take a look at the manual for your panel model and check the keypad for any faults or trouble conditions. It may be announcing a number of different things, including phone line communication loss (common).
We’ve decided on the Qolsys system w/ basic Central monitoring at order time. One question remains, we’ll need to replace the ‘shadow control panel’ in the master bedroom with your suggested, “The IQ2 (and the newer IQ2 or IQ Remote) communicating via our home wifi” is this a separate piece of equipment to be included with our order? I’ve added the Qolsys system and Alarm.com to our cart but am unsure about the above. Tks, Steve
The IQRemote is the new version (we do not stock this item yet)
The IQ2 is the original secondary touchscreen. If you are looking to add a touchscreen panel and wall mount it where the current second keypad is, I would recommend using the new IQRemote instead. It is designed for wall mounting. The original IQ2 has power application on the side and does not come with a dedicated wall mounting option.
Jason, I was afraid this would happen. I ordered the IQ2 and want the second pad to be a touchscreen panel wall mount where the current second keypad is. I need the new IQRemote instead of the IQ2. Can you please adjust my order. I’m trying to add the Hardwire 16 but ran into a login problem. It’s already in my cart. Regards, ~ Steve
I’ve been coordinating with Jason for a wall-mounted secondary Keypad to go with the Qolsys IQ Control Panel. The IQ2 Secondary Keypad does not have the wall mount capability. Rather the newer Qolsys IQRemote does meet our requirement. The problem is, with its newness, where can we get the IQRemote. Any information/link where we can get the IQRemote would be most helpful. Thanks in advance. ~ Steve
At this juncture it would appear that the IQ Remote QW9101-840 is only available through Distributors and not for sale from typical retail entities, at least from those that I can find online. If anyone has purchased one retail, let us know.
Tyler;
Jason;
What an exceptional opportunity for suretyDIY to leverage their distributor status for the strategic benefit of their customer to act as an intermediary to the QOLsys manufacturer to obtain an IQ Remote. We’re talking of a customer willing to risk early trial in the customer channel, for the promotional benefit of both a distributor and a manufacturer. What’s so hard about this. Is the system available or not; is there another name for the IQ Remote e.g. IQ2 v2?
Sign me ‘a Security system customer in need’ in Arizona