This is my first foray into DIY systems. I have an old First Alert ReadyGuard-R panel (land line based) that was installed in my house by a contractor back in 2005. I want to replace the panel with a cell based 2gig panel (Gc2 or Gc3; not sure which). I currently have the following Honeywell wireless sensors installed; 5 door, 1 motion (5894pi) and 4 glass break (5853). Can I purchase just the new 2gig panel and program it to use my existing sensors? Any gotchas I should think about? I’m mostly interested in having cell based, 24hr central monitoring (alarm.com?), smash and grab protection and interactive support. I might want to add some simple home automation such as light controls and thermostat later but my main concern now is upgrading from the land line based system.
If you have all 5800 series Honeywell wireless sensors, you could simply program those into either a 2GIG GC2 or GC3, yes.
There are no real considerations regarding using the sensors. I would recommend replacing the batteries when installing the new system (unless they were recently replaced) just to make sure you start off with a fresh slate and while replacing them you can check for any corrosion/loose mounting/etc.
suretyDIY service is month to month and ordered on our website. You can find Gold Interactive here. This would be required for Alarm.com Home Automation features.
If you are only looking for monitoring and the standard remote arming/notification features through Alarm.com at first, Basic Interactive can be found here, and since service is month to month, you can request to switch your plan to Gold at any time.
Thanks. I see the GC3 is currently out of stock. Will they be available any time soon?
I’m told additional stock should be available this week.
Looks like GC3s are in stock again now.