alarmdecoder.com

Newbie here...

So recently moved into the house with DSC1500 series alarm system and want to integrate it with OpenHAB. Out of all the things that I've found online AD and Envisalink seem to be the most prominent ones...

Here is the problem - I have no access to the control panel at this point. One of the previous owners has put drywall right over it when finishing the basement. Meaning that replacing the control board with Envisalink or hooking up AD2PI directly to it becomes a bit of a renovation project...

So ultimately what I was wondering is if its possible to replace the keypad upstairs with AD2PI completely ?

Moreover, I am a bit in the dark regarding what control board is sitting behind the dry wall... The keypad it uses is http://www.dsc.com/index.php?n=enduser& ... eypad=1105 (6 zone, DSC1500). I checked out the wiring and it seems like it should match what AD2PI expects, but its likely just standard for all DSC systems, and the devil is in the details of the board itself...

Any help/advice is highly appreciated!

Hey!

So the good news is you can indeed replace the keypad, or just daisy chain from it in most instances. Just assign the "slot" to the "address" field in configuration - likely slot 1 for the 1st keypad.

The bad news is - no way for us to verify 100% compatibility with the panel without seeing it. However, if you order it and it doesn't end up working, we're happy to issue a return and refund.

Thanks,
Kevin

Thanks for the prompt reply!

So I've been busy ripping up some drywall that hides the unit and it looks like I am not the first one to access it that way since the box door is bent. The top part of the panel is blocked by the ceiling board, so whoever tried to access it before me just bent the bottom part of the door out... Oh boy...

Anyways, so the panel looks to be model 1575/1580. Here are a few pictures I managed to get after some hand gymnastics with my phone:





Sorry for the potato quality, a bit too close for proper focus...

From the supported panels page it seems that I may be out of luck here. But it seems strikingly similar to PC-1555, so I have my fingers crossed that this panel may also be supported.

Thanks again!

Well, it would be impossible for us to get our hands on every panel to test, so it very well may be supported but untested. It looks similar to panels we have tested. Like I said, if you're willing to give it a shot and it doesn't work, we will do a return and refund it.

Sounds good, I think I'll give it a try... But a few questions before I proceed.

1. I am in Canada, and it seems like you have a thirdparty dealing with Canadian orders. I am afraid that's going to create troubles with returns. Moreover it seems that the AD2PI kit is not available there, so I guess I would have to go with the USB version or will have to put together the PI myself (which is not a problem, just wondering).

2. If full PI kit is indeed available to be shipped to Canada, what version of PI is it? There doesn't seem to be obvious information specifying it on the page, so likely its the original one?

3. Seems at this point it would be best for me to get PI model 3 and then either use the usb or the GPIO adapters your provide. I'm assuming either one of those would work fine, but would be cool to hear that from you . I guess if I don't feel like soldering I should go with usb?

4. Lastly it seems that the DC adapter you guys sell is also not available under your brand. But I guess that part is generic and I should be able to get it from any PI retailer.

Thanks in advance!

Oh Canada, that does make returns a problem for us - but maybe our reseller at aartech will work with you. They don't carry our full kit, just the ad2pi, ad2usb, and ad2serial themselves, but it is easy to build the kit with your own pi3 (or whatever pi you choose).

We ship with the pi3, and we provide an image on our website for users who wish to use their own pi3 instead of our prebuilt kit. No soldering is necessary, just hook ad2pi to gpio with connector.

DC Adapter is just a DC Adapter - DC to DC adapter, 12v to 5v, 3amp if you need spec.


Thanks,
Kevin

java_shock wrote:Sounds good, I think I'll give it a try... But a few questions before I proceed.

1. I am in Canada, and it seems like you have a thirdparty dealing with Canadian orders. I am afraid that's going to create troubles with returns. Moreover it seems that the AD2PI kit is not available there, so I guess I would have to go with the USB version or will have to put together the PI myself (which is not a problem, just wondering).

2. If full PI kit is indeed available to be shipped to Canada, what version of PI is it? There doesn't seem to be obvious information specifying it on the page, so likely its the original one?

3. Seems at this point it would be best for me to get PI model 3 and then either use the usb or the GPIO adapters your provide. I'm assuming either one of those would work fine, but would be cool to hear that from you . I guess if I don't feel like soldering I should go with usb?

4. Lastly it seems that the DC adapter you guys sell is also not available under your brand. But I guess that part is generic and I should be able to get it from any PI retailer.

Thanks in advance!

Sorry for this many questions... - usb and ad2pi version are functionally identical? I.e. either can be used with pi, equivalently?

Yep, all alarmdecoder products are functionally equivalent, just different connections for different situations and use cases.

Great, thanks for all the answers, going to order the AD2USB, since it seems generally much more flexible compatibility wise.

Awesome. When you get it, make sure to check the firmware revision and update as (if) necessary. https://www.alarmdecoder.com/wiki/index.php/Firmware