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X-10 and DSC Security System

Hi everyone,

I have a quote for a DSC PC1832 alarm system. I currently have an X-10 system, mostly home-brew, where I collect events on my PC via an ACT TI-103 powerline interface.

One of the options that DSC offers is a 5580TC X-10 interface. The thing I can't figure out from the documentation available online is, exactly what X-10 events is this module aware of. What I want is to be able to detect state changes in the alarm system (i.e., arm, disarm, motion detect, etc.) and feed those back to my PC via the X-10 interface. It's not clear from the documentation if this is possible.

This seems like it should be a pretty simple question for anyone who has been down this path. Thanks, as always.

Reply to
Richard S
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The DSC interface to the X-10 is pretty well "one way". It's used to turn lights "on" on a schedule or in an alarm. I've got a couple of installations where we turn on hall lights during the entry delay, and allow the customer to call the house to activate exterior lights before they drive up. The button fob transmitter also works to accomplish this but I won't program it to disarm the system because it's too easy for someone to lose their keys. I think you'll find that you'll need the Escort interface as well to give you the maximum benefit of the DSC "X-10 interface". If you want a more robust solution, I'd go with the ELK M1-Gold. This interfaces with your PC and allows you to do a whole lot more than the DSC equipment.

Reply to
Frank Olson

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