Napco GEM-RP1CAe2 keypads

I have 2 Napco GEM-RP1CAe2 keypads and I need to press the keys very hard for them to register on one keypad, the main one at our entry door. The system is about 5 years old or older.

I would like to buy a new pad and install it. Can I just remove the old one and put in the new one or is there more involved?I would like to know the steps to follow to do this. Or is there something I need to do at the panel istelf in order to make this swap?

Thanks or your help.

Reply to
wallstreet123456
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Keypads are kind of expensive, so if you want to save a few buks, just change the numbers in your code. It's likely a button or two has worn out. Try not to use a number more than once in your new code. Keep track of your present number so that in the future, should this happen again, you'll know which numbers you've used and which you haven't.

If you still want to change the keypad, you should power down the system first. There are two potential problems. The keypads can be serialized and locked into a panel. That would have been up to the installer to do .... or not to do. If he did lock it in, you'd need the dealer programing code to get into dealer programing to unlock it. Without the dealer code, there's no way to know if the new keypad will work until you try it. If it isn't locked, it's just a matter of exchanging wire for wire. The other problem is ...... if the keypad is being used as a zone expander and actually what number the keypad is ... in your system. You will have to configure the keypad which can be done by you. But first you'd have to go into the configuration mode of your present keypad and copy down the info so you could program it into the new keypad.

Reply to
Jim

system first. There are two potential problems. The keypads can be serialized and locked into a panel. That would have been up to the installer to do .... or not to do. If he did lock it in, you'd need the dealer programing code to get into dealer programing to unlock it.

Jim is correct. The dealeer code is 6 digits long, printed on a label inside the can. Look for a piece of metal that protects part of the main circuit board. If the label is there, you can easily find out if you can get into system to find the keypad lockout code. Without that label you won't get into system programming. Most installers don't use the keypad lockout codes though it does happen. That's why you wast to know up front -- before you buy anything.

You can tell if the lockout code is in place by putting the system into "Configure" mode. This does not require the master code. You just have to move a jumper on the main board (this you can do with or without power the system down). In the upper, right portion of the main board is a jumper marked JP5. It looks like a little black flag. It's in the "run" position now. Place it on the "Config" position and wait about a moniute. The keypad will say "Out Of System".

Press 1-1-1-2-3-[FUNCTION]

The keypad is now in configuration mode. You can view and write down each setting by scrolling through them with the [FUNCTION] key. When you get to the keypad's lockout code page if it says "0000" you're alright. You can replace it if you like. If it shows "****" you will need the system master code (from the label in the can), a Napco PCI-MINI interface and the software to be able to change the keypad or to do most any other change to the system.

I can provide you with the hardware (I sell Napco online). The softwarte is free. So is my time walking you through using the software if you need help.

exchanging wire for wire.

Also true. In fact, there's a plug-in jumper on the back of the keypad. Swapping the hardware is the easy part. If you want to discuss it at length feel free to call. My office will give you my cell phone number if you ask.

That's true, Jim, but he can get most of the info from the keypad before committing to anything. I'm not certain it needs replacing at all, though. I agree about warn out buttons. I've gotten an extra year or so out of Napco keypads using a judicious squirt of WD40. :^)

Reply to
Robert L Bass

Since Az passed a smoking ban in public buildings and businesses I have noticed a sharp decline in keypad related service calls. Particularly bars.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

SnsfWnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com...

I've found through the years that with the Napco pads, it's usually the membrane that deforms. I've taken them apart and used cleaner and erased the PC lands but it only lasts for a little while, if at all, and then the other problem is when the membrane warps too much and the keypad begins "chirping" when the lands begin touching one another.

I don't know if the deforming is a product problem or from pressing the keys too hard.

I guess the deformation could be from dirty PC lands to begin with and then the subsequent harder pressing necessary to make it make contact.

Robert B ..... I would really hesatate putting WD 40 on the Keypad. Kinda messy and I'd think it would discolor the buttons a lot, and catch dust and debris from the oil residue. and if you only did it from the front, the way the keypad is assembled, I don't think the WD would get to the back side of the memebrane either. Ummmm maybe it would .... I don't remember now.

Reply to
Jim

What I've found is that about half the time it's from pressing and half the time it's just dirt. I would take it off the wall, place it face down on a dry cloth, remove the backing and then squirt lightly around the edges. It took 2 minutes and it worked most of the time. If it recurred I'd swap the keypad out. A lot of people only tell you about "occsional" problems such as a sticky button when you come out for annual service or for some other work so it was a "freebie" timewise.

One of the things I noticed about the RP1-CAe2 was if you don't make a nice, wide hole for the cable entry and the sheetrock so much as touches the edge of the wiring harness it will start to act up after a year or three.

Reply to
Robert L Bass

the keypad out.

For a while .... I thought that it could be caused by a "draft" that exists in some walls. As doors and windows open and close or the wind blows strong, frame houses "breath". In days past, before fire retardent was required in wire holes, it was more common that you could feel the air coming out of the wall where the wire harness came out. I started using insulation where I could and calking when I had to. The insulation sometimes didn't work because the wall cavity was empty so there was nothing to hold my insulation near the hole and the clulking is difficult to apply so it seals the hole good and makes it difficult to service. I found various ways to do it but eventually through the years, I found that even some keypads that I'd done that way .... were still failing. I don't do that anymore but the keypads don't fail that often, so I just let it be.

Reply to
Jim

Jim wrote: > For a while .... I thought that it could be caused by a "draft" that

You could use those pre-formed clay pads electricians use to quiet their boxes in party walls.

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Reply to
alarman

For a while .... I thought that it could be caused by a "draft" that exists in some walls. As doors and windows open and close or the wind blows strong, frame houses "breath". In days past, before fire retardent was required in wire holes, it was more common that you could feel the air coming out of the wall where the wire harness came out. I started using insulation where I could and calking when I had to. The insulation sometimes didn't work because the wall cavity was empty so there was nothing to hold my insulation near the hole and the clulking is difficult to apply so it seals the hole good and makes it difficult to service. I found various ways to do it but eventually through the years, I found that even some keypads that I'd done that way .... were still failing. I don't do that anymore but the keypads don't fail that often, so I just let it be.

Reply to
Robert L Bass

I've never seen nor heard of them before. I'll keep that in mind for new construction.

Usually in a retro fit job, I don't/can't use a back box. But some kind of a malleable filler is a good idea. I'll look into those pads. Might be a good thing to have around for other kinds of "fill-in" applications. Thanks

Reply to
Jim

I was thinking you might be able to use a piece to mold around the wire hole in the drywall/plaster, no back box necessary. Just a playing card sized piece pressed into the keypad back plate, and molded tightly around the wire. I suppose silly putty would work for that matter. Just a thought. I've never used those pads in an alarm application. I just remember them from when I was an electrician in another life.

Reply to
alarman

Di I have to move a jumper on the main board before I remove the old keypad?

Reply to
wallstreet123456

No, you move the jumper to put the system into "config" mode so you can make certain the keypad isn't locked out. Do that before you buy anything. If you're nervous about doing this stuff, give me a call and I'll walk you through it. 941-232-0791.

Reply to
Robert L Bass

In this group, Silly Putty is an appropriate suggestion for just about anything.

Since my last post, I was thinking that good old fashioned "Duc seal" would work also. Don't know why I never thought of it. Could be because I know I've got a pack of it in my "seldom used tools", tool box but that's located somewhere in the basement of my van.

Of course the problem with any kind of sealer is, that you have to block the hole with the sealer while the wires for the keypad are hanging out of the wall and then when you try to push the wires back in to snap the keypad in place, the sealer pushes back in the wall too. And if it doesn't, the wires push through the sealer, leaving a space for air to come though.

With the Napco keypads there's no room to coil any excess wire between the keypad face and the backplate.

Anyway, as I said, if I can stuff insulation in the hole and it will stay, that's what I do now. Otherwise, I don't bother.

Reply to
Jim

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