RHC: Reply to "Just Looking"....Paradox is more than just around. They sell in 41 different countries around the world, in 26 different languages, and have feature sets that are not even used (nor necessary) in North America (like "Stay D" ). They do have in their higher end lines of panels all that you need to handle Jewish holidays etc (and I believe DSC does too). I am a fan of Paradox but they are not perfect. On the plus side, you can actually get through to their tech support with no difficulty (unlike DSC where it's always next to impossible). On the negative side, new panels are usually not backward compatible as far as keypads go, so if you stock a line, you're forced to keep spare stock on hand to service it. Also, they evolve their panels very quickly, and this is not always a good thing from an installation companies point of view. Plus programming their panels without the use of a memory key is an arduous task, so be prepared to buy unique memory keys for each line of panel. On the plus side, they do just about everything except wash the kitchen dishes....
Overall, over 20 years of using them as my standard panel, I have been
Actually that's the root of the problem. I've been doing small to middling automated lighting for lots of years now. More recently in connection to home theater installs. No one has been able to come up with an integrated system that was generally accepted . Back in the X10 days was the closest (in my opinion) that home automation was in one basket. But only because it was the only basket. And it was never that good to be totally dependable.
There have been and are a wide choice of products out there but nothing, so far has been able to catch the imagination of the installers or the public. With the advent of Zigbee and Zwave, there's been a little more interest however, WiFi networking has emerged as a strong candidate, what with the fact that anyone who would have some interest in automation already has WiFi. The newest entrants in the home auto arena are coming in with the two "Z's". and they're "packaging" it. Package A, Package B, package C. No customization but with those items that market research has show to be most desirable. This will gain some momentum simply because of the deep pockets they have for advertising. Most people who would succumb to this are not what I would ever consider as being my market. Also, I think that these companies that are marketing these services still haven't learned there lesson regarding service. This is by no means a plug - and- play product. there are glitches that can occur with this kind of technology that could result in some very inconvenient and possibly destructive consequence. A thermostat that doesn't turn on in the winter time while the client is in Florida for 3 months. Thermostats that don't turn down in the winter while away in the Caribbean, Humugus oil bill and run out of fuel before degree day fuel delivery is scheduled. Of course all of this could happen with any technology that's used for such purposes, however, if it were me, I certainly wouldn't want a Freebe, National, mass marketing, non caring, monopoly minded company with legal resource thousands of times greater them mine ..... to be installing, monitoring and caring for it. So, I think that this latest push will attract those who can't see past the glitz. I think that the companies will gradually pull back, once they get a taste of the support and follow up that's needed and do the same thing they've done in the past when eyeing and trying to enter the alarm installation and monitoring market.
Personally I think that WiFi is going to be the ultimate winner because there's been more of a need to make it as simple as possible for the technophobes who own computers. What with auto linking and DLNA, IPods, IPads, all using WiFi, it's and easy transition to controlling other devices in your home. All the manufacturers who make appliances, thermostats and other devices that could be controlled have to do, is use WiFi technology. This obviously makes it easy for the novice end user to do it themselves but ...... that's the way technology normally evolves.
RHC: Another home run ! IMO right on all counts, especially about the mass marketers moving into the "glitz" market, and taking a sh*t kicking once they find the service levels required. The conventional alarm manufacturers are far too slow to adapt, and are still behind the eight ball, but give them a year or two of pressure from the smaller installation companies (who themselves will increasingly get pressure from their customers), and we will start to see them move into the 21st century....ie: panels with IP connectivity built in to the board for one....
I had a long conversation on the weekend with a party who is quite high up on the technical side of Rogers Cable up here. He gives them about 5 years max before they learn their lesson again and back out of the security market. Unfortunately, once they do, there will be thousands of customers left without service since I have my doubts about anyone ever wanting to pick up this hardware (they'll have to sell it all off to an ADT type buyer....)
I'm installing a system on Wednesday with the IP100 interface from the alarm bus to the clients router, so he can control things from his smart phone. Done it a couple of times now, and feedback has been super positive. No question, that's the way it's going, but hopefully with conventional QUALITY alarm equipment not the current wave of stuff
Heeey. Now there's an idea. I seem to remember a start up company many years ago that built a nice little business doing takeovers on these kinds of accounts. Hmmmm Where did I hear about that?
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Whatsa IP100?
Who's product are you using and on which panel?
Napco has a similar device but .... for me, at least, it hasn't reach an acceptable price point that the client is willing to pay for.
RHC: Ha....I'll dodge your initial comment for the time being....:))
The IP100 module is a unit designed to interface a current line Paradox panel (SP series, Magellan series) with the internet. Wired directly in to the alarm bus, and plugged into a port on the customers router, it allows the client to access his alarm panel from a smartphone. Then with a $9 app he buys from Paradox, he can arm and disarm remotely, get emails upon alarms or troubles, see his event log, and with the exception of cameras, he can do much of the ballyhoo'd "glitz" of the latest IP alarm offerings. Add a couple of inexpensive low end DLink cameras and a free app, and he get's most everything he needs for complete remote control of his alarm system (with the notable exception of the thermostat thingmabobs). And he doesn't have to pay some slick mass marketer $55 a month either....none of this raises his monitoring rates by a penny !!
The IP100 module is about a hundred and a half, but that's quickly saved with no increase in his monitoring fees.
From memory, when developing portable Medical Monitoring Systems, zigbee wins over Bluetooth *and* WiFi. Bluetooth due to power consumption and WiFi for ?? However, there are more third party vendors making wireless Bluetooth medical sensors available at this time than any others. Seems to be shifting towards zigbee. More and more are now available as zigbee.
But note these are mainly wireless SENSORS, not wireless control/ sensors, so different animal.
Back in early 70's I worked with a newly formed company, Compression Labs, in addition to the normal product line of video compression, they started to develop a Motorola 6800 based Home Computer as a competitor to newly formed Apple Computer. As a marketing gimmick they wanted to add the ability to have a 'wireless' burglar alarm system and light controller. Rush and crush development cycle, I designed and built demonstratable hardware within two weeks. The modules were 'wirelessly' communicating over the AC mains, a novel concept at the time. Any module could control up to 500W light and monitor something, like a switch opening. For simplicity, the light control simply toggled ON/OFF. You could not believe the battle for me to convince software *and* management to add constant checking of the status of each module to make certain some 'unknown' event had not inadvertantly toggled a light On to Off, or Off to ON!! Or, even perform a double check to prevent a 'false alarm indication!
People seem to forget that a product is more described/used by its 'what-ifs' than by its original product definition! And from experience, I've found that the what-ifs often take 3 times longer to control than the time it originally took to develop the Product's function one set out to create to begin with!
So, with all this IP interface is there any danger of hackers taking over your stuff? Some disturbing possibilities with internal security camaeras!
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