Napco claims their wireless sensors have better range than ITI's stuff... I'm thinking about switching to Napco, they seem to give a damn about the small dealer unlike GE & Honeywell... Complaint Mode On: GE's stuff is at Lowes hardware at distributor prices, Honeywell stuff is overpriced and lacks the capabilities that Napco & GE's possess at a competitive price..... Complaint Mode Off............
Anyone using Napco wireless with good results???
Napco wireless is about all I use these days. I have had very few problems. Not like the old Linear 21st Century garbage. I also think its easier to setup than ITI or Inovonics. Inovonics has some of the longest range stuff, and add their repeaters to the equation... I do still quote Inovonics for some of my tougher applications.
Seriously, I do like the Napco wireless for most general wireless applications. Even nicer if you use a laptop for programming.
The bigger panels support multiple recievers for increased coverage also, but I haven't needed a second receiver in a house yet if I could centrally locate the receiver. They now also have an RF keypad, but I haven't tried one yet.
Thanks for the good information Bob, I appreciate it... Regards, Russ
Check with CNA. They sell a USB serial adaptor very reasonably. I use one on my new laptop.
While I was still installing the little amount of wireless I used was mostly Napco. Their stuff works forever. I tried Linear in the early years and it was awful. They now make long range wireless which I've used with some success.
A marina in a small town on Lake Michigan was having problems with people stealing marine navigation equipment from boats at the dock as well as a few that were moored ~200 yards from shore. The police department is about a mile from the marina. My client bought a receiver and several transmitters. The PD installed the receiver in their radio room with a long-range antenna outside. The client installed transmitters on several boats. Fortunately, the next break-in was on one of the protected boats. They were able to make an arrest. This happened within a few days of the installation. Needless to say, that was one very satisfied DIYer. :^)
That's true. However, Napco doesn't seem to like USB-serial ports. Several clients have had problems getting the software to work with their laptops. I can perform a remote download for them but that's not the ideal solution. Hopefully, Napco will eventually make the configuration more flexible.
Unless the home is exceptionally large, I usually suggest mounting the receiver inside a front hall closet above the door. One way to test various locations before running cable is to pay out 100' of 22/4 and connect it to the receiver and panel. Check various places around the house to see where reception is best.
I'm leery of those because you have little leeway in placement. If the chosen location isn't effective and there's only one keypad in the job you're up the creek.
As best I can tell the problem isn't the adaptor but how the system displays it to Quickloader. QL can only select between ports 1 and 4. Some machines using USB/Serial adaptors seem to work fine with Napco. Others don't. Still others are intermittent, working occasionally and not working most of the time.
Since more and more laptops are coming with no serial ports at all, Napco really ought to address this.
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