shergenr Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 So, I am ready to take my integration to the next level and want to replace my old alarm panel with an elk panel. I was hoping to ask the forum for their views/words of wisdom on whom to buy the Elk equipment from , noting that I would like to use an authorized reseller to preserve the Elk warranty. Am particularly interested in installation support - I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty and scouring the web for information, but want to know that there is someone to help if I get stuck. Your thoughts and recommendations would be most appreciated. I will be installing this over an 8 zone pre-wire that was installed by Brinks some 15 to 20 years ago. The old panel is a BHS-2000D with 8 zones, 2 key pads and 1 smoke detector. I haven't seen evidence of any resistors (the panel states that 4.7kohm resistors are required). I have examined the wiring at the panel and have pulled a few of the window sensors to see if there is any evidence of resistors and have not seen any. Is there a way to test a few zones to determine the presence of a resistor somewhere in the installation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilyoyo1 Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 58 minutes ago, shergenr said: So, I am ready to take my integration to the next level and want to replace my old alarm panel with an elk panel. I was hoping to ask the forum for their views/words of wisdom on whom to buy the Elk equipment from , noting that I would like to use an authorized reseller to preserve the Elk warranty. Am particularly interested in installation support - I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty and scouring the web for information, but want to know that there is someone to help if I get stuck. Your thoughts and recommendations would be most appreciated. I will be installing this over an 8 zone pre-wire that was installed by Brinks some 15 to 20 years ago. The old panel is a BHS-2000D with 8 zones, 2 key pads and 1 smoke detector. I haven't seen evidence of any resistors (the panel states that 4.7kohm resistors are required). I have examined the wiring at the panel and have pulled a few of the window sensors to see if there is any evidence of resistors and have not seen any. Is there a way to test a few zones to determine the presence of a resistor somewhere in the installation? Thats going to be a tough one. Most authorized retailers will expect you to have a dealer account with them before they sell to you and offer support. An installer probably wont help unless they're doing the install themselves. I get my elk systems from Volutone but you must have a dealer account from them in order to buy one from them as well as receive support. I think you will find that to be true from most of the authorized retailers. From my experience the ELK system is rock solid. Its not the warranty I would worry about but the installation and setup. With that said, these forums are a great source for help. I cant say how much people will be willing to help in regards to the initial installation and setup though but there is a chance as there are other users here who have done their own installation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfai Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) Measure the resistance between the bare sensor wire ends with the sensor open and closed. That will tell you if any resistors are present at the sensor and the configuration (single or double EOL). Edited June 14, 2020 by jfai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shergenr Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 9 minutes ago, lilyoyo1 said: Thats going to be a tough one. Most authorized retailers will expect you to have a dealer account with them before they sell to you and offer support. An installer probably wont help unless they're doing the install themselves. So, maybe I misused the term "Retailer" . I was referring to the authorized, online resellers on Elk's website like SmartHome and Orchestrated Home.... Are you saying they won't sell to me unless I have a dealer account or they won't provide any form of support should I get stuck without a dealer account? The price difference between online retailers that aren't authorized is fairly significant, so if there is no benefit of some sort of help from them, I can't think of why I would want to pay the premium to an authorized reseller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shergenr Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 Jurgen, Thanks for the answer. Can I simply test via the multimeter by probing the wiring blocks at the panel or do I need to disconnect them from the wiring block? Also, I have 8 zones with 18 to 19 sensors. So may zones have sensors ganged together into a pigtail at the panel - do I need to test the wires separately (ungang them)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfai Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) yes(disconnect from panel) and yes (one sensor at a time) Edited June 14, 2020 by jfai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilyoyo1 Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) 46 minutes ago, shergenr said: So, maybe I misused the term "Retailer" . I was referring to the authorized, online resellers on Elk's website like SmartHome and Orchestrated Home.... Are you saying they won't sell to me unless I have a dealer account or they won't provide any form of support should I get stuck without a dealer account? The price difference between online retailers that aren't authorized is fairly significant, so if there is no benefit of some sort of help from them, I can't think of why I would want to pay the premium to an authorized reseller. I cant speak on other companies policies since I dont buy the elk from them. I know Smarthome.com did offer limited support at one time for systems that they sold. When they changed their operations, they would only support their dealers up to and including calling elk for support. My only dealings with smarthome now is for insteon devices. They simply havent been reliable enough in keeping stock for me to go to them for anything else. I would call both companies support lines and ask what type of detailed support they offer. Edited June 14, 2020 by lilyoyo1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shergenr Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 Thanks Lilyoyo1 and JFAI! Appreciate the assistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bumbershoot Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Elk maintains a list of authorized sellers on their web page: https://www.elkproducts.com/retail_distributors.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teken Posted June 17, 2020 Share Posted June 17, 2020 You can try and give@scottmichaelj a shout over PM. In the past he was an authorized dealer and always tried to help out the forum members in ELK purchase, discounts, and support. Rock On . . . Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottmichaelj Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 Thanks@Teken for the shoutout.@shergenr I will PM you and let’s touchbase FWIW I have helped many members on this forum with systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasont Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 Just wanted to add that I got my Elk via @Scottmichealj and it was a great experience all around! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvel Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 I highly recommend @Scottmichaelj. I just purchased two Elk systems from him and am very happy with the whole experience. Great prices, great communication, super nice guy. If you're interested in Elk and need some help, reach out to him, he made the whole process super easy for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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