Need Recommendation for Upgrading to a new Home Alarm System

[someguy]

I have an old GE Networx NX-8V2 alarm system that I'd like to have improved functionality.  it works but in a 1990 level of function.

here is what I want, in order of preference:

-no monthly fee to run the system (although i suspect, i may need to consider a monthly fee to monitor it).

-have ability for ISY to set and unset the alarm.

-have ability to have ISY get data from the alarm system when (monitored) doors open and when motion sensors trigger.

-connection to my phone via an app, if possible.

 

I think i'd prefer to have a plug and play raspberry Pi option, if possible.  I suspect that replacing the whole system will be a very expensive option, but I'd still consider it.

I appreciate any comments.

[dbwarner5]

An option you may want to consider is Konnected at https://konnected.io/collections/shop-now

It integrates currently with Smarthings, Home Assistant and a few others. But the beauty of it is that it uses all of your current alarm sensors. You simply rip out the old "brains" and replace it with the Konnected wifi board.

All of your sensors are now available via wifi and the smart things app, even if you don't have a smarthings hub. the smart things app integrates with Alexa quite well, which can get you into the ISY as there are no Plug-ins for this technogly (yet). 

 

I have a second home where I run this system with smarthings (no ISY) and it works really well. 

[elvisimprsntr]

+1 Elk M1 Gold w/ELK-M1EXP Ethernet interface.   Elk has a newer cloud centric recurring extortion fee E27 alarm, but not sure about integration. 
I ripped out the builder quality Napco GEM and installed one in 2008.  
1. No recurring extortion fee for self monitoring
2. Works with ISY and I believe eISY
3. First and third party mobile apps.  Some offer subscriptions, but can easily be configured for direct remote access without a subscription with a little effort.  
https://www.elkproducts.com/m1-security-automation-controls/
 

[someguy]

 

Quote

All of your sensors are now available via wifi and the smart things app, even if you don't have a smarthings hub. the smart things app integrates with Alexa quite well, which can get you into the ISY as there are no Plug-ins for this technogly (yet). 

I use alexa to control my Polisy, but I am not familiar with how to get things connected from "Smartthings" to my Polisy.  is this reliable?

[DennisC]

I have Elk M1 at 2 location with the Elk plugin. One location runs Policy, the other eisy. Full integration and when combi ed with UD Mobile there is no reoccurring charge.

[jec6613]

+1 for the Elk, using it on Polisy and now Eisy via PG3x.

[apostolakisl]

Elk works great.  But if you don't need all the bells and whistles, DSC works very well too for far less money.  I have one of each and both integrate very nicely with ISY.

[hart2hart]

DSC with Envisalink has worked very well in ISY and now eISY for me. DSC are focused on security and do not have the ELK extensions.

[dbwarner5]

22 hours ago, someguy said:

 

I use alexa to control my Polisy, but I am not familiar with how to get things connected from "Smartthings" to my Polisy.  is this reliable?

There is no direct connection between smarthings and polisy, but smarthings integrates with Alexa and polisy also connects with Alexa, so you can use Alexa to bridge between smarthings and polisy. 

[dex]

On 1/21/2024 at 6:51 AM, dbwarner5 said:

There is no direct connection between smarthings and polisy, but smarthings integrates with Alexa and polisy also connects with Alexa, so you can use Alexa to bridge between smarthings and polisy. 

 

I am doing a similar thing to use Alexa to bridge Matter-based motion sensors from Eve.  Alexa routines are set up to trigger Insteon scenes (my.isy.io —> Polisy) in response to motion events.  This requires at least one Thread Router Border device on your network and within Thread range of the Matter accessory.

This is a temporary setup, as I am anxiously awaiting true Matter/Thread support directly via UD’s Zmatter accessory.  Alexa routines are quite limited, and barely do the simplest things, so I can’t wait to abandon them for Polisy-based automation for Matter devices.
 

[someguy]

I have a few questions. 
 

what will the UD matter device do?  And how soon are we hopeful to get it?

id prefer to just use the motion sensor (and more importantly the wired glass break sensors and door opening sensors) from my old alarm.  Will your solution allow me to do that?

[someguy]

On 1/21/2024 at 8:51 AM, dbwarner5 said:

There is no direct connection between smarthings and polisy, but smarthings integrates with Alexa and polisy also connects with Alexa, so you can use Alexa to bridge between smarthings and polisy. 

how can you use alexa to bridge between smartthings and polisy?

[dbwarner5]

16 hours ago, someguy said:

how can you use alexa to bridge between smartthings and polisy?

Smarthings devices will show up in Alexa. So you can write a routine in Alexa to turn them on / off / level etc.

then using a variable in ISY you can trigger the Alexa routine to run based on the conditions you want. 

Or theoretically, you could set up a separate variable for each smarthings device in ISY and then tie each one to a routine in Alexa for that particular device. Then all your programming would be in ISY. However, this may be a lot to ask of the interface between Alex and ISY if you have a dozen etc devices that you want triggered all at once. 

Here is an example of something similar. I want to control something that Alexa has access to, but ISY does not. Specifically a music playlist from my Amazon Music account. In your case it would be a smarthings device.

So in the ISY, I first set up a variable, in this case called $Supper_Music_trigger_alexa. Then in the portal I set up a "motion" to trigger based on this variable and a nonsensical spoken

.

My program then looks like this: 

Supper and dinner music - [ID 032D][Parent 0013]

If
        (
             'K Island Cans' Status is 65%
         And 'GR wall sconces' Status is 69%
         And 'Stairs up Upstairs' Status is 24%
         And 'Sunroom' Status is 78%
        )
     Or (
             'K Island Cans' Status is 25%
         And 'GR wall sconces' Status is 69%
         And 'Stairs up Upstairs' Status is 24%
         And 'Sunroom' Status is 80%
         And 'K Table at island' Status is 70%
        )
 
Then
        Set 'Kitchen Sound' Zone On
        Wait  2 seconds
        $Supper_Music_trigger_alexa  = 1
        Set 'Kitchen Sound' Volume 15 dB
        Wait  1 minute and 15 seconds
        $Supper_Music_trigger_alexa  = 0
 

In this case, after my specific IF conditions are met in the ISY, it will change the variable to a 1, and then reset it to a zero, so that the next time I want the Alexa Routine to run, it will see a "change" from 0 to 1. If I wanted to "turn it off", I wouldn't do this, as the zero would be tied to a second Alexa routine condition for the variable to be 0. 

Here is the Alexa routine that gets triggered when this variable changes from 0 to 1: 

 

This is one way to do it. I am sure there are others, but hopefully you get the idea. In my case it's pretty funny because I actually initiate the conditions of my IF by giving an Alexa command of Turn on supper, (or dinner --> different lighting) which then turns on a scene in the ISY, which then sets the lights that triggers the above IF to turn true, which then triggers the variable to make the Alexa routine run for the music.. lol. 

Here is a Wiki on Alexa / ISY that may also help. https://wiki.universal-devices.com/ISY_Portal_Amazon_Echo_Integration_V3#Devices

 

[someguy]

On 1/20/2024 at 10:16 AM, elvisimprsntr said:

+1 Elk M1 Gold w/ELK-M1EXP Ethernet interface.   Elk has a newer cloud centric recurring extortion fee E27 alarm, but not sure about integration. 
I ripped out the builder quality Napco GEM and installed one in 2008.  
1. No recurring extortion fee for self monitoring
2. Works with ISY and I believe eISY
3. First and third party mobile apps.  Some offer subscriptions, but can easily be configured for direct remote access without a subscription with a little effort.  
https://www.elkproducts.com/m1-security-automation-controls/
 

@elvisimprsntr I have a couple of comments and questions:  Im wanting full integration with ISY and I understand (from you) that the M1 Gold will do that.  I don't want to buy a system that will stop being supported soon if it has been around for 15 years but i absolutely don't want a recurring extortion fee.  is there a way to get the E27 to work with ISY without a fee?

[elvisimprsntr]

@elvisimprsntr I have a couple of comments and questions:  Im wanting full integration with ISY and I understand (from you) that the M1 Gold will do that.  I don't want to buy a system that will stop being supported soon if it has been around for 15 years but i absolutely don't want a recurring extortion fee.  is there a way to get the E27 to work with ISY without a fee?

I am not familiar with details of the E27. You would have to reach out to UDI or Elk directly for that.

[someguy]

okay, based upon quite a bit of reading online and recommendations in this thread, i've decided to go with the Elk M1 system.

I am going to try to use as much of my old system (wiring and sensors, etc).  i'm going to install it myself.  it should be fun.

1) Does anyone have a recommendation for a seller of Elk products who can be helpful when I get to a tough spot? 

2) I've read that Elk owners can be helpful through a forum but couldn't find the forum.  can anyone point me to that?

 

[DennisC]

I think the forum you are looking for is here:

https://cocoontech.com/forum/elk-m1-products/

There are several of us the have Elk systems installed, so you might get some help here also.

As for purchasing a system, we had a member here that was an installer and offered products to us. Haven't seen him in sometime on the forum, but if you do a search here, you might be able to contact him.

For Elk, you must buy from an authorized supplier for warranty and to register on their website for the required software.

[jec6613]

Here's where to buy it them:

https://www.elkproducts.com/retail-distributors/

 

[Scottmichaelj]

Please feel free to DM me. I am a authorized Elk dealer and installer. I can help anyone anywhere design and install an Elk system along with integration to a home automation system be it ISY/UDI, Lutron, ZWave, etc. I also sell RTI remote control systems and other products so I can do much more than just alarms. I been installing alarm systems for more than ten years, helped many forum members and been on this forum since 2007. Please feel free to reach out to me.

Scott
Alpha Concepts
425.998.9720
sjohnson@alphaconcepts.biz

[someguy]

alright fellows!!!  I have my new M1Gold system set up.  I think i have it programmed, to some extent.  

i have a few questions for anyone that may wish to assist me:   

1) what is my next step in getting it connected to the PolISY?  do i just buy the nodeserver and set that up?

2) does anyone have suggestions for monitoring?

3) can an alarm system just be programmed to call 911 itself to bypass a monitoring system?  (I think not, but I'd like to hear what you have to say about this.)

Edited February 18 by someguy

[dbuss]

9 hours ago, someguy said:

1) what is my next step in getting it connected to the PolISY?  do i just buy the nodeserver and set that up? Yes

 

3) can an alarm system just be programmed to call 911 itself to bypass a monitoring system?  (I think not, but I'd like to hear what you have to say about this.) Your thinking is spot on. 

 

[DennisC]

9 hours ago, someguy said:

) what is my next step in getting it connected to the PolISY?  do i just buy the nodeserver and set that up?

Not knowing exactly what you have already installed, you will need an Ethernet interface module, for example, an M1XEP. This is used for the plugin to communicate on the non-secure port.

Here are the instructions for connecting and using the Elk plugin.

https://github.com/UniversalDevicesInc-PG3/udi-poly-ELK/blob/master/README.md

 

 

[dbwarner5]

On 1/28/2024 at 2:23 PM, someguy said:

id prefer to just use the motion sensor (and more importantly the wired glass break sensors and door opening sensors) from my old alarm.  Will your solution allow me to do that?

 A workaround that is possible is as follows: Look into Konnected at https://konnected.io. This system allows older wired alarm systems to become wifi. Get a smarthings hub on Ebay and then all your old alarms zones can become aviaalbe in Alexa, which then the ISY can communicate with. Ideally, it would be nice if someone wrote a Plug in for it as I am sure you are not alone in having an older wired alarm system that you would like to integrate into ISY.

In a second home where I do not have an ISY, but it had an old wired alarm system, I have installed this and it works great, just using hte smarthings app and Alexa. 

[firstone]

On 2/18/2024 at 8:22 AM, someguy said:

2) does anyone have suggestions for monitoring?

I use alarmrelay.com. The only issue is that they charge a lot more for ethernet monitoring than a phone line. I think it's far superior since it's much faster than using basically a dialup modem on a phone line but it annoys me that they do it.

[paulbates]

On 2/18/2024 at 8:22 AM, someguy said:

2) does anyone have suggestions for monitoring?

I use virtualarm.com for internet monitoring. My plan is $9.95 a month.