RFXCOM as standalone alarm panel

[Bastiaan]

Currently I have my Visonic system connected to RFXCOM. It has been working fine but I am now looking at the option to make the RFXCOM panel a standalone system and loose the PowerMax Pro.
Plan is to use a few of those very cheap Android 7 inch screens that can be found for 40-50 euro and use HStouch to make a much more friendly interface.
One reason is that my guests are always puzzled with the buttons on the Powermax, if the alarm goes off, it is very hard to detect what the reason is etc. clumsy programming and interfacing.
RFXCOM is mature and stable and has all options I want.

But I run into a few issues with HS3 and RFXCOM:

I would prefer to have an overview page on the screen at the front door. It shows the current alarm status and the option to disarm.
First I made the intro screen with a disarm button going to the next passcode protected screen. On opening the next screen it would "Disarm"
Unfortunately I found this working very crappy. Typing the wrong code brought me in between screens, hanging there until I did a reset of HStouch. Entering the right code was also not always bringing me.

RFXCOM provides a PINcode system but there the feedback is a bit sparse. I could make a keyboard and a disarm button that worked but it felt a but more sluggish because of the access via HStouch. When you set a pincode it sticks there for every disarm button and I don't need that when I disarm at the screen next to my bed.

I am aware that I need more testing and for sure I thing there are some ways to get around little issues but I am curious if other use this method and what methods has been used.

Questions for Bert:
Is it possible to set the PINcode on the fly. Eg. use a button press on HStouch to set the code on and off with an event or direct command?
Is it possible to display some sort of feedback from the pincode screen, showing the dots if they are entered?

Bastiaan

[Rutger]

Do you mean something like this? https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17816305/alarm.jpg
I didn't use the standard password screen from hstouch. After every digit I can delete them as wel. And yes, sometimes the input is slow.

Because of several mistaken inputs, I installed a wireless keypad in the hall, and this works like a charm. It's the Visonic MCM-140

[Bastiaan]

Hi Rutger, nice to see your work. I do have the remote set from Visonic (the 150 version with display) but does it connect directly to the RFXCOM system without connection to the Powermax?

Never tried to pair my one to be honest.....

Secondly: I see that you have the disarm button and the keypad on the same screen. How did you exactly set this up?
Guess you don't use the build in passcode per screen but found a better way?

[Rutger]

I don't have a Powermax. A RFXLAN with Visonic slave interface does the trick for me. The MCM-140 use an own password, so it works seperately from the 4-digit password I entered in the RFXCOM config. If you enter the correct pincode on the MCM, this device send the arm-home, arm-away or disarm signal. When you enter a wrong pincode the MCM give a sound code and a specific led color, but send nothing to the RFXCOM Alarm panel.
When alarm is armed and the RFXCOM alarm panel don't receive within the delay a disarm signal, the RFXCOM alarm panel will give an alarm signal ofcourse.
Disadvantage in my case was that the MCM don't display the actual status of the alarm panel. When I set alarm into a modus, I hear the MCM beeps but that doesn't confirm that the rfxcom received the signal.
I installed a little speaker in the hall that speaks the status when alarm status is changed. Problem solved. Think about that...before you can't return to your original configuration.

[Rutger]

I didn't use the hstouch password screen utility, so I made it myself.
First you need a textbox, with a name, mine is "Text box",
The PasswordChar in the Text box is "*".
Alarm is the name of my screen

The 0 to 9 digits you'll have the following for each ActionWhenReleased the same (except the text input ofcourse):
- Elements: Append text to a textbox element
- DynActStringList: Alarm Text Box
- Text: 1 (or 2, or 3, etc)

Cl(ea)r button:
- Elements: Clear a text box element
- Element: Alarm Text Box

The Arm-Home, Arm-away and Disarm buttons.
All of them does "StatusTrackingNormal" and "StatusTrackingPressed": Alarm panel state.
For each button also most of the same input:

Control a Homeseer device:
- Device: (your floor), (your room), Alarm Panel Control
- Command: Home (or arm-away, or disarm)

Clear a text box Element:
- Alarm Text Box

In StatusColors I entered all alarm modus and named+color the correct colorwith each state.
i.e: So all 3 statustrack buttons are the same, but when Alarm-Home is active, the textcolor of the first button is green and named Arm-Home.

[Bastiaan]

THanks, that looks familiar but how do you prevent people from pressing the Disarm button straight away? Or in other words, how do you connect the input to the text box with access rights.

[Rutger]

Well you have a good point, some things aren't function when you never tried it....Maybe I have to think now about some things...
I trust on my sensors and the keypad ( which can't be controlled without a pincode). The hstouch is more or less never used anymore.

[Rutger]

When pressing disarm directly the alarm panel shows an incorrect entered password message, so a trigger on that should not be difficult. Maybe I missed a little command in my disarm procedure?

[Bastiaan]

Normally you create a screen, add the passcode and you get a keypad to use before you can access the screen. (if it works)

My main question remains:

In your setup, when you have entered de right digits, how does your system check they are the right ones and how do you go from there.

[Rutger]

The unlock code is configured in the Security tab from RFXCOM (@HS2).
Because you enter the digits from hstouch directly in the alarm panel unlock device from RFXCOM, here the approval will be done....I think.
When I enter 1 of 2 digits in hstouch, you see immediately the stars visible in this 'alarm panel unlock' device.

Maybe there are other (scripting) options?

[JoopK]

I don't have a Powermax. A RFXLAN with Visonic slave interface does the trick for me. The MCM-140 use an own password, so it works seperately from the 4-digit password I entered in the RFXCOM config. If you enter the correct pincode on the MCM, this device send the arm-home, arm-away or disarm signal. When you enter a wrong pincode the MCM give a sound code and a specific led color, but send nothing to the RFXCOM Alarm panel.
When alarm is armed and the RFXCOM alarm panel don't receive within the delay a disarm signal, the RFXCOM alarm panel will give an alarm signal ofcourse.
Disadvantage in my case was that the MCM don't display the actual status of the alarm panel. When I set alarm into a modus, I hear the MCM beeps but that doesn't confirm that the rfxcom received the signal.
I installed a little speaker in the hall that speaks the status when alarm status is changed. Problem solved. Think about that...before you can't return to your original configuration.

How did you add the MCM-140 to the Plugin? My MCM-140+ is not seen and I cannot add it to HS2?

[Rutger]

I can't remember (it's 357 days ago), but it's visible in the Security tab from the RFXCOM plugin, so adding is like all others sensors I think. Probably I set first the mastercode and did an arm/disarm command, but I'm not sure. The light button is also working in HS2. I don't have added the Fire and Emergency buttons.

An old topic on the HS board says that the 140+ isn't compatible with RFXCOM plugin, because of an encrypted protocol: http://forums.homeseer.com/showthread.php?p=814683

[JoopK]

Ok, thx. I checked what RFXreceiver does receive, but indeed NOTHING from the MCM-140+... (BTW the RFXreceiver download link from http://www.rfxcom.com/Downloads does not work anymore).