Check 103 on Vista 21iP with GSM module (EVL4)

[koreth]

I am adding an EnvisaLink 4 to a Vista 21iP that has a GSM module. I want to keep using my existing monitoring service so I'd like to make sure the GSM radio stays working.

The Envisalink is communicating with the online service and seeing the status of my zones show up correctly. But I'm getting a CHECK 103 LngRng Radio 0000 message on my keypad, and I can't arm the alarm.

Searching the forums, all the posts about this seem to be from people who have erroneously enabled shadowing on a system *without* a GSM module, but I do have a GSM module.

I did *29,1,*,0,*,*,* as directed. The jumper on the panel just below the built-in Ethernet port is removed. (I also tried moving it to the "Off" position.) I have shadowing enabled in the web UI. The system has one regular keypad, one Tuxedo panel, and the EnvisaLink, all enabled.

There are some communications settings in the EnvisaLink Honeywell installation guide that say they're for a sole communicator setup and that I might have to choose different settings if I have another communicator, but I can't find any guidance on what those different settings should actually be. If there's a guide somewhere that lists them, I'd love a pointer to it. I've looked up what all the recommended settings mean and it's not clear to me what would need to change.

Thanks for any help!

[GrandWizard]

It depends on the type of GSM communicator. Some GSM communicators do not use the ECP bus and therefore shadowing should be OFF.

[koreth]

Ah, that did it. The Envisalink instructions were so clear about needing to have shadowing turned on that I didn't think to try toggling it off.

I believe the answer is "yes," but just to confirm: with shadowing turned off, the Vista 21iP will still use the Envisalink to contact my existing monitoring service, correct? That is, with shadowing off, I should still leave the jumper for the built-in Ethernet port off and I should only have an Ethernet cable plugged into the Envisalink? (That's how I have it set now, just don't want to inadvertently disable my alarm monitoring.)

Thanks!

[GrandWizard]

I guess the instructions should mention this difference. Fair enough.

There are some GSM communicators that simply "listen" to the phone line and send whatever messages are being sent over that interface to the wireless network. Those are not really communicators in the real sense of the term as the panel has no idea that they are there.

So yes, if this is your setup, your Envisalink won't interfere with your communications to the station. That being said, you should ALWAYS do a system test with your station after making any changes to your alarm system.

[koreth]

My alarm installer came by a couple days ago to do something unrelated, and I had him do a system test since he was there. The bad news is that with the jumper for the onboard LAN removed, the GSM module also gets disabled (as in, no power flows to it at all). He ended up having to completely disconnect the EVL4 from the panel and move the Ethernet cable back to the onboard port to get the panel talking to the monitoring service. One thing that kind of surprised me is that he said that it wasn't just GSM not working, but that no messages were going out to the monitoring service over Ethernet either. I know for certain that the panel had Internet connectivity via the EVL4 because I could see its status via the Eyez-On web interface.

Do I need to configure the EVL to tell it where on the Internet the monitoring service is? My assumption had been that that configuration was on the panel.

Unfortunately I wasn't around while he was doing this, or I would have tried toggling shadowing on and off as he plugged and unplugged different things on the panel. I'll try that shortly.

[Flyct]

Do I need to configure the EVL to tell it where on the Internet the monitoring service is? My assumption had been that that configuration was on the panel.

Unless your central station is one of Eyezon's special "monitoring partners" the EVL will only communicate with the eyezon server, not to a typical standard monitoring station. Eyezon has their own central station for monitoring if you want to switch but it only reports via IP, not cellular.


The best of both worlds, keep your current monitoring alarm provider that monitors via the 21iP GSM/IP board and utilize the EVL as a 2nd IP communicator reporting directly to Envisalink's server.

Then you can set up email and text notification for events on the eyezon web page. All you would have to do is reinstall the EVL and run an additional network cable from the EVL to your router.

That is what I do. I have a cellular/ip communicator that reports to central station and I use the EVL as a secondary IP communicator. EVL works very well to remotely arm/disarm and view status.

[koreth]

The best of both worlds, keep your current monitoring alarm provider that monitors via the 21iP GSM/IP board and utilize the EVL as a 2nd IP communicator reporting directly to Envisalink's server.

That's exactly what I want. (Well, that and the ability to directly talk to the EVL on my local network from my own home automation software.) What does your configuration look like to accomplish that in terms of jumpers, wiring, settings, etc., assuming you're also using a 21iP?

[Flyct]

I don't have a 21iP. I have a 20P, but here is what I would do if I were you.

• I would Call Central Station and put system in test for a couple of hours

• I would power down AC and disconnect battery
• I’d leave jumpers as currently set up with your 21iP GSM/IP communicator.
• Install the EVL connected to the 4 wire keybuss
• Connect an additional network cable from EVL to Router
• Leave *29 settings as is currently as *29 should already be set to 1
• Power up and wait for the alarm to reboot, wait about 2 minutes to make sure that you don’t get error messages
• If you get a “CHECK 103 LngRng Radio 0000 error: Log into http://envisalink and change shadowing checkbox setting, and power cycle the system
• Log into http://envisalink and see if you can arm the alarm via that local link
• If you haven’t already created an account at Eyezon for your device go to http://www.eyezon.com/ and create an account
• Then log into the account https://www.eyez-on.com/EZMAIN/login.php
• Try to arm and disarm via the account page.

Then I would set off the alarm, let siren run for a minute then disarm
I would call central station to confirm they received the alarm.

Report back!