EyezOn Forum

I configured my envisalink to email me and send me SMS on different events and it does work for most of them but it seems that when there is a AC failure, it won't notify me.

I just got home and there was a power outtage. My UPS was keeping my router and internet connection running and I logged on my Eyez-On page to see the status. It showed system trouble but didn't notify me. I have double checked the alerts triggers and everything is checked but the "zone followers" and "alarm restorals".

what am I missing??

thanks for your help!

Normal

I know with my Ademco Vista 20p systems the alarm delays reporting AC power failures randomly between 0-4 hours.

Here in Florida we experience power outages dozens of times a year. Today we had a failure for 10 minutes and my alarm did not report it. Several times we would loose power at around 10 pm and my phone would ring at 1 am from central station alerting me.

The delay and random reporting is designed so central stations don't get bombarded all at once.

thanks for your reply!

What's odd is when I loged on to my Eyez-On page, it showed that my system was in trouble.. so it should have sent the alert as selected in my options.

The Envisalink will only report what is normally sent to central station if monitored. An AC fault will display on your keypads immediately but reporting is delayed.

When you logged onto your page you will be able to see the trouble immediately BUT the alarm delays sending the trouble or fail.

That's the way my Vista 20p works. My keypads immediately chime if I remove the transformer or I loose power but it normally takes several hours of power loss before central station calls me.

Read this link for explanation
http://www.diysecurityforum.com/index.php?topic=24989.0

JR

Thanks for the explanation and for the link; that makes sense for the central monitoring but I wish there was a way to be notified just like other events like opening or closing.. I have a sump pump in the basement and even though it's linked to a UPS, I want to know when the power goes out so I can take action if it's out for too long. You think it's something that they would consider in the wish list?

I guess you could configure a custom zone using a small hold relay. Once power is lost the relay opens. You can configure the zone to send an alert without siren etc.

I did exactly what Flyct suggested. I even have the relay powered off the circuit of what I consider the critical load. In your case that would be the sump pump. The utility I am fed from (SDG&E) offers a SMS Alert service for power outages that I signed up for on their website. I haven't had a power outage yet, so can't really say if it works, but I haven't had any false alarms either.

that's a good idea!! Do you know if there is a way to program a Honeywel /Ademco Vista 20P without a phone line? I think there is a way to do it for some systems using command lines (I forgot how it's called) but when I read about it my system was not supported.
thanks!

rppower wrote:that's a good idea!! Do you know if there is a way to program a Honeywel /Ademco Vista 20P without a phone line? I think there is a way to do it for some systems using command lines (I forgot how it's called) but when I read about it my system was not supported.
thanks!

Yes. You can program a Vista 20P from the keypad. It requires an alpha keypad like a 6160 or 6160RF (not a 6150) .

There's a nice forum that can help you through this at http://www.diyalarmforum.com
Go there and click on the Ademco Tech forum. They also have stored manuals for your system.

You would need the Installer Code to get into programming. If you don't have it you can get it with a simple power off/power on and push certain buttons on the keypad within 30 seconds.

I have Vista 20P's I self installed and programmed in 3 homes. They are great systems. There is a learning curve to programming.

There are also several YouTube videos that can teach you how to program a Vista 20p.

JR

I too was annoyed at the up to 4 hour random delay before a power failure event was reported. This Ademco design seems to be optimized for the central station and not for the alarm panel user.

To improve the timeliness of power failure reporting, I built a simple circuit that watches the 18 VAC transformer output and uses this to trigger a zone input when power fails or returns. I could have used a relay, but this circuit saves having to take an additional AC outlet and doesn't require an extra transformer. I use the built in timer functionality of the Vista 20 to program how long the Vista 20 debounces short interruptions in power. This circuit and programming has been working reliably for me for the last three years.

Details can be found here: http://www.diysecurityforum.com/index.php?topic=25614.0