What security system do you have?

Wonder if you have the regular keypads or the tuxedo touch?

Cove security. It is a smart IoT panel with built in dialing.

Warning: Those systems sensors can be jammed with a $10 jammer that is the same frequency that the system uses.

https://www.consumerreports.org/home-security-systems/can-burglar-jam-your-wireless-security-system-a8747147102/

Update on my Vista 15p:

I have added a new keypad. I moved the 6160RF from the garage to the house and I put a 6150 in the garage to take its place. The rest of the system remains the same however.

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My house had a Go!Control GC2 until 2 years ago when we replaced it with a ring alarm (2nd gen).

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I’d trust a traditional security system any day over something like Ring, given all the times Ring & similar systems have been hacked.

Yeah I agree but we didn’t want to pay for the extra monitoring or installation, like the smart home integration, and wanted the simplicity. We were also already paying the monitoring price since we already had several other ring cameras and devices. There are pros and cons to both sides.

I also made a demo board out of the old Go!Control panel.


This is the demo board.

Powered on
The reason the time and date are reset is because I have the backup battery disconnected so I can power it on and off using a light switch. It is also almost always unplugged.

It is being used as a sort of make shift FA panel. The board has the GC2, an additional touchscreen keypad, two 2GIG smoke/heat/freeze detectors, 3 Kidde hardwired smoke alarms that were also taken out of my house and replaced around the same time, a few light switches to control things, a siren (I forgot the name) and a nightlight with a red flasher bulb in it plugged into an outlet that is wired up to a relay so it only gets power when the siren is on. This is similar to how I hooked up the Kidde smoke alarms. They are just using the 9v battery as the power source and the wiring harness is hooked up to a relay and a 5v power supply. When the siren gets power, it closes the relay and lets the 5v go through. The 5v power supply is connected to the interconnect and neutral wires on the wiring harness. The hot wire is not connected to anything.


Here is the back. It has led lights from a broken vacuum cleaner that I took apart that help light it up to see. I know it is a mess and that makes it a pain to work on but I am too lazy to clean it up and it works. This is a primarily wireless system (48 wireless zones and 2 wired) but I am only using 3 wireless devices. That would be the two 2GIG detectors and the button in the back that can be seen in this picture that is being used as a panel tamper switch. That button would normally go in the door jam of a door so when the door is closed it is pushed in. It looks like there is a wire coming out of it but that is just the wireless antenna. You can also see the two relays. I got them out of an old broken av receiver. They are meant for 24v but the panel’s 14v supply is enough to make them work.


Back of the outlet.
It is just a random old work style back box that i found lying around.

No part of this setup is in any way up to code. It is just for fun and messing around with.

I’m just using a very cheap extension cord to power this setup. It is only rated for like 13 amps but that is plenty for this.

In case anybody has one of these and are curious, the default installer code for programming and stuff is 1561. You will most likely need to factory reset your panel by holding down both buttons during power up because the installer most likely changed it. The default user code is 1111.

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  • My grandmother has a Slomin’s Napco Gemini system
  • My uncle has a newer Slomin’s system (formerly a Napco Gemini)
  • My other uncle has a Napco Gemini branded by “Mastrojohn Security”
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Well here are a few major updates on my system. We recently hung drywall in our garage. The system was fully redone at this time. I replaced the 6150 with a 6160VADT. Heat detectors have been added to the crawlspace, attic and garage. The i3 has been moved to the house and we are in the process of adding 4 wire smokes in the 4 bedrooms. The system is now monitored with an EyezOn EVL-4 internet-only communicator adding remote arming and disarming along with event monitoring. 2 new burglary sensors have been added. The pull station has since been removed to keep the system cleaner. A video of testing both portions can be found on my YouTube channel.




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Considering you have at least one Nest Protect in your house I’m glad that you put in a series of security system-monitored i3s: rest assured that they’ll do their job when it matters most (let’s hope they never have to though), whereas the Protect likely won’t.

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The Nest “Protect” was there when we purchased the house. It still works, but I would definitely not trust it more than an i3.

The Nest Protect has always worked when I have needed them too, and I have had firefighters tell me they would use them.

My household has 2 systems, an 2gig system that was installed before we moved in. I have figured out one of the user codes, but I can’t do anything without a master or installer code.

My home currently uses a 1st generation Ring system, my home is surrounded by Bulldog Screens, which are virtually impossible to get past, so the Ring system is more or so a backup.

Nest protect has failed me. Twice we had a small kitchen fire. The i3 tripped before the Nest protect even gave its “Heads Up” warning. They refuse to silence, are unreliable and the list goes on and on.

Most certainly, especially since the i3-series is made by System Sensor, a company with more than 30 years of experience in the life safety industry & one that makes professional commercial-grade fire detection & alarm products, whereas Nest Labs literally decided to make a smoke detector out of absolute nowhere & with no prior experience in said industry whatsoever (Google’s eventual acquisition of them definitely didn’t help matters either): no wonder their Protect is a piece of garbage.

Those firefighters obviously haven’t seen videos of the numerous Nest Protect failures that have occurred over the years then.

I wouldn’t trust those “smart” security systems either if I were you.

No surprise there, though I would say it’s surprising that the Protect has approval from UL.

These firefighters have numerous years of experience, and I would trust them over life safety enthusiasts when it comes to a subject such as this.

Can you provide me some data that shows this? I am interested to see how Nest devices are operating statistically.

Like I stated previously, I do not solely rely on this wireless system, it is very unlikely it is needed at all, and it is more of a backup. My home utilizes stainless steel screens on all of the doors, and windows. These are very hard to gain access, and I would say is better than any security system on the market! I suppose if someone was very determined, they could eventually gain access, but the police would be on the scene a while before that.

I will always trust First Alert over anything else, so if the protect theoretically malfunctions, I am still covered!

Alright alright, let’s get back on topic shall we?

My Dads business has a Vista 20P system, 2 partions, all hardwired, glass break, motions, doors, silent and audible panic buttons, quad-path monitored, (Phone line, WiFi, cellular, internet) quite a cool system if you ask me.

And no, it’s not a bank.

Very interesting system, Vista systems are always awesome in my opinion.

Does this system have Fire Components, or is there a dedicated FACP and system?

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Apologizes for continuing to steer this topic, well, off-topic, but the replies I’ve got I feel need replying to in turn.

Alright: I’m sure they don’t see things from the same side as people in both the community & industry though (& thus don’t know what the latter do).

I don’t know about data per say but here are five video examples of Nest Protects malfunctioning:
Nest Protect is a terrible buggy product - YouTube
Nest Protect False Alarm - YouTube
Nest Smoke and carbon monoxide Detectors are dangerous and mallfunction - YouTube
Nest Protect false alarm waking whole house up - YouTube
Serious Nest Protect Fail - YouTube
I’d say this has happened often enough to illustrate just how badly-engineered the Protect is.

Well that’s good.

Good: so do I.