Security Panel- Good buy or no?

I’ve been very interested in getting this security panel:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Vintage-Fire-Burglary-Instruments-Security-Command-Console-Alarm-Panel-Box-1270-/321792033772?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aec4cc3ec

However, I do have no clue on anything security system panels. I don’t know if anyone here could possibly shed some light on if this is really a good buy or not, and if there is too much things wrong/missing for it to actually function. I can tell there are some things missing, but if its simple enough I would like to restore the panel.

It’s a really basic vintage security panel - might be a nice one to play around with and learn how to wire up an old panel. It’s got a couple of zones but no indication which zone is in alarm. I also noticed it had zones for the old “floor trap” sensor. Ran into them a couple of times throughout my career - definitely old school. I would say buy it and have some fun with it! You will need a transformer for it - didn’t look like they are including one and unfortunately the schematic doesn’t give the voltage value.

Definitely for the experimenter. I found a site that has the manual - all 4 pages. It requires a log in to see the entire thing.
http://www.pdf-zoo.com/fire-burglary-instruments/5519/1270-1270f-installation-manual

The site does show the first page in miniature. You can make out that a 12 volt transformer is needed.

That looks like an advanced panel for its time (1979 is the copyright date). It would be a cool thing to have but it is very unpractical now. You might possibly need a PROM programmer to program it as well.

For some reason I remember someone saying they could do it with a Raspberry Pi, which might be cheaper than the programmer. Is this true?

I don’t think that would be possible. I am really only familiar with the Ademco PROM programming system, which requires a full fledged programmer. Don’t know much about FBII.

I don’t think there is going to be really any programming involved with this panel… Exit and Entry delays are set by pots right on the circuit board (if you look at the schematic on the door, look above terminals 1&2 and 15&16). Looks like there are also a couple of jumpers on the board too - the manual would probably outline the function of them. Any keypad you use - all codes would be programmed into the keypad itself, the panel is only looking for a simple contact closure. So the keypad would have to be something stand-alone, like a Corby 4000 series. But you could just forget about a keypad and just use a keyswitch or toggle switch to arm/disarm the panel. Zones are already set up - terminals 7&8 are the delay zone, terminals 5&6 are instant, terminals 20&22 are the fire zone, etc. Not much else to program!

I hope you are joking…