Evolv-ing Thread

[mikepetro]

"The ILP5 internet alarm communicator is a member of the AlarmNet alternative alarm communicator family. All AlarmNet alternative alarm communicators provide you with an option to have your home security system monitored by a central station without needing to pay for traditional phone service. "

Both the Wifi and the Hardwired modules support "Alarmnet".

 

[tiburonfirst]

The Wifi module is only $50, and if yiour Monitoring company supports internet notification it shouldnt change your monthly bill.

Amazon.com: Honeywell L5100-WIFI - L5100 Wifi Module for Lynx Touch 5100: Computers & Accessories

The hardwired ILP5 module is about $90. I agree, hardwired is a lot more reliable. This is assuming running an ethernet cable from your Alarm Panel to your Router is not difficult.

the thing is i'm hiding the panel in my broom closet and, reading up on the wifi module, capabilities to connect are nothing like what is found on laptops or cell phones.
my router would be the att home base which, if the signal is good, i'd place on the counter right next to that closet

 

[awsum140]

Tibs, if you have a wired system and they got all the wiring to the control panel, adding another piece of CATx shouldn't be much a big deal. The alarm company might have to do that for you but if you get the modules from them it shouldn't make much of a difference. I'm no fan of WiFi for anything I would consider critical, like alarm system monitoring.

 

[TrollDragon]

I always got a kick out of customers that never took the security of their system seriously. Back in the day I had a stock Windows 2000 image that I would ghost onto a new box to show them just how unsafe the internet is.

I'd plug the freshly loaded box directly into the internet and tell them to watch... Within 5 minutes command windows were popping up, web pages loading and programs were running. Local control of the machine was totally lost, it was fun to see the shock on their faces.

 

[tiburonfirst]

Tibs, if you have a wired system and they got all the wiring to the control panel, adding another piece of CATx shouldn't be much a big deal. The alarm company might have to do that for you but if you get the modules from them it shouldn't make much of a difference. I'm no fan of WiFi for anything I would consider critical, like alarm system monitoring.

Tibs, if you have a wired system and they got all the wiring to the control panel, adding another piece of CATx shouldn't be much a big deal. The alarm company might have to do that for you but if you get the modules from them it shouldn't make much of a difference. I'm no fan of WiFi for anything I would consider critical, like alarm system monitoring.

it's not wired - only the phone cable runs to it. i definitely make that call tomorrow and see what they say

 

[sabre66]

Yup call yer alarm company. Also Im not too concerned about a wifi module or cellular module for your lynx. Since all your devices are wireless you can always upgrade to a Lyric panel it has w/l , cellular and z-wave built in and you will not need to change yer w/l devices. All these ip/cellular modules run on the secure channel. I,ve been playing around with the lyric and I'm quite impressed, nice screen and really easy to set up. You could always try an Uplink 4550 module (again secure but must be set up through your alarm co as with all secure monitoring). Stay away from trying to monitor on a cheap VOIP line they are not managed and will almost always fail. Total connect on the honeywell system works great it will also allow you to arm/disarm do home automation and cctv(works best with honeywell cameras) but will also work great with a Skybell for front doorbell replacement( skybell has no monthly fee and if you have a regular door bell the existing vac transformer will power it unlike ring, no batteries to charge/replace if you dont get a ring or run a 16vac transformer and use a 10ohm 10w resistor or you WILL BLOW IT UP) all on your smart phone but for a small monthly fee(that is for the total connect portion, skybell can be used @ no charge without total connect if you choose). With more and more people dropping POTS phones I'm doing a ton of alternate monitoring, the cheap option is internet then cellular I charge an extra few dollars for alternate monitoring but your company may charge more or less. Sorry for my ramblings just telling like it is,
People want to cheap out, I get it, but I know what works and what doesn't, nothing but sadness when I get the "FAIL TO COMMUNICATE" service call. I've been in this game for 24yrs.

 

[kiba]

Definitely have to agree on the ethernet cable tibs, I didn't know that was an option but if it is, obviously that's by far the best one... Just saying, its not like I'm going around doing home invasions but if I was a novice bad guy who knew your security system was entirely dependent on wifi, I could just quickly jam the signal remotely (newer ones are actually easier to exploit bc of multi-user-mimo) & take your stuff at my leisure... Def. do the cat 6 cable, security is the one & only area where I still believe 100% hard connections are necessary, if only bc wifi creates a vulnerable/weak point that can be exploited every time & essentially makes the whole thing pointless.

I dont think you need that.

"Your system may also have
been programmed to automatically send alarm or status messages over the phone lines or via
the cellular/GSM network or the internet to a central alarm monitoring station"

If you have an ethernet port on it you could hardwire it to your router, otherwise just get the wifi module for it. Make sure your monitoring solution is capable of internet notifications.

^this, don't get the hotspot, I use voip, it's free & as long as you've got a stable connection works 100% of the time. I don't see the need for a cellular connection tbh, bc If something gets tripped, the ifttt commands & backup commands will always lmk & my gf in a number of different ways, & if for some reason something happens it just keeps trying until a confirmation... then I just have to confirm a call/text to the police across the street with screen caps of the person in question. a lot of times it's the cat so we get a lot of "test runs" (& cool pics of our cat).

I always got a kick out of customers that never took the security of their system seriously. Back in the day I had a stock Windows 2000 image that I would ghost onto a new box to show them just how unsafe the internet is.

I'd plug the freshly loaded box directly into the internet and tell them to watch... Within 5 minutes command windows were popping up, web pages loading and programs were running. Local control of the machine was totally lost, it was fun to see the shock on their faces.

What did you mean by box?

"what's in the boooox" - se7en lol

 

[tiburonfirst]

don't get the hotspot

well now! hotspot it has to be! but the att home phone and internet gadget has an ethernet port. cellular is my only option for decent speed. i have no access to dsl, cable, fios, u-verse etc

 

[kiba]

well now! hotspot it has to be! but the att home phone and internet gadget has an ethernet port. cellular is my only option for decent speed. i have no access to dsl, cable, fios, u-verse etc

Do you use dial-up?

 

[tiburonfirst]

Do you use dial-up?

noooooooooooo! i have 2 att hotspots - 1 for me and 1 for dh to watch netflix

 

[kiba]

noooooooooooo! i have 2 att hotspots - 1 for me and 1 for dh to watch netflix

Ah, I see... What about satellite? Ive heard the ping times are significantly improved.

 

[tiburonfirst]

Ah, I see... What about satellite? Ive heard the ping times are significantly improved.

and lose connection every time it rains or snows? i'm happy with att - download speeds in the 20s most days, occasionally dropping to the teens. that's why i'm considering the att home phone and internet, basically a 3rd hotspot with extras

 

[SlickWilly]

.

and lose connection every time it rains or snows? i'm happy with att - download speeds in the 20s most days, occasionally dropping to the teens. that's why i'm considering the att home phone and internet, basically a 3rd hotspot with extras

I think satellite has gotten a lot better, my daughter has had dish tv for a couple years now, the only time the signal got fuzzy was when we had a big dump of snow and it covered the dish, they still had a signal just got fuzzy. Now I know that's tv and not internet so I can't claim weather won't effect net signals but it might be worth checking out.

 

[tiburonfirst]

just ran this from my laptop pretty sure my tablet and the iphone i'm trying to figure out are connected to this right now also and heaven knows what those 2 gadgets are doing

 

[tiburonfirst]

.


I think satellite has gotten a lot better, my daughter has had dish tv for a couple years now, the only time the signal got fuzzy was when we had a big dump of snow and it covered the dish, they still had a signal just got fuzzy. Now I know that's tv and not internet so I can't claim weather won't effect net signals but it might be worth checking out.

can't say the same i don't watch tv but dh has dish and i had to get the local channels for him several times in the last few weeks. my neighbor had satellite internet till i converted him - he's happy as can be and just added the att home phone and internet on my recommendation but he has no alarm system.

 

[Rossum]

What about satellite? Ive heard the ping times are significantly improved.

With geostationary satellites, you're still looking at ~500ms best case.

Speed Limit: 186,000 miles per second. It's not just a good idea. It's the law!

 

[mikepetro]

 

[tiburonfirst]

 

[awsum140]

With geostationary satellites, you're still looking at ~500ms best case.

Speed Limit: 186,000 miles per second. It's not just a good idea. It's the law!

That speed limit applies to both cable and fiber as well, and is actually a little lower on both being in the 95% and up range but never getting to 100%, even on fiber. It's the bandwidth that limits things, not the propagation speed. Ping speeds are effected by path length and equipment latency. With satellite it's guaranteed path length of least 50,000 miles plus the local copper/fiber networks.

 

[kiba]

just ran this from my laptop pretty sure my tablet and the iphone i'm trying to figure out are connected to this right now also and heaven knows what those 2 gadgets are doing [emoji38]

whoah geez, that ping really takes me back to my days of playing everquest & counterstrike on dial-up. For what you're doing it's fine though & that is probably better than satellite in terms of latency, though it's a trade off in bandwidth. I have a freind in the boonies who uses it & he says it basically never drops him unless the dish fills up with snow.

If you want, check out reviews on hughes, I think it's up to gen 5 now.

With geostationary satellites, you're still looking at ~500ms best case.

Speed Limit: 186,000 miles per second. It's not just a good idea. It's the law!

Half a second is not really that bad though as long as the bandwidth is good... right, I mean what does she need a really low latency for? I mean unless you're trying to be gaming, which I'm positive w/ a 500 ping isn't possible.