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[ultradianguy]

Hi - I'd like to be able to sometimes have my DS7000 trigger lights via its X10 output and dial the stored numbers, but NOT set off the alarm.  I haven't poked inside, but I would think it wouldn't be that complicated to add a switch that would bypass whatever output triggers the alarm.  Has anyone done this?  I didn't see any posts when I searched.

Does anyone know how the alarm is triggered in the unit?

Thanks,
Michael

[x10dude]

The challenge with this is that the command that sets the lights on/off is also what turns on the remote sirens. Any reachable powerhorn on the same house code will be activated when the DS7000 is triggered since it blasts on/off commands to the house code it monitors. Furthermore, I don't think it knows whether what it's activating is a light or a siren or any other module that accepts on/off.

Locally, a possibility may be to add a switch to turn on/off the internal DS700 speakers so they don't make any sound unless the switch is on. This might interfere with other notifications though (like the chime, need for bypass, etc.)

As for the remote sirens, they may be in another house code and activated through a macro if the "local" DS7000 speaker switch is on.

I haven't done this, but theoretically, it sounds doable.

[ultradianguy]

Hi - Yes, I see what you mean.  Not so much worried about remote sirens - could always just unplug those.  (Not elegant, but effective).  So I'm thinking about the internal one.  So I guess what you'd have to do is arm it, make sure zones are okay, then flip the switch to turn off sound. Unless it were possible to specifically interrupt the trigger for an alarm without cutting off all input to the speakers - I'm sure that would be much more difficult, since I assume that function is probably handled by ICs.

On a related topic - not clear about the house and unit code setting on the DS7000 and the house code on the remote:  the 4 switches for additional lights seem to be fixed to units 1-4, so I assume the unit code setting is specifically for whatever you want triggered when there is an alarm condition, ie the Security Light.  So if I'm understanding this, you can use any code EXCEPT unit 1-4 for the security alert address (siren and/or light), and both the alert and the optional additional lights have to be on same House code (?).  In addition, since the larger remote has only house code, and the little remotes have no codes at all, I assume the addresses have nothing to do with security functions of the remotes - only lights.  And the larger remote has only House code, not unit, because it turns on lights through the DS7000, not directly by itself.  Did I get all this right?


Finally - if you use an external siren - do you put in the same House and Unit code as the security light? And if so, does that mean if you use the remote to turn on the security light, you'll also trigger the siren?
Thanks again,
Michael

[ultradianguy]

Hi again - Just to clarify what I'm trying to do here: my objective is to be able to have the panic button trigger the dial out function without triggering the alarm - for instance, if my kids were home and an emergency occurred.  Unfortunately - and I think this is a design flaw -- when the system is not armed, the panic buttons do not triggering dialing.  That's why I'm trying to figure out a way to turn off audio output when the system is armed.  It's too bad the DS7000 doesn't provide a couple options:  a) what is triggered by a panic button when it's armed, b) what is triggered by a panic button when it's not armed.

Michael

[HA Dave]

.. my objective is to be able to have the panic button trigger the dial out function without triggering the alarm - for instance, if my kids were home and an emergency occurred. 

A great idea ultradianguy.

I have often thought I might like a 911 flashing light at the front of the house. But I am thinking one that would be triggered when 911 is called.... automatically. I haven't found a solution for that one yet.

For your idea... you may want to think of a 2nd DS7000 (X10 does have the scratch and dent sales). You could set the emergency DS7000 to be triggered by a single DS10A wired to a switch.. (instead... of a magnetic reed switch). A little padding and duct tape would help silence the built-in siren. A porch (or other outside light) as well as inside lights could be helpful too.

If you really want to use the "Big RED Button"... it could trigger a Universal Module and open the contacts on the single DS10A I mentioned earlier.

[x10dude]

Unless it were possible to specifically interrupt the trigger for an alarm without cutting off all input to the speakers - I'm sure that would be much more difficult, since I assume that function is probably handled by ICs.

You may be thinking of "alarm" as the sound (siren) itself. In the context of the DS7000, when it goes into "alarm" mode, it does a few things, among which are: 1) sends nonstop on/off commands (for a few mins) to all units registered to its house code, 2) dials pre-programmed numbers and plays recorded message, 3) sounds its own siren, 4) lights up the zone light on its to show where the trigger came from.

For example, if the "house code" is set to C on the DS7000, all lights controlled by wall switches, floodlights, lamp modules, etc. will receive an "On/Off" sequence if they too are set to house code C. As a result, all these lights will flash or dim low/bright depending on their type. Note that it's not limited to "security lights".  That's one advantage to having external floodlights set to the same house code as the DS7000. People will see them flashing from a distance. The same applies to remote sirens. The on/off command sequence will have them blasting for 4 mins. You can share house/unit code with powerhorns also. In my case, I have 7 of them distributed around the house all using the same house/unit code (e.g, C:16)

On a related topic - not clear about the house and unit code setting on the DS7000 and the house code on the remote:  the 4 switches for additional lights seem to be fixed to units 1-4, so I assume the unit code setting is specifically for whatever you want triggered when there is an alarm condition, ie the Security Light. 

The house code on the DS7000 is the "umbrella" code that all lights/devices controlled by the DS7000 need to be on, but each needs to have its own (or shared) unit code (1-16) depending on its location or function. The unit code on the DS7000 is what's called "security lights", which would either blink on/off or stay on depending on what triggers them. If you press "lights on" on your keychain remote, the "security" lights will go on through the DS7000.

If you use your "large" remote and press the "security light" switch on, the DS7000 would turn all lights registered to the House code/unit code on its panel. NOTE: you can have multiple lights with the house code/unit code.

In my case, I  have three lamp modules as the "security lights". 1 is in the garage, 1 in the room that connects to the garage, and a 3rd one in the living room in case I come through the front door. As soon as I open the garage door that leads into the house, all 3 lights go on. As I leave and activate the alarm, all 3 lights go on. The one in the garage serves 2 purposes - 1) tells me that the alarm is on as I leave (can't hear the DS7000 from garage), 2) tells me if alarm was tripped BEFORE I go into the house (DS7000 doesn't turn off lights after it's triggered.)

So if I'm understanding this, you can use any code EXCEPT unit 1-4 for the security alert address (siren and/or light), and both the alert and the optional additional lights have to be on same House code (?).  In addition, since the larger remote has only house code, and the little remotes have no codes at all, I assume the addresses have nothing to do with security functions of the remotes - only lights.  And the larger remote has only House code, not unit, because it turns on lights through the DS7000, not directly by itself.  Did I get all this right?

The unit code for the security lights can be any number from 1-16, including the first 1-4 on the remote. It just means you'd be able to turn them on/off with the remote by using two buttons if you use the first 4. You'd be wasting one button though.

Neither remote turns on lights by itself. They go through the DS7000, AHP, or possibly a transceiver.

Finally - if you use an external siren - do you put in the same House and Unit code as the security light? And if so, does that mean if you use the remote to turn on the security light, you'll also trigger the siren?
Thanks again,
Michael

You'd want the external siren to be a separate unit code, but on the same house code. Note that for the "powerhorns" to work, they need to receive multiple on/off commands to avoid a scenario like what you mention, but if you do press on/off multiple times, you'd definitely be able to turn them on.

[ultradianguy]

Hi - First of all, Dave and X10Dude - thank you for taking the time to write these detailed, incredibly helpful explanations.

I think I've got most of my questions answered, and I realize I had misunderstood the purpose of the Security Light code.  However, X10dude's last post raised a couple new question, in the description of your own set up.

I understand now that the Security Light (unit code) blinks when you arm (helpful) butI tested it and it does not blink when you disarm (annoying, inconsistent).

However, you said that the security lights come on when you enter and when you leave. (I think that's what you said).  In terms of when you leave, did you mean just that they blink once to tell you the system has armed?  In terms of coming on when you enter, that was a surprise to me. (Right now, I don't have any X10 accessible lights visible at the entry door).  Is this only when the system is armed?  Do they blink to let you know it's going to set off alarm as soon as the delay is up?  Clearly they don't stay on as long as it's armed.  Do they come on when the system is not armed?  I wasn't sure if you were referring to a function to light your way in, or just to warn you about being armed.
I had figured I could use the V572 with AHP to have lights come on when I open door, but I wasn't sure if you were saying that the DS7000 provides this kind of function.


Thanks yet again,
Michael aka ultradianguy

[x10dude]

Hey Michael,

This is actually of a function of the "large" remote control (SH624), the DS10a, and DS7000 combination. In my case, what I did is set the DS10a (sensor) on my garage entryway to "max delay" (slider on the front of the sensor), and the SH624 to "max" also.

This means that I usually don't use the keychain to activate my system as I leave since it only supports "instant" mode. In other words, it has no delay and doesn't allow me to get in/out if I need to. But because I have the extra "security" light in the garage, I know the system is activated when I see it blink.

Most of the time, I use the SH624 instead, which tells the DS7000 to turn on the "security lights" for a certain amount of time, then turn them off once it's given me enough time to leave the house and lock everything.

When I come back and open my door, the DS10a (in max delay mode), tells the DS7000 to turn on the "security lights" while I go to my SH624 and disarm the alarm. Then, it leaves the lights on until I turn them off.

To enhance this behavior, I wrote some macros to do the following:

1) when using the SH624 to arm (as I leave), turn on a chime close to the garage door to know that AHP also registered the "armed" state of the system. That way, I can get text messages in case something happens (through AHP.) The security lights tell me that the DS7000 armed itself.

2) when using the keychain to disarm (in case I use it when I come back - usually from outside the house), turn on the chime, and turn on the security lights for 3 minutes

3) when using the SH624 to disarm, turn on the chime (to know that AHP registered the change in state), and after 3 minutes, turn off the security lights.

With these 3 macros, I get the exact behavior I want. Note also that I have other macros that depend on these 3, which also set a flag to determine the DS7000 status (alarm on/off). That way, the text messages are only sent if all conditions are met.

I hope this helps clarify your questions..

[ultradianguy]

Crystal clear! Thank you.

[jtykal]

Going back to the original post, yes, it is quite easy to wire in a switch to disable the internal horn. I did this with one of my DS7000 consoles. I simply put a toggle switch in one of the wires running to the horn/speaker and drilled a hole in the side of the case to mount the switch. The wires are pretty fragile, so you have to handle the unassembled unit carefully, but it was a very easy mod. The screws to disassemble the case are hidden beneath the rubber feet on the bottom of the unit.

[Knightrider]

If i remember correctly, someone posted pics of this mod.  Maybe it was you, jkytal.  I wish I could find the link. 

[jtykal]

I did post this mod a  L O N G  time ago, but didn't post pics. Pretty self-explanatory once you get the case open.

[WildBill47]

Hi - I'd like to be able to sometimes have my DS7000 trigger lights via its X10 output and dial the stored numbers, but NOT set off the alarm.  I haven't poked inside, but I would think it wouldn't be that complicated to add a switch that would bypass whatever output triggers the alarm.  Has anyone done this?  I didn't see any posts when I searched.

Does anyone know how the alarm is triggered in the unit?

Thanks,
Michael

Simple answer, follow the wires to the two sounders in the DS7000 and just cut them or add switches.