alarm interface

Hey guys I'd like to have it so a CBus group can arm and disarm my alarm system. Can anyone do this?

The alarm panel is a nx 4. What are there in the way if c bud interfaces for this? The only feature I want is to be able to arm and disarm my panel via my touch screen. That's it.

Any c bus / alarm mcguivers out there?

Thanks for your time,
Aaaron.

 

What options do you have for arming and disarming the panel at the moment? It all comes down to an interface from Cbus to one of these options.

 

Currently I can only arm / disarm via the alarm key pad.

 

Do you have a manual for the alarm? Does it have other options for arming/disarming.. I know the panels i commonly work with have an option called 'keyswitch operation' which converts the zone 8 to a dry contact monitor for enable arming, disarming via keyswitch.. You could then instead use a cbus relay channel to drive the zone and then its just a matter of cbus group address to control that relay channel and you have arm/disarm... Not really very secure but hey.. I have never had to set an alarm up this way for cbus control as i prefer to use the 5400/16CB as it gives much more flexibility..

Cheers..

 

That is EXACTLY WHAT IM AFTER! Thankyou so much. I will have a hung through the info I have in it. I've been googling "bridge/short to disarm" with zero success.

 

With some versions of the NX-4 you can set any zone to type 30 and it becomes an arm/disarm toggle. You need to put a 3.3k resistor between the zone and ground and then a relay (or momentary switch) across the resistor. This will toggle the arm/disarm state every time you pulse the relay. I don't believe there is any way to determine the actual alarm state though so it's of limited use away from home.

 

So for example if I short terminals 1a and 1b with a 3.3k resistor on a c bus relay and run a 2 core cable one conductor to a zone on my nx-4 (any zone??), one conductor to negative of the panel and program that channel to bell press via c bus, I can toggle the armed state of my c bus?

No nx-4 programming needed?

 

You need to set the zone you are using in the NX-4 to Zone Type 30. This stops it being an alarm zone and makes it an arm/disarm toggle zone. Check the NX-4 manual under Zone Configuration Group. The wiring you detailed is correct. Rather than setting a switch to a bell press set it up as a short timer.

 

Just make sure your insurance company is happy with this way of disarming. It is possible that a clever burglar can disarm you system if he gets access to the cbus side and then your insurance might not pay out.

Ingo

 

Thanks Ashley, that's fantastic information. Exactly what I was after.

Ingo- good point, you cannot access any if my c bus system without first being detected so I should be fine.

 

You could also make the alarm page on the spectrum code protected to make things a bit more secure...

In the end if the person breaking in knows where your alarm panel is, your alarm can be disabled very very quickly... Wonder what the insurance company thinks of that.. Also wonder what they would say if you got broken into but had forgottento put your alarm on....

 

The page is already security coded, I just needed the advice given which was great regarding the Keyswitch function.

Don't worry my house is secure..

 

Professional Solution:
There is a (DAS) NX584 module; it is a serial interface for automation integration. This will also require a serial interface into C-Bus2 (The CTS has RS232 abilities). It will require some form of intelligence because a translation from NX codes to C-Bus2 codes is required and some form of buffering to ensure that NX alarm or the C-Bus system does not overload the others data bus with data.
This can also allow the alarm motion sensors to act as occupancy sensors.
Welcome Home lighting scene when alarm disarmed.
Smoke Alarm signal can turn ?ON? - all lights to aid evacuation.
Arm / Disarm and status information from mobile devices via Wiser web interface.

The MacGyver Solution No 1:
The NX series has a ?key chain remote? kit ? 4 buttons ? (arm ? disarm and two clean relay outputs)
Hack the remote and wire the push contacts across two C-Bus relay ? two required (Arm ? Disarm)
I would run the cables to the remote through small ferrite beads to stop the cable acting as an antenna and possible intermittent triggering.
Advantage is client gets a remote kit with keychain remotes.
Downsides ? FOB batteries will go flat eventually. There is there is no way for C-Bus2 to tell if the alarm is set or not, only what it last set it too, which may have changed.

It may be possible to set one of the auxiliary outputs when the alarm is armed and then read this as a C-Bus2 input.

The MacGyver Solution No 2:
The NX series has the ability to arm and disarm the alarm when a zone is shorted with a Momentary Key Switch. No status information for C-Bus ? (Is the alarm set or not) ? see previous for solution

Do not use C-Bus as the main control ? this would leave the alarm system in undetermined states if the mains power is removed. Think what happens if it stops communication half way through a conversation, also of what state C-Bus will set the alarm too if the power is restored after an outage. Even a ?Brown Out? may alter states!

 

Brilliant reply!

I'm going for macguiver solution 2 and I will still have the factory alarm keypad at my back door so no stress about only c bus controlling it. Really appreciate the help mate, absolutely fantastic.

 

You wouldn't know how to program the nx do I can use a zone as a key switch would you?

 

Manuals can be downloaded here:

http://www.das-sa.com.au/NX Manuals.html