Re: DSC Power832

["Roland Moore" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxx>]

> Hello! My recently purchased foreclosed home has a Power832 system

There are two version of the PC5010. Version 1 and Version 2. Version 2 is
the most recent. Do you know which one you have? Neither are current
production models.

>To the best of my (limited) knowledge, I have a >PC5580Z  keypad.

I think you mean a PC 5508Z LED keypad.

> Bonus: How hard would it be for me to upgrade the keypad to a newer LCD
version?

There are several versions of the LCD keypad.
There is the older PC5501Z that uses fixed English as well as the newer PK
series PK5501Z fixed English (Needs version 2 of PC 5010). There is also an
RF version of both PC and PK keypads (meaning it has a built in wireless
receiver) if you care to add a wireless panic button or additional wireless
zones.

There is the custom English keypad the PC5500Z or PK5500Z. There is an RF
version of the PK series keypad.

If you add a custom English keypad it will need to be addressed and enrolled
properly. If you add a RF keypad it will have to be addressed and the
wireless module enrolled properly too.

As a practical matter considering the cost of adding a single custom English
keypad versus obtaining a new PC1832 kit containing the new custom English
keypad is a quite small difference. If you get the kit it comes with a new
battery (which I suspect you'll need) new transformer etc.

According to DSC most DSC gear is installed by dealers that use the finger
bone method of keypad programming. Those dealers will swear by all that is
holy it is the fastest and best method of programming a panel. I have taken
over many such systems that have been hand programmed. I have never seen one
hand programmed DSC panel that didn't have at least one serious programming
error flagged by the software. If your panel is hooked to a phone line it
would be easier to program it remotely for you with DLS software rather than
try and talk you through it, especially if you want to have custom English
text in the keypad.



"Chris Moore" <cdmwebs@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:a45b5668-2ca6-4f45-a49d-d250db79d781@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Hello! My recently purchased foreclosed home has a Power832 system
> installed. To the best of my (limited) knowledge, I have a PC5580Z
> keypad (photo here:
http://flickr.com/photos/cdmwebs/441461942/in/set-72157600039220788/)
> and a PC5010 control board. I had zero information on it, so I did
> some Googling and found the installation manual, operating manual,
> keypad manual and programming worksheet. This is all well and good so
> far, but I've come to discover that the programming process seems to
> be somewhat complex.
>
> My setup seems pretty simple to me, three doors (front, back and
> garage entry), garage attic, motion in living/dining common areas,
> carbon monoxide detector and glass break in the garage. It's setup
> like this:
>
> Zone 01 - Front Door (Entry/Exit)
> Zone 02 - Read Door
> Zone 03 - Garage Entry Door
> Zone 04 - Garage Attic Door
> Zone 05 - Motion
> Zone 06 - CO Detector
> Zone 07 - Garage Glass Break
> Zone 08 - Null
>
> What is the bare minimum I need to program to get this working? The
> programming worksheet has all kinds of stuff that I'm not even sure is
> relevant.
>
> Bonus: How hard would it be for me to upgrade the keypad to a newer
> LCD version?
>
> Thanks in advance, security system gurus!