Re: Napco system questions

[Frank Olson <use_the_email_links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Robert L Bass wrote:
> "Frank Olson" wrote:
>>
>> Actually DSC remains one of the most feature rich alarm panels out
>> there when you compare similarly priced panels from other
>> manufacturers.  It's a heck of a lot easier to program than Napco.
>
> I kind of agree, but not entirely.  I suspect it's mostly "easier"
> because you use it more often than Napco.  I've programmed so many Napco
> systems that I can (and often do) walk a customer through programming a
> system without even opening the program on my PC.
>
> OTOH, the few DSC systems I ever programmed were so simple (there were
> less options) that they could easily be configured from the keypad.
> Even after many years working with Napco, I never program them from the
> keypad.
>
> As to feature-richness, Napco has (I forget) 61 or 62 individually
> selectable per-zone options.  That's 2^^62 possible ways to configure
> each individual zone.  There are hundreds of options, selectable and
> adjustable features, timers and so forth for the system as a whole.  I
> don't believe DSC's residential panels even come close.
>


I wasn't referring to things like zoning options, Robert.  The end-user
rarely sees these and most wouldn't understand what they are.  Ademco's
highest end system (the Vista 250) still doesn't have telephone line
monitoring.  This has been a "standard feature" on DSC panels from the
start (the only exceptions being the early "1000" and the "1500").  All
of their panels had "chime", bell supervision, and "quick keys".  For
the money (cheap), they had all the stuff the "big boys" offered (and
sometimes more).  If you take a look at the zone options menu, you can
program a number of features now that you couldn't do before.  They
remain one of the easiest systems to keypad program which probably
accounts for their popularity.