Re: Time for HA, finally. Thinking Insteon. Mulling this for 20 years. What is best?

["BruceR" <razrbruce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 Robert L Bass wrote:
>> Agreed! The Elk does seem very capable
>> and choosing between the two would be
>> difficult. Indeed, if the schedule can be
>> programmed to the same level of sophistication
>> as the Stargate, I would say it looks like the current winner.
>
> I don't know about the folks that make Stargate (though they seemed
> very pleasant and helpful the few times I've ever spoken to them. ELK
> has a great attitude toward dealers and end users.  They're one
> of the few manufacturers in the trade that will actually let a user
> talk to their engineering staff.  As a dealer I've had several
> occasions to request modifications and additions to the ELK-M1G.  I
> and several other dealers asked for a Z-Wave transceiver.  Done.  One
> of my clients asked for help modifying a lighting protocol.  Done.
> In all fairness, as a dealer I'm not exactly unbiased.  I sell a lot
> of M1 Gold systems, probably more than most independent alarm
> dealers.  But it appears ELK is just as helpful to smaller accounts.
> I failed to mention another ELK feature in my earlier posts which I
> believe makes the ELK-M1G stand out above many competing products.
> With most HA systems when there's a new firmware release the end user
> has to go to his dealer (assuming he even knows there's a new
> version), pay for a service call and purchase a replacement chipset.
> If the dealer is anything like the average alarm company, the cost
> can easily top $200.  ELK allows dealers and users to download new
> firmware at no charge.  DIY customers can get email notification and
> are also given access to all the "back office" documentation that
> many alarm manufacturers reserve for dealers on password protected
> websites.  For a number of my customers this has been a deal maker
> when choosing between ELK and HAI (another good quality HA maker).

Stargate offers the same type of thing. Firmware is always free and
posted on their site. Tech support is excellent. In fact, most of the
time it's provided by Jeff Stein himself, the owner of JDS Technologies,
the manufacturer of Stargate.  He also frequents the Stargate forum on
Yahoo providing helpful guidance as needed.  Knowing him for the 13
years I've used his product we've become good friends as he has with
many of his customers.