Honeywell Ademco Vista Alarm Panels Plugin via AD2USB

[peterv]

Are you suggesting that I remove the address/channel from these, in the cheat sheet only, create new zones in the cheat sheet only, and add the address and channels there?

I hope I am not speaking out of turn, but I believe that is exactly what he means and certainly what I did. In the cheat sheet, for example for your zone 2 you should clear the address and channel and create a new zone 102 and put the channel there. So for each wired zone you will have two entries.

Do I need to make changes to my alarm panel/virtual relays as well

No, the plugin only seems to be seeing the address and the channel number. The output numbers and output function numbers do not have to correspond to anything. it is just nicer to have them the same as zone numbers so you can keep track of them.

[peterv]

Thank you for the response. I'm trying to debug a problem. Looking for some help. I cannot clear certain alarm memory indicators from the keypads. Though I can clear them from the plugin if I send two disarms. For example, if a zone goes into alarm and I enter user code + 1 to disarm. I cannot then enter user code + 1 again to clear the alarm memory message from a keypad, though I can do it through the plugin. Could this be related to something the plugin is doing? BTW I also have an Envisalink 3 configured as a keypad. Could this be causing any issues and should it be listed in the addresses field as well? Finally and strangely if I self initiate a fire alarm, this I can clear using the keypad and double entering the user code + 1.

I'm also having the exact same problem as mikegk.  I've actually been having this problem for about a year now and haven't found anything but I see I'm not the only when anymore.  After an alarm, I can silence the alarm from the keypad by entering code+1 but cannot clear the alarm message by entering code+1 again.  I can clear the alarm memory message that displays on the keypad from the plugin.  I notice that if I enter code+1 from the keypad repeatedly for a few minutes, eventually it clears.  I do not have the Envisalink 3.  Any thoughts?

Hi guys... I have the exact same problem.  However, I did a work around...  I created a PLEG action that when a disarm is detected from the panel, I send another disarm from the Vera.  That clears the alarm...  maybe not the more elegant solution, but it works.

I am having exact same issue. Based on what skropko said about repeatedly entering code+1 to clear, it seems to me that vera/plugin/ad2usb is polling or otherwise communicating with the security system while person is entering the code and interrupting the entry process. And if somebody tries it enough times, he/she might be able to fit in between these polls.

I would like a real fix as it seems to me that the alarm memory is there for a reason and should not be bypassed.

[PJJP]

I am not sure if you figured it out on your own but for anybody else who might be confused: I think what he meant was that if you have zones 01 through 16, you should configure the REL and RFX ones with bogus zone numbers i.e. 101 through 116. This way the plugin is not looking at both the zone number on the display and the relay/rfx serial/loop/address. I have not tried it any other way, but I can confirm that djrobx's way works flawlessly.

I still cannot get notifications while in Armed mode. All works well in disarm mode.
I removed the address and channel from all my hardwired zones 1-8 on the cheat sheet. I added new "bogus" zones on the cheat sheet beginning with 100, 102, etc. and added the address and channel there. It woks fine and quickly in disarm, but when armed, I get nothing. When armed, upon entering the front door, Ademco plug satus says "ExitDelay". I expect that. It just does not seem to send any messages while in exit delay.

I really want this to work. If I can't get it done this way, I may even go the the extent to convert some of these hardwired zones to wireless door sensors, possibly at the panel and use loop 1 so they'll be hidden. My end game is this: When the alarm is armed, I want a notification of what sensor is tripped before the siren sounds. I also want a photo from the appropriate camera snet to my phone is in away mode.

[mathewss]

I think I know what the issue is. Does anyone have logs after the alarm?

I suspect they will show the plugin sending a * on ever message. It looks like the plugin is not looking at the sticky bit and its a bit odd how it is determining when to send a *. In our open source Python API we send a * only when we see a specific alpha string in the message.

This logic looks solid but if I am reading it correctly it may get confused on the "STICKY_BIT" #10
  http://www.alarmdecoder.com/wiki/index.php/Protocol

It would require adding a small change to this file
  http://code.mios.com/trac/mios_vista-alarm-panel-ad2usb/browser/trunk/L_VistaAlarmPanel1.lua

This is just a guess as I do not have a Vera to test with and it leaves questions as to what should be done with a sticky bit is set.
Maybe it should be auto cleared by the plugin.

--- /tmp/L_VistaAlarmPanel1.lua.orig   2014-06-09 08:50:54.271655894 -0700
+++ /tmp/L_VistaAlarmPanel1.lua   2014-06-09 08:52:56.212260564 -0700
@@ -570,7 +570,7 @@
          g_partitions[partNo].detailedArmMode = "NotReady"
 
          -- Send '*' to get the faulted zones, but only if the send star flag is set and the alarm is not active.
-         if (ssf == true and not flags.FIRE_ALARM and not flags.ALARM) then
+         if (ssf == true and not flags.FIRE_ALARM and not flags.ALARM) and not flags.ALARM_MEMORY then
             luup.call_delay("sendStar", 1, tostring(partNo))
          end
       end



Re
 Sean M

[peterv]

I still cannot get notifications while in Armed mode. All works well in disarm mode.

I did some digging and I do not see any relay messages coming from the security system for sensors that are in entry delay mode. What you want to do might not be possible. It is not a limitation of the plugin or ad2usb but a limitation of the Vista security system.

[peterv]

I think I know what the issue is. Does anyone have logs after the alarm?

I suspect they will show the plugin sending a * on ever message. It looks like the plugin is not looking at the sticky bit and its a bit odd how it is determining when to send a *. ...

Looking at the trunk I found that hugheaves already try to address the issue with the DisableSendStar variable in http://code.mios.com/trac/mios_vista-alarm-panel-ad2usb/browser/tags/3.0/S_VistaAlarmPanel1.xml. The note says

Added "DisableSendStar?" setting that disables sending "*" to the panel. (Sending "*" from Vera can interfere with manual alarm operation from the keypad)

I see that the trunk is version 3.0. The version downloadable from MIOS is 2.45. I would test it only if I knew how to either edit the the .lua file on my system or download the latest version.

Edit: I see the version of Honeywell Ademco Vista Alarm Panels via AD2USB   as 3.10 in My Apps. However I cannot find the "DisableSendStar" variable anywhere. Also the version reported in the advanced configuration of the plugin is 2.45. <= Is that a variable I can change and get access to 3.x variables?  Edit: <= No it isn't it reverted right back.

[PJJP]

I did some digging and I do not see any relay messages coming from the security system for sensors that are in entry delay mode. What you want to do might not be possible. It is not a limitation of the plugin or ad2usb but a limitation of the Vista security system.

I'm afraid you may be correct. So, I may convert my wired zoned to wireless or possiblly even duplicate keeping both wired and wireless. I have plenty of extra wireless snesors.

[roquej]

Dealing with an interesting problem. I had the AD2USB device installed and working beautifully.  For specific reasons, replaced it with the AD2PI Network Appliance. Got it hooked up to my Vista 20P and it worked without any issues.   In the AD2USB plugin, I placed the IP address and port number (10000) in the serial port configuration. Everything works. Now for the interesting part.  It only works if I leave the old AD2USB connected to the USB port as when disconnect, the configuration is not accessible.

What is the correct way to configure the plugin over IP without the need to keep the AD2USB connected?

Any suggestion appreciated.

JR

[pentium]

I hope you folks start a new thread on the ad2pi because I have a million questions.  For now I will try to find a configuration picture to see if it helps me any. 

I notice in the picture that it is set for 9600 baud.  I can't see how that would be the issue mentioned, but it sure stands out like a sore thumb.

[roquej]

I hope you folks start a new thread on the ad2pi because I have a million questions.  For now I will try to find a configuration picture to see if it helps me any. 

I notice in the picture that it is set for 9600 baud.  I can't see how that would be the issue mentioned, but it sure stands out like a sore thumb.

pentium - that is good idea. I will do that later today.  To answer your question, I have tried different baud rates.  It doesn't matter.  As the connection to the panel is via the AD2PI, the USB/Serial communication parameters have not effect outside of enabling the IP/Port parameters. 

JR

[jsams]

Ok first day with AD2USB and Veralite. Sooooo confused. I have everything working but something is concerning me. I stored my PIN and set "securestore" to 1 so it should require a PIN for each command. It does! Problem is all you have to do is go and change "securestore" back to 0 and suddenly it doesn't require a PIN anymore.

I guess my concern is that if someone got into my getvera account they would be able to disarm my alarm without even knowing the PIN. Is there a way to stop this?

Also, is there a way to only show certain buttons on the dashboard. For example, I never use "night-stay" and would rather it just not be there. Same thing goes for using Home Buddy, it shows way too many buttons.

[Wenz]

I posted this in the Vera Alert section, but I think this is probably an issue with the AD2USB. I am trying to have a verbal announcement each time one of the alarm sensors is tripped in my house.  For example, when the front door is opened, there would be an announcement stating "Front door open".  I have my Honeywell Ademco Vista alarm panel connected to my Vera Lite via an AD2USB with the Honeywell Ademco Vista Alarm Panels Plugin on the Vera.  The senors all work well in the Vera.  Now, I am trying to use Vera Alerts to send an announcement to an Android tablet that will be permanently mounted in the house.  I have installed the Vera Alerts Plugin on the Vera and the Android app on the tablet.   The plan is to have one scene with triggers for each sensor that will send a notification when the sensor is tripped.  The notification is sent using the Luup event in the trigger with the following code:

Code: [Select]

luup.call_action("urn:richardgreen:serviceId:VeraAlert1", "SendAlert", {Message = "Door open {tone:1}", Recipients = ""}, 6)
I have created the scene and some test triggers.  The notification gets sent, but the issue is that it repeats approximately every 4 seconds until the sensor is closed.  The Message Repeat Count in the Android app is set to 0, so I do not think it is the cause.  Plus, I have tried making a test trigger with an Z-wave appliance module as the trigger (instead of an alarm sensor) and it makes the announcement only once.  So my thoughts are that the sensor/panel is repeatedly sending an open signal until it is closed, which is repeatedly triggering; the announcements stop within seconds of the sensor being closed. I saw that in April 2013 there where some posts in this thread that some people had similar issues when version 3.00 of the plugin came out.  The main panel plugin states I am running plugin version 2.45 (though when I go to my apps it states 3.10).  My TTL setting is 60.

Did people get this fixed? Any suggestions on how to fix this?  I would like Vera Alerts to make only one announcement when an alarm sensor is tripped.

Thank you.

[tb001]

I had this same issue using the mcv notifications. Basically the notification was telling me the door was open, so repeated non stop until the door was closed. I fixed this by setting up pleg so that I was notified only on the door opening event instead of being notified based on the state of the sensor. Unless I'm missing something, I don't think this is an issue with the plugins--I think they're doing what you've asked them to, which is to notify you when the sensor is tripped. Not intuitive, but makes sense when you think about it.

[pentium]

Same here, switched it to pleg and the problem went away.  I had forgotten how annoying that was, so I added this to save you some time and just look for a good example in the pleg documenation or on that thread.

[Wenz]

I had this same issue using the mcv notifications. Basically the notification was telling me the door was open, so repeated non stop until the door was closed. I fixed this by setting up pleg so that I was notified only on the door opening event instead of being notified based on the state of the sensor. Unless I'm missing something, I don't think this is an issue with the plugins--I think they're doing what you've asked them to, which is to notify you when the sensor is tripped. Not intuitive, but makes sense when you think about it.

tb001 or pentium, thank you for the responses.  I am still new to PLEG.  Would you be so kind as to explain exactly how you setup the notifications using PLEG?