Home Improvement
This might not be the place for this but I feel like someone here should know.
I moved into a new house recently and there's a whole security system, infrared scanners, alarms on all the doors and windows, glass break detectors everywhere. When we open a door or window there's a little chirp so something is working, but I'm curious if anyone knows if I can rewire this somehow or get a new panel so that I can actually set an alarm and stuff.
Ademco Vista 6139 keypad.
As suggested by others, this will be wired back to a bigger box somewhere in the building. Any monitoring devices like door contacts will also be wired back there. Look for any references to the installer - it may still be under a monitoring & maintenance contract.
If no contract or out of contract, look up some manuals for this series and try getting into engineer mode. I think the default with these is 4110 800 iirc. If you can get engineer, you can put in new user codes for... using your system. It's likely the engineer code has been changed though.
So break in. Most boxes are equipped with a tamper switch, so it is likely to scream if you remove the cover. If you decide to do so, switch off the mains supply first. Then remove the cover and immediately disconnect the battery to kill it.
From here, ID the unit and find the installer or engineer manual. The user manual is useless at this stage. Familiarise yourself with it.
When you are ready to play, pop the battery back on, restore power and then go immediately back to the keypad to press * and # together. This should reset the engineer code to the above, but retain the rest of the current programming.
These are old systems and a lot of this is from memory, so YMMV.
Alternatively, get the codes off the previous owner or replace it with something new. This one could be over 20 years old; vistas started in the 90s.
That looks like an old Ademco system. There will be a main panel somewhere, probably in a closet in a metal box that may or may not be locked. Typically near an outlet with a wall wart power supply.
Get the model numbers from the main panel and the keypad and you should be able to find manuals that will do into detail about all the possible features. These old units required a wired land line for reporting to work, so you might have to get creative for that.
Ah it it! There's a metal box in the basement labeled Ademco that I hadn't gotten around to checking out. I took a quick look inside and did see a plug for a landline. Is the landline just for having a company monitor stuff? Should it still work locally just to like set off an alarm if the door open or motion is detected when the system is active?
When the kids are down I'm going to have to do a deeper dive. Thank you very much
So yeah you can rewire Ademco. I’ve got no experience with those panels however, but all alarm panels basically just use a motion sensor or contact in either normally open or normally closed (look at circuits, for alarms it’s usually NC), plus a specified resistor for supervision (ie: don’t cut the wire and twist it together to trick it). The panel will be monitored either over a landline or via Ethernet if you buy an upgrade kit. Pretty simple machines, software is sorta hidden meant for only dealers, and a pain, but it’s actually pretty simple once you get it. You just sign up with a monitoring service and give them a zone list and they give you an account number.
If you replace it, or want to expand I’d probably do a NAPCO system since they are basic as fuck and they have a super simple wireless system that’s like stick contacts on doors or windows and your running in 30 minutes (mostly).
Is the landline just for having a company monitor stuff? Should it still work locally just to like set off an alarm if the door open or motion is detected when the system is active?
Yeah, it's just for remote monitoring. But if it's not connected, it will probably always show communication errors on the panel above. Sometimes you can get away with using a telephone line emulator like a Magic Jack (sometimes not, it's hit or miss).
I rented a place that had a slightly newer honeywell/ademco system (that was no longer in use) and was able to get it running locally with a Magic Jack. I programmed my cell as the monitoring company. So if it went off, I would get a call from that # and know it was an alarm. The downside to that was it keep calling over, and over, and over. Making it difficult for you to call the police (found that out the hard way).
Yours looks very similar to the one I have at work and I have to set it into alarm mode when I close up for the night and then clear the alarm in the morning.
It’ll set off a loud siren if it gets tripped.
Most of those units, at least in the US, have been converted to cellular data now.
To anwer ops question, without the manual in the panel box, you may have to see if there is a newer but compatible keypad but you would not likely be able to use the old equipment on the modern panels easily.
Edit: also +1 on Ademco panel
The sensors should still be usable, there should be a main control board they're all wired to, you'd have to replace that and the keypads.
There's also Konnected, if you have Home Assistant.
That's very cool! I have home assistant set up on a pi but I've never really had enough smart things to find it useful, I just think the idea is neat
Shelly sensors. Raspberry pi. WireGuard. No subscription, smart as you want it to be. Easy install. No ADT fuckery. No simplisafe fuckery.
I hope someone can help you, I am really interested this now!
I think I remember a youtube guy doing exactly what you have in mind, let me try to find it
Edit: found it: https://youtu.be/BAuDqnGpT4g
It might be possible to upgrade the system but you’ll probably need to find someone who knows these systems better. There used to be a cover on this panel where the buttons and speaker are; that might’ve given a make or model number, or maybe even had a sticker for the company that installed or monitored the system. This is the control panel but there might be a hub/brain somewhere else where all the wires lead, perhaps in a closet or utility room. You might find more information there.
The system sounds like it’s functional; in most jurisdictions the sellers should have provided you with the information necessary to use the system, like alarm codes and contacts for a monitoring service (if any). If you get a code that might be all you need to use the system (you should change the previous owner’s code).
It’s possible to use the alarm without a monitoring service, but I feel like they’re more useful with a service. If there is a monitoring service they would be able to have someone come check out the system and reset the codes for you, show you how to use the system. Is there a sign in front of your house with the name of an alarm company?
This looks like a system old enough that it would probably need an actual telephone line for monitoring and uses wired sensors. Wired sensors are probably a good thing. The sensors don’t need batteries and aren’t vulnerable to jamming like wireless sensors. They’re more expensive to install, though, especially in a finished home. Since yours is already installed, that’s a boon. Most current systems are probably designed for wireless but I’m sure there there are ways to use the hardwired system with more modern systems and get features like remote access.
Is there any brand or specific product name present? It's probably some button combination to enter the configuration menu
I haven't seen a single brand name on any of the equipment which has made figuring it out that much harder
I threw it into a reverse image search and I do have to agree with the other two. It does look to be in a ademco keypad. I had a lot of hits on Ademco 6139
I know enough about electrics that I might be able to help, but I'm not a security system expert.
A lot of these old wired systems are basically continuity detectors. If someone breaks a window or opens a door, continuity breaks, and therefore an alarm sounds. It's like flipping a switch from on to off. And the IR stuff is just ordinary motion detection, the technology is still really common today.
You might be able to do a variety of stuff with that, depending on exactly what's installed and how technically adept you are.
If you can find the service or installation manual for your old panel, you can find out how it was wired up. Sometimes the patch panels are pretty basic, and you might be able to wire the connections into any number of things. Maybe a new alarm panel - or maybe a Raspberry Pi you can program to do different things when windows and doors open or close. For example, when continuity breaks on your front door, you can tell the system to turn on your indoor lights.
So yes, there's a lot you can potentially do with it all. It all depends on how much work you want to put into it, and whether you can figure out how it's all connected.