Subject: From: Date:

[Fwd: Napco Gemini Interface questions] Mark Gilmore Fri, 24 Nov 2000 07:50:33 -0500

Fri, 24 Nov 2000 07:50:33 -0500

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Can any NAPCO users please assist ?:
-- 
Mark Gilmore
Omnipotence (ECS home automation software)
http://omnipotencesoftware.com
423-745-0026
Hours: Mon-Sat, 9AM-8PM/EST

Subject:
From:
Date:
 Napco Gemini Interface questions
 Gary J. Buck
 Thu, 23 Nov 2000 19:47:26 -0800

Hi Mark,
Hope you had a good thanksgiving.

I have successfully interfaced my statnet thermostats to ECS and
have them running now.

The next stage of my project is to get my Napco Gemini Security
system interfaced to ECS.

We currently run out security system in two modes:
Mode 1: We arm the system and leave the house with the interior
               zones unbypassed.
Mode 2: We arm the system with the interior zones bypassed for
               for the night while we sleep.

In these two cases I want to be able to do different things with
ECS depending on wheter the security system is armed in
mode 1 or mode 2.  For example I will set the heating system
back differently depending on whether we are leaving the house
or going to sleep for the night.

Therefore it is important that I know whether the interior zones
are bypassed on not when the security system is armed.

The  Napco Gemini security system uses the following interfaces
to ECS:
Security-IFC-C
Security-RTS-C
Security-Zone-C
Security-Area-C

My interior zones consist of Zone 1 which are my infared sensors,
and Zone 3 which are my interior doors.  Naturally I do not want
to get a security alarm at night on these sensors.

The Gemini Contrl Panel/Communicator manual says that when the
interior zones are bypassed that all zones designated for the selected
interior group(s) will be bypassed simultaneously when the system
is armed.  I have verified this using the security keypad to verify
that Zone 1 and Zone 3 are indeed bypassed when the interior
zones are bypassed when the system is armed.

I conducted the following experiment using ECS.  I created
two items:

The first was a Security-RTS-C item for the interior doors.
I then armed the system with the interior zones bypassed,
and the interior zones unbypassed.  The only status that
I got back for the interior doors where:
Zone-Open
Zone-Normal
This only depended on whether the door was open or closed.  I never
got a status back telling me whether the zone was bypassed or
unbypassed.

I then created a second item: Security-Zone-C item for the interior
doors.
I then armed the system with the interior zones bypassed, and the
interior zones unbypassed.  The only states that I got back for the
interior doors where:
Normal/MBP
Open/MBP
The "MPD" shows that the system knew that these sensors where capable
of being bypassed.  However, these where the only two statuses that
where
returned even when the system was armed with the interior zones
unbypassed.
I never got a state coming back saying that the interior door zones
where
bypassed...  The two states returned only depended on whether the
interior doors where open or closed; not on whether they were bypassed
or not.

Question:  Is this a problem with ECS, or with the Napco Gemini security

system?  The security system seems to know when zones are bypassed
as shown by examining the zone states from the security keypad.
However,
ECS never reports a state showing that a zone is bypassed...  Both the
"Security-RTS-C" and "Security-Zone-C" items can report a Bypass
state for a zone, but they never seem to do it.

I really need to know when the interior zones are bypassed in order to
do the right things in ECS.  Do you know a possible solution to my
problem.

Thanks for any help you can give on this.

Gary Buck
(503) 538-5606

So far I like what I have seen of ECS, looks like a good product.



 Thu, 23 Nov 2000 19:47:26 -0800