I’m a low voltage tech mostly working with fire alarms, but I’ve recently started doing security systems—mainly Vista setups. A customer asked me if I could set up their access control system so that swiping a badge would automatically disarm their Vista 128BPT system. I understand the keyswitch on zone 7 concept but wanted to know if it’s possible to make it only disarm the system (without arming it if it’s already disarmed). Is there a way to make this happen without adding an extra relay? If I need a relay, how would I program it for this specific function?
It sounds like you’re trying to link two separate systems—access control and security. If you really wanted to do this (even though it’s risky), the easiest way would be setting up a relay on the access control system to activate with a valid credential swipe. Then wire it through a relay on the alarm system (zone 7 as the keyswitch). Program the relay to only activate when the alarm is armed, breaking the circuit when it’s disarmed. That way, the swipe would only work to disarm when the system is armed. Hope that makes sense!
You could add an extra access reader near the alarm keypad. It could trip a relay to interface with the keyswitch function. Then at night, the last person swipes or uses a code to arm the system, or you could set up an automatic arming schedule.
With the Vista 20p, it doesn’t have to be zone 7. I’ve got mine disarming with smart locks using a Zigbee relay. Depending on the hold time, I can arm, disarm, or trigger other actions. You could set it up to work similarly.
If they’re using Winpak for access control, it can be integrated with the 128BPT to arm and disarm the system through access control. Not my favorite approach, but it’s possible.