I have an old Honeywell Vista 10SE system in my attic that hasn’t been used in years. A power outage this morning caused it to start beeping, reminding me that I either need to remove it or upgrade.
I’m considering upgrading to a Vista 20P. Can I purchase just the 20P board and replace the existing wiring for the doors and windows (none of which are labeled) while keeping the same enclosure? I’m also thinking of adding an Alarm.com SEM for smart monitoring.
Additionally, I’m wondering if I can add new wireless window and door sensors as needed since I’m unsure which of the old sensors still work (they’re from the 90s).
I’m also planning to get a new keypad. Would the 6160RF be the right choice? If so, is it possible to add a second keypad without running new hard wiring?
Any advice or confirmation on whether my approach is correct would be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to tackling this project!
You would definitely need the new panel and probably a power supply. After that, you could add something like the Alarm.com SEM or an Envisalink.
The 6160RF would work well—it’s what I use with my system. You’d need either this or a dedicated transceiver for wireless sensors to function properly. From what I know, the SEM handles communication to a monitoring station, but not directly to sensors.
A 6160RF should allow you to use a 5828V wireless keypad without any issues.
A 20P panel board would fit perfectly into that 10SE can. You’ll probably need to swap out the resistors since the 10SE uses 1k and the 20P uses 2k, but overall, it should be a straightforward swap.
You might need to locate the resistors at the devices themselves, which could be the toughest part. I don’t think the 10SE has an option to disable EOL supervision.
The 20P should include everything you need. You’ll need the small black clips and screws to mount the 20P board in the panel box. The 10SE panels might use different clips that don’t fit the 20P board, so be prepared for that.
Hopefully, your current keypad has a zone list, or you might get lucky and find it labeled inside the can.
There should be a wiring diagram on the can’s lid that will guide you. Typically, your zones start with 8 and 9 for zone 1, 10 and 11 for zone 2, then 12, 13, and 14 for zones 3 and 4, sharing a common on 13, and it continues in that pattern up to zone 8.
You can use the 6160RF or get a bundle that includes the RF antenna, which will wire into the can. It’s been a while since I last installed one, but if I recall correctly, you need to properly address the keypad so the RF can pick up the sensors.
I hope this explanation helps. If you have any questions or run into any issues, feel free to reach out for assistance.
I’m glad it makes sense to you. It’s great that you have the zone list on the keypad. As for the one inside the can, it might be there, but given that it’s up in the attic and you’re in Arizona, it makes sense to wait another month or so before spending time up there. The heat can be brutal!
That’s the part I was worried about. My friend suggested going with a DSC panel since he used to install them and finds them easy to program. The features seem similar, but DSC is a bit more expensive. I haven’t checked before, but all my door and window contacts are old wireless sensors. I’m not sure if they’re still working. I think they’re Honeywell 5816, which I assume are RF from the 90s. Are they worth keeping, or should I consider replacing them with something more modern?