There might be the answer I'm looking for in here but I'm too tired. Anyway it's inactive, I like the door chimes but it's starting to beep at all.

I'm installing a Vista20 alarm system, which came as a kit with a Honeywell 6150 keypad. I've completed the installation wiring, but when I power the system up, the LCD on the keypad stays blank.

It had power (the keys light up), but no display. I have confirmed that it's wired correctly, and have gone so far as to remove the keypad from its installed location and wire it next to the control box, just to eliminate the possibility that it's a wire problem. I also swapped the Green & Yellow wires to see what happened - the LCD lights up, but gives an 'OC' (open connection) error.

Any suggestions? I'm at the end of my limited knowledge already. Kent, you need to set the keypad address. Rhymester Made In Japan Rare more. You do _not_ need to go into the control panel programming to do this, it's Keypad Local Programming---nothing to do with Panel Installer Programming. First, I assume you returned the green & yellow wires to their proper places? (1)Power the panel down and wait about half a minute, just to be safe. (2)Power the panel up and immediately press 1 and 3 simultaneously.

You must do this within 60 seconds of powering up. Hold them down for 3 seconds, and a display of (probably) '31' will show. (That's the default keypad address, used for non-addressable systems. Your Vista-20P requires keypads and other bus devices to be addressed.) (3) Enter '16', which will show in the display, and then * (star) to save it.

Give it a few seconds and your display will come up. The panel does a diagnostic self-check on power-up, so you may have to wait another couple of minutes before the display makes sense. Note: Be prepared to make the entries before doing steps 1 & 2. The keypad drops out of programming if you make no entry for more than a few seconds, so stopping to re-read the instructions doesn't work well.

Another warning: Connecting keypads in the newer Ademco systems should be done with power off. Connecting to live power can zap your keypad. The Address 16 is the default address permanently in the control, but if you want to add more keypad, you will need to go into Panel Installer Programming and enable addresses 17, 18, 19, etc. When that comes up, look in the installation instructions at fields *190, *191, etc. Another Note: You can do some of the programming with your 6150 keypad, but not the zone programming. For that, you will need a 2-line alphanumeric keypad, either a 6139 or a 6160. Do you have access to one?

Thanks, ChosunOne, With further research, I did discover that for use with the Vista-20, I needed to code the 6150 with a '16' code, and did this earlier today. It now cycles through its 8 zones, but of course, that's all it does. Unfortunately, I found that I could not complete my programming with that keypad. The installer and programming instructions are definitely not clear on that point (I am certain they were not written with the novice installer in mind).

I am now awaiting delivery of a 6160 keypad. I understand I can complete my programming with the 6160, then remove it from the system and return it to its owner. Thanks again for responding. Thanks, ChosunOne, With further research, I did discover that for use with the Vista-20, I needed to code the 6150 with a '16' code, and did this earlier today. It now cycles through its 8 zones, but of course, that's all it does. Unfortunately, I found that I could not complete my programming with that keypad.

The installer and programming instructions are definitely not clear on that point (I am certain they were not written with the novice installer in mind). I am now awaiting delivery of a 6160 keypad.

I understand I can complete my programming with the 6160, then remove it from the system and return it to its owner. Thanks again for responding. I'm not familiar with their stuff and from what I've read on several other forums, neither are most experienced alarm techs. They apparently weren't that big in most places. I haven't been able to find what equipment they used--it's highly unlikely they made their own. The only reason that matters is the possibility that there are some EOLR's (End Of Line Resistors) installed in your wiring waiting to ambush you when you connect the hardwired zone loops onto the panel. In nearly all alarm systems for the last 20-30 years, there are EOLR's installed in the loops.

Trouble with swapping out system control panels is, most of them used different value resistors, anything from 1K ohm to 12K ohm. Ademco used to use 1K and now they use 2K for _most_ applications. Your Vista-20 panel uses 2K for everything. If you're lucky, the Westec's EOLR's were installed on the loop inside the old control panel at the zone loop terminals--or whatever panel they were using was programmed not to look for an EOLR--that's common option for many panels. If there's a fire loop with smoke/heat sensors, however, that EOLR should be at the last device on the loop (or the installing technician should be criminally prosecuted!). If you have a multimeter, I'd advise you to read the resistance on all your hardwire loops before connecting them.

It shouldn't read more than a few ohms without the EOLR, maybe a dozen or so if it's a long loop covering a lot of doors/windows. I rarely read more than 5 ohms in a loop. If you read anywhere near 2K ohms on the loop, then you're good to go without installing the resistors that came with your panel. The control panels aren't designed to be very discriminating about that resistance they're looking for. It's not uncommon to find 2.2 K resistors used in place of 2K's, and the panel won't even notice a 10% difference. But the real hazard is that they'll sometimes tolerate as much as a 50% or more resistance---for awhile.

A few years ago I actually had a service call following a panel swap-out, and the installers used the existing EOLR in the fire loop for an Ademco panel because the panel didn't object when they wired it in. It waited 3 days (!!) to go into trouble because the EOL Fire loop resistor was 3.3K instead of 2K. I hope I'm not coming across as overly officious, but I'd hate to think of some old EOLR ambushing you just as you're showing your house, or having the new buyer call you the week he moves in. Trust me when I say the Westec 4000 is ancient. I had it installed 16 years ago when I moved in; when I went to look for info on the web about it, there was almost nothing. Even Googling the keypad got me ONE hit. I have mostly glass break detectors, and I've been inside a couple of them.

I'm certain there are no EOLRs. All are wired one per circuit, except for one pair, which is in series, with an EOLR in the loop (a 3k ohm, which came in the Vista-20P kit - surprising to me, as the printed materials mention 2k ohm resistors). I've got two smoke detectors (2 wire), and I've been inside each of them.

They did not have any EOLRs either. One now has an EOLR wired across its terminals (they're not in a loop, they're wired in parallel, BTW). I think I can scrape up a multimeter, and will take your advice to check each circuit out. It'll be a few days before I get my hands on the 6160 keypad, so I probably won't get back to it until then. I appreciate the advice, and please don't feel like you're coming across too strong. I know my way around house wiring, but I've never had any experience with an alarm system, so I'm open to all suggestions/advice/critiques.

Kent, about that fire loop--yes, I didn't bother to say much much about it, but all fire loops have the devices wired in parallel. Fire devices are required to be open-loop devices (relay open in 'normal' condition, closed in alarm) by Code--and in fact, whatever panel Westec used should have been hard-coded to _require_ an EOLR on any zone set as a fire zone. If you didn't find one on the panel terminals (criminally neglegent installing) or on either of the smoke sensors, I'd look for another device. Sometimes there's a heat 'stat the homeowner isn't even aware of, in the furnace room or in the attic. The EOLR should be in/at the last device on the loop. And btw, in alarm industry jargon, 'loop' is used to refer to either parallel or series circuits from the panel out to the sensors. It's _possible_ that the smoke farthest from the panel has a built-in 3K resistor.

If that's the case, you will need to put a 6.2K resistor (included with your Vista-20P) across the terminals to make a 2K resistance at the end of the loop, to make it compatible for the Vista panel. (A 3K and 6.2K wired in parallel make about a 2K resistance.) The 3K resistors that came with the Vista-20P were part of a resistor kit for the zone-doubling option. You should have found eight 2K reisistors, eight 3K resistors, and eight 6.2K resistors.

I'd advise you to put all the 3K and 6.2K resistors aside in a separate place so you don't get them mixed with the 2K's. I've done it. Your multimeter doesn't have to be an expensive one.

Don't know where you are on the continent, but if you have Radio Shack nearby their cheap $15-20 shirt-pocket model will do fine. I have an expensive Fluke meter that I almost never use because my RS pocket model is plenty accurate and a lot more convenient to carry around. I love the digital age! This gets me to thinking more.I'll take a closer look at the resistors in the kit - I remember the 3k and (I think) 6.2k's; there was another set, but I wasn't sure they were 2k. I'll switch it out; I installed the 3k ohm in the fire detector; there was none before, unless it was hardwired in the original control panel, which I suppose could have been the case. The way the various circuits were attached was not transparent; it seemed they were all wired into a plug that snapped into the board, as opposed to the individual lugs on the Vista panel.

I'm certain there's no other fire/smoke device, though. Radio Shack is just down the street - but I have an (also) ancient volt meter that can be switched to measure resistance and should do the trick.

Question: should I unwire each circuit before testing resistance - will I get a different reading if I only contact the lugs to which they're already wired? Definitely take the zone loop wires off the wire terminal lugs before measuring loop resistance. And definitely take the 3K off the smoke sensor; but if I were you, I wouldn't put a 2K on it yet. You'd just have to take it off again when you get your ohm-meter in hand.

If the fire loop EOLR was in the old panel, it would have been wired in parallel across the terminal lugs *shutter!!*--but the important thing to do now is insure all your loops have a 2k resistance: Parallel on open-loop zones, series on closed-loop zones (devices and EOLR in series).

Hi All- I just moved into a new home. The home has a ADT Safewatch Pro 3000 (EN?) installed, and every day I get another letter from an ADT dealer wanting me to be assimilated into the collective.

Instead, I'd rather try to 'do things myself'. I am, however, running into problems- which is why I'm here asking for help. I have no manuals- except for the ones I downloaded from ADT's site, which are only operator manuals. Thanks to a previous posting (here), I found that my system's installer code is still set to the default of '6321'.

Cool- so I can get in as installer. My panel hardware is a 'Safewatch Pro 3000i' touchscreen, so the other postings I've read that talk about pressing '*' or '#' buttons during a re-boot to get into programming mode don't seem to apply to my panel. I need some guidance figuring that out. In addition, my config. Only has one user named 'master'. I used to know the 'master' 4-digit code, but during some botched user additions/deletions.I must have overwritten the master's code. Now, when I try to add another user (as a normal user).and supply the installer code (when asked).

The panel responds 'Installer Code Not Authorized' and the user is not added. (back when I was able to add a user, I had to use the 'master's code). Problem now is that I don't know the 'master's code.only the installer's. Besides adding a few users, I'd like to actually give my zones meaningful names and figure out the outputs(?). Apparently I have a lighting featureset, with Output 17 and Output 18 available to turn on/off.but I have no idea how to use these features and/or how to hook anything up to those outputs. In advance for any help.

-JD ---My system Specifics--- Panel Ver. 04.00 CAL Support 04.00 Software version: 1.0.10 - Mar 26, 2004. MrRonFL- you're awesome! I was able to reset the master code and add a few users to my system. I'm still perplexed at the method to get into programming mode.

I would like to: a) give my zones meaningful names, and b) program the dialer to send a page to my pager upon some event(s). Reading through various posts (like this one: I see where you say power down the panel (both AC and battery) and within 50 seconds, press * and #.

My situation is a bit more confusing, since I have a touchCenter/touchscreen with only a few physical buttons on it below the backlit-panel. When I apply power to the system, I see (on the touchscreen) the boot sequence, 'loading.

, and the touchscreen pulling configuration from the 'panel'. After all that settles down, I can press the (soft/screen) button 'security', 'more choices', then 'console mode'. Console mode gives me the familiar keypad look and feel, with the 4 A,B,C,D (soft/screen) buttons on the left side.like I see in the operators manual. Pressing * and # have no affect- either pressing sequentially or simultaneously. I can't figure out if I'm doing the sequence wrong, or if my particular 'touchCenter' pad is throwing things off. Thanks for leading me to the Vista 20P information and for helping me reset the master code! World Friendship Fund Patch.

*These instructions are use-at-own-risk.* Did you make any progress? I have the same setup (or something very similar). My panel came with a printed copy of 'Safewatch Pro 3000EN Programming Guide and System Installation Notes.' It's technical, and really not too helpful. Since the 3000 is basically a Vista 20PS, I use the 'Vista-20P/PS Series Vista-15P Series Installation and Set-up Guide.'

From what I can tell, they're essentially the same panels. The big difference is that the Vista manual is helpful, and available for download. There are some subtle differences between the panels -- notably the 3000 does NOT seem to support 'zone doubling' or 'double balanced zones.'

Now, my panel shipped with the '3000EN' manual, but like you I have a 6270 Touchscreen which lists my 'Panel Hardware' as '3000i'. Either way, as far I can tell the Vista 20PS is very close. From the 6270's 'Console', type 6-3-2-1 8-0-0. The keypad will respond with 'Installer Code', '20'. This tells you that it is waiting for you to modify field number 20 -- Installer Code.

First things first: to exit the installer mode type *-9-9. The touchscreen will respond with something like 'panel configuration changed - keypad will restart' followed by a boot sequence for the touchscreen. BE SUPER CAREFUL TO TYPE '99' AND NOT ANYTHING ELSE (typing ninety eight would lock the panel, and then you would have to go through a panel reset.) With your freshly downloaded/printed 20PS Installation Guide, you can go back into installer mode and try filling in some fields. I'd suggest experimenting with something harmless like field 21 - Quick Arm Enable, or field 22 - RF Jam.

For example, to review field 22, you'd enter 6321800 (installer mode), #22 (RF jam option). The panel will display 'RF Jam Option' '22', ring three times (to let you know it's done listing the field) and the value contained in the field -- for me a '1'. Some fields have entries for more than one partition.

Entering #21 results in '01 ring 00 ring ring ring' to let me know partition one is set to '01' and partition two to '00'. Not all fields will allow the use of # to review them. (the 6270 'rings differently then a regular keypad. I think I got it right.) To change a field, type *22 (panel beeps), then the new value, for example '0'.

That's the gist of it. Don't try goofing around in there until you have a copy of the guide.

Otherwise you could end up seriously bricking your panel. I just received a new system after twelve years from A*T and I had them here for twelve hours so far, installing a wireless, phoneless system and trying to answer one question.

When AWAY is armed, after the initial 'Armed, Away, Exit Now, Beep, Beep, Beep' It continues to beep.ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE EXIT TIME! While I understand that it may, MAY be a help to the police that there are fewer false alarms.I don't know that it is a forced regulation by them.they already charge us if they have to come for a false alarm. Right now, every time I leave the house with my two year olds they scream and cry becasue the final ten seconds sound like a bomb going off. Anyway.they claim they can't fix it.Is this true or crap? I am happy to mess with it but assume that if I mess with the installer code that they will call and yell at me.can I do it using just the test code? This is unacceptable and if they can't fix it and I can't then I am havving them remove it.

How ridiculous is that? Sorry for ranting.if you've had kids and you've heard the fast beep, you know why. I have the installer code, I think, because the installer told it to me and to be careful.but he said they would probably see anything I was doing. Do you have the ADT Pulse system, or the ADT Safewatch Plus system? The Former is based on the Concord 4 system and utilizes iControl for interactive services, the latter is a private labeled version of the Vista 20P.

I am going to assume we are talking about the Honeywell system and we are working on a keypad, not a touchscreen. On the Safewatch version and all SIA rated panels, field 37 is disabled. First call you CS and place the account on test. Really, the only thing you can do is enable keypad address 17 in progamming (*191, enter value of 1, 2).

Next, you will need to address the keypad as address 17. Power down, then power back up and with in 60 seconds, hold down buttons 1 and 3 for three seconds.

When prompted with '16' or 'address 16', enter 17 followed by a star. System should now work without the arming and entry tones. Follow these instructions at your own risk, false alarm will be more likely without the entry warning tones. Thanks for responding. I appreciate what you said but I don't want all of the sound from the alarm gone.just the superfluous beeping and then faster and louder beeping during the last 10 seconds after you do the AWAY.

It sounded like your method would silence the alarming completely. Is it possible to do STAY and then arm the motion detectors individually? Who would possibly want to set their alarm at night and not do Away?

So people break thru the glass and wander around at will.that is a good thing? And setting it at AWAY with that noise is fine if everyone goes to sleep at the same time. I know I sound like a whiner.but ADT won't listen.someone here might Please tell me if you can think of a way to do this.any kind of workaround will do. Thx again, Toffel. A*T guy said it was made by Ademco. Cover reads 'Safewatch QuickConnect Plus' (A*T) Ref:LY*X PLUS It is set up as a Pulse system, GSM only. I tried your method.the *37 does not seem to exist in this system.the *38, which the 99 yo who came out to try to do it from ADT today tried, does not do it.you tell it 0 and, ironically enough, I woke up my two yo twins even with my hand over it.I must get a solution.

Do I need to call the Police and see if it is a county regulation or just tell them to yank the system? Thx again and again Toffel. Alarm-genius Its a option that can be turned off. If you can get into program mode, 6321800, then go to *37 and enter a 0. Then *99 to exit programming.

At keypad, 6321800. Screen should say 20. Hit 0, system should beep three times. Should go back to normal mode.

Arm it and see if it works. Unfortunately, this will not work on a panel that has been customized by ADT Is it possible to do STAY and then arm the motion detectors individually? No, but you could program them as a perimeter zone--they would be on in Stay mode too, though. Who would possibly want to set their alarm at night and not do Away? So people break thru the glass and wander around at will.that is a good thing? I never arm in away at night when someone is in the home.

That is really asking for a false alarm, motion detectors are to be a backup when nobody is home. That is also why I recommend contacts on EVERY vulnerable door and window with glass breakage detectors in appropriate locations. Furthermore, you panel is more than likely programmed to revert back the Stay mode unless an entry door is tripped after arming the system. A*T guy said it was made by Ademco.

Cover reads 'Safewatch QuickConnect Plus' (A*T) Ref:LY*X PLUS I thought by your post that this was a Safewatch 3000, but it is a Lynx.my first suggestion won't work for you. Let me see what I can come up with. There is away to manipulate the system so the motion is programmed as something like a window or glassbreak. So the system would arm it in the stay mode but i can tell you alarm companies dont like it because of the false alarm issue. It could be programmed as a entry/exit door so if you armed it and went to bed then if one of the kids walked in front of it then it would cause a delay time for 30 seconds so you could disarm it. Then you would have to turn off the chime for that zone so it wouldnt beep everytime you walk in front of it.

Theres a way but it could get complicated.