Hi everyone,

When I bought my house a few years ago, it came with a Honeywell security system—including two keypads (looking like that), a Vista 20P panel, and multiple door and window sensors.

While Honeywell is a well-respected name in security and their systems are reliable, I have to say I really dislike their keypads. They’re not intuitive at all, so I’m wondering if I can upgrade them to something more user-friendly without having to replace the entire system.

Ideally, I’m looking for a keypad or system with a proper touchscreen, and preferably one that allows mobile access—so I can adjust settings without having to be physically in front of the keypad.

Would this kind of upgrade be possible? If so, what would you recommend?

Thanks in advance!

My Hoa has a new contract with Hotwire Fision to monitor our alarm system. We used to be monitored by Adt and now they removed the Adt cellbridge and installed the alarm.com cellbridge. I still have the old Honeywell keypads. I wanted to know if it’s possible to purchase a used Qolsys IQ panel 4 and replace the Honeywell keypad. Would it integrate with the alarm.com app? Also if I’m able to do that, would I be able to add more cameras myself through the new panel without having to buy them from my provider. Thanks in advance.

I really want my home to have an amazing self monitored home security system. We seem to have a problem with people stealing from open cars and taking stuff outside peoples houses lately. I realize I can simply lock my doors and put stuff away. Thats why I have been fortunate. But I would also love to have an idea if someone is on my property and have video of them (as amazing as possible) when they do. I am willing to spend money to do this (its also a fun hobby) but dont have an idea how to get there.

Right now I have an amcrest PTZ camera out there with optical and digital zoom features. My neighbors love it since it helps find lost dogs and catch people on my property. I have no fences either so sensors are difficult. I would love something where i can get a sensor to figure out if anything is on my property and then have my PTZ camera turn to that size to track the object. With an open property in a community I’m curious how to handle this… and at night, cameras are not the best.

I have:
POE Cameras (ptz etc)
Open close sensors on doors and such
Home Assistant
Blue Iris and Xeoma (I paid for both in my journey)

Any help would be appreciated.

I have installed a battery operated street siren in (what I thought was) an ideal position. It’s facing the street, visible from 180° and mounted high. Because its facing east southeast, it gets now almost direct sunlight passed midday. Not something I can easily block with a top sunshade unless I cover its front, which would then block the siren’s strobe light too.

Today I noticed the temperature increasing by 43.2°F (24°C), which means that in the hot summer months it will pass the advisable operating temperature range.

The other direction of the structure faces a smaller street, and is also not the preferred break-in direction (exposed etc.), meaning if the siren goes off there, you see nothing, you might assume it’s a false alarm.

Any original ideas are welcomed 🤗

I’ve been piece mealing my cameras and unfortunately they are from like 5 different companies and apps. I tried tiny cam pro but couldn’t get some to connect at all. Are there any alternatives? An I doing it wrong?

Has anyone ever mounted a cam to a ceiling fan? I don’t use the ceiling fan and just need to watch the room when I keep my pets in there. It would be a great location to see the entire room, with the cam pointed down. I have wired and wireless cams (Arlo). Somewhere I saw someone talking about doing it and using a bulb socket to power it. I can’t remember where I saw it.

I’m moving into a place with one of those keypad electronic deadbolts.

Just wondering what the downsides are. Should I replace it with an old-school deadbolt?

On paper, locks like this look really convenient but I’m wondering if there are weaknesses.

As an example, if something as simple as the battery dies, I’m locked out–unless I have a key, which perhaps I wouldn’t have it on me because I didn’t need one because of the keypad. There’s probably a low-battery warning, but I don’t know the brand of the lock to research further.

Are there any security issues?

For example, if someone sees the keypad code somehow (maybe with a video recorded with a telephoto lens), they could get in, whereas if it was just a dumb lock, they would have needed a physical key.