Re: Napco system questions

[mleuck <m.leuck@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Jun 9, 7:47=A0am, Frank Olson
<use_the_email_li...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Robert L Bass wrote:
> > "Frank Olson" wrote:
>
> >> Actually DSC remains one of the most feature rich alarm panels out
> >> there when you compare similarly priced panels from other
> >> manufacturers. =A0It's a heck of a lot easier to program than Napco.
>
> > I kind of agree, but not entirely. =A0I suspect it's mostly "easier"
> > because you use it more often than Napco. =A0I've programmed so many Na=
pco
> > systems that I can (and often do) walk a customer through programming a
> > system without even opening the program on my PC.
>
> > OTOH, the few DSC systems I ever programmed were so simple (there were
> > less options) that they could easily be configured from the keypad. =A0
> > Even after many years working with Napco, I never program them from the
> > keypad.
>
> > As to feature-richness, Napco has (I forget) 61 or 62 individually
> > selectable per-zone options. =A0That's 2^^62 possible ways to configure
> > each individual zone. =A0There are hundreds of options, selectable and
> > adjustable features, timers and so forth for the system as a whole. =A0=
I
> > don't believe DSC's residential panels even come close.
>
> I wasn't referring to things like zoning options, Robert. =A0The end-user
> rarely sees these and most wouldn't understand what they are. =A0Ademco's
> highest end system (the Vista 250) still doesn't have telephone line
> monitoring. =A0This has been a "standard feature" on DSC panels from the
> start (the only exceptions being the early "1000" and the "1500"). =A0All
> of their panels had "chime", bell supervision, and "quick keys". =A0For
> the money (cheap), they had all the stuff the "big boys" offered (and
> sometimes more). =A0If you take a look at the zone options menu, you can
> program a number of features now that you couldn't do before. =A0They
> remain one of the easiest systems to keypad program which probably
> accounts for their popularity.

It's too bad that supposed zillion zone features of Napco doesn't
extend to reporting, here's something fun to do, try getting a Napco
GEM P-whatever to send water, freeze or sprinkler alarms in Contact ID
or SIA, something DSC has been able to do since 1994 with their Power
series. And that's only using existing zone types, with programmed
Contact ID codes I can send almost every other alarm available.

Napco is stuck with 8 events