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interdev · 06-02-2007, 08:58 PM

Hi there... Wink

I am having an issue with the keyswitcharm function when arming my alarm system (Comfort II Ultra), that is linked to a Clipsal CBUS lighting system. Before arming the alarm system I want to switch off all the lights in the house, and then bypass a few zones. The problem is that the keypads do not announce the zones that are open, and even if all the zones are ok, it does not say \'please exit\'.. \'please exit\'.

What I have discovered is that if I do not bypass any zones programatically, or call the responses which switch off the lights then it seems to work fine i.e. it will start saying \'Please exit\' but the minute I put them back in, the announcements seem to disappear. I have tried removing the responses that switch off the lights and going with the bypass statements only, but the result is the same, no announcements.

See the responses below. In case anyone is wondering why I had to use a number of responses and even delays, was because to switch off more than 21 light zones on the CBUS system delays had to be introduced otherwise all the subsequent CBUS OFF x x commands were ignored.

Any suggestions? Sad

(see below for responses)

The response looks as follows:

If SecurityMode = SecurityOff Then
    Do AllHouseOff [Switches All Lights in the House Off]
    Bypass BraaiPatioPIR
    Bypass PergolaGuestPIR
    Bypass PergolaPIR
    Bypass OutsidePathPIR
    Bypass RoadSidePIR
    KeySwitchArm AwayMode
End If

The AllHouseOff response looks as follows

Do AllKitchenOff [All Kitchen and Scullery Lights Off]
Do AllLivingOff [Switches All Lights in the Living Area Off]
Do AllLoungeOff [All Lounge Lights Off]
Do AllEntranceOff [All Entrance Area Off]
Do AllBedroomOff [Swiches All Lights in the Bedroom Area Off] After 5 Seconds Using BedLightsOff
Do AllExternalOff [Switches All External Lights Except Day Night Lights] After 10 Seconds Using ExtLightsOff

***slychiu*** · 06-03-2007, 02:17 AM

More investigation will be needed to see why the bypass actions affect the keyswitch arm action.
However do you need to bypass the zones in this way?
For PIRs which are on the entry /exit path inside te house you should check the Entry Path checkbox so that you can arm the system without bypassing them

You can also press # to force arm the PIRs when arming

Some of the other PIRs seem to be external - are these meant for alarms, and hence do you need to bypass these? Wont they cause false alarms when you arnm to Night or Day modes?

If the PIRs are only for switching on lights, you may want to use a zone Response to check the security mode to determine whether they work in Away Mode

You can also bypass them in the Away Mode Response ie after the system has completed arming

regarsd

interdev · 06-03-2007, 09:49 AM

Thanks for the reponse.

The PIR\'s being bypassed are external PIR\'s, which my dog unfortunately seems to set off even though they have been adjusted numerous times, and are supposed to be \'pet friendly\'. At this stage I have no option but to bypass them.

Right now we suspect that the issues lies with the keypads and the language/vocab they are currently using. We have had them displaying incorrect text at times. The installers have been battling to upgrade these keypads, which I believe are the KP04 variety.

Is there anything else I can try programmatically? As I mentioned in my previous posting the minute I remove the bypass actions and the lighting off response, there is no problem. In other words if I use it like this, all is fine:

If SecurityMode = SecurityOff Then
KeySwitchArm AwayMode
End If

I will try bypassing them after the system is armed, and I assume I could do the same for the all lights?

***slychiu*** · 06-04-2007, 04:04 AM

Bypassing them by the Away Mode Response seems to be the best opton. Same with the lights

Outside PIRs are often a problem causing false alarms. If you have to bypass them most of the time, then it is not serving the purpose

You should consider either not having them as alarm zones, oe get them to turn on a light and play a warning message on the Door station, or
Use the Skip Alarm action if in Away Mode for the Zone Response. This means that the zone wilol not cause an alarm if in Away Mode but can still trigger other actions

Bypassing the zone means that it cannot trigger any Responses

interdev · (This post was last modified: 06-12-2007, 01:02 PM by interdev.)

What happens if a house has window sensors? In this case one would want to bypass the window sensors in night mode so that occupants of the bedrooms can open their windows on a hot summer\'s night. Given a house of say 4-5 bedrooms doing this manually instead of programatically would be rather tedious.

In away mode however, all these sensors would need to be enabled so that an intruder would be detected if a window was opened.

I guess my question is as follows. On a working Comfort II system with the correct keypads installed, are you able to issue bypass actions programatically on certain zones, and still have the keypads annoucing open zones as expected?

I am hoping the compatibilty issues we are experiencing with the keypads we are using is the problem. Otherwise, if the bypass action will always cause the keypad not to annouce open zones we are kind of stuck.

Your thoughts?

06-13-2007, 01:23 AM

[user=893]interdev[/user] wrote:

Quote:What happens if a house has window sensors? In this case one would want to bypass the window sensors in night mode so that occupants of the bedrooms can open their windows on a hot summer\'s night. Given a house of say 4-5 bedrooms doing this manually instead of programatically would be rather tedious.

In away mode however, all these sensors would need to be enabled so that an intruder would be detected if a window was opened.

I guess my question is as follows. On a working Comfort II system with the correct keypads installed, are you able to issue bypass actions programatically on certain zones, and still have the keypads annoucing open zones as expected?

I am hoping the compatibilty issues we are experiencing with the keypads we are using is the problem. Otherwise, if the bypass action will always cause the keypad not to annouce open zones we are kind of stuck.

Your thoughts?

You could play around with the zone type. You can choose another zone type (e.g. PIR Away) for the windows, such that they do not trigger an alarm in night mode. Isn\'t that a much easier solution?

interdev · (This post was last modified: 06-13-2007, 09:44 AM by interdev.)

Good idea. Will play around with the zone type.

Have you got any Comfort II systems where actions are programmatically executed before the keyswitch function? If so, does the system still annouce open zones and say \'Please Exit\' when arming to away mode? If so, at least I know when my keypads are upgraded that it will work.

In the meantime I will move the actions that switch off lights out of the arming procedure and have them execute after the alarm is armed.

06-14-2007, 01:02 AM

Do you mean you plan to bypass the zones prior to the keyswitch function? Note that when you bypass zones, they will be ignored until the system is disarmed, so no responses will be triggered in between. The system will still announce \"Please Exit\" as per normal.

I do not understand the need to program the system such that it bypasses certain zones while in Away Mode. If they are not to be in use while in Away Mode, should you not change the zone types such that they are disabled in Away Mode?