bennynoneck Posted October 6, 2019 Posted October 6, 2019 Hi all. I've got a risco gt600 which was installed about 5 years ago by the previous owner by someone who works in an alarm company as a private on the side job. It had one hardwired pir in the garage where the control panel is and the rest wireless pirs in the house with a unit in the loft for the wireless pirs to connect to. Oh and a hardwired rkp in the house also! I've always had a few issues with it. Every so often one of the sensors would false alarm (mainly the same one), then recently I got a 'o!' fault which I got rid of by changing the pir batteries (although I couldn't find out what that fault code meant the battery had the date of Sept 15 written on them), then yesterday the final straw came when the system set off with a bell box wire fault which although unarmed set the inside AND outside siren off. We reset it and it cleared. In my old house I installed, thanks to the help from this forum, a texecom ricochet system with comm WiFi which was great and never false alarmed and gave me remote monitoring capability. It seemed so much more up to date compared to the risco alarm which always looked cheap. What I am thinking of is to do the same in the new house. But I just wanted to check as I remember someone saying that it's all changed now and I couldn't get the app or something without being a registered installer. Is that right or would I be good to go? I read this forum a fair bit and know the onus always seems to be to suggest that one should always go with a registered installer but would appreciate some genuine advise please, considering this is in the DIY section of the forum. Many thanks in advance and I appreciate all the help given to me over the years especially in those dark days setting up the WiFi unit which was the hardest thing I've ever done!!!!!! Quote
sixwheeledbeast Posted October 6, 2019 Posted October 6, 2019 I don't believe much has changed since you fitted your last system other than the panels don't come with installation instructions any more. The COM-WiFi is discontinued but it has been replaced with the Smart-COM which has a bit more functionality and slightly more polished app. I am not one for apps but consider even without the app you should end up with something more reliable, secure and still supported going forward. If the system you have now is unreliable and you felt competent enough to fit your last system then you have nothing to loose IMO. Replace all the electronic bits, test any wires and reuse if they are in good condition. Loft isn't normally the best place for a control panel, but I suppose it just means you will need to be replacing the battery a little more often. Quote
bennynoneck Posted October 6, 2019 Author Posted October 6, 2019 Thanks for the reply. No instructions any more? Crikey! To deter DIY I assume. The cables go up the front of the house in a conduit which I assume is okay so would be easy to replace the cable to be honest. I still have a massive reel from last time! Sorry the control panel isn't in the loft it's in the garage. But in the loft is a unit which is ultimately wired to the control panel. I think it picks up the signals from the wireless pirs in the house. With the richocet I believe the rkp acts as a bridge to connect everything up so this wouldn't be needed in the future. So you haven't heard of apps being restricted to end users at all? Again thanks for the great reply. Quote
sixwheeledbeast Posted October 6, 2019 Posted October 6, 2019 Not really 99% of them end up in the bin. If your an installer your expected to already have a copy or know the system well enough. Depending on what system model your fitting the Ricochet expander maybe best in the loft and I would wire the keypads. Quote
MrHappy Posted October 6, 2019 Posted October 6, 2019 Hi, 4 hours ago, bennynoneck said: I read this forum a fair bit and know the onus always seems to be to suggest that one should always go with a registered installer but would appreciate some genuine advise please, considering this is in the DIY section of the forum. Before you spend days doing what is a few hours work... most DIY don't understand the basic operation of an alarm 4 hours ago, bennynoneck said: then yesterday the final straw came when the system set off with a bell box wire fault which although unarmed set the inside AND outside siren off. We reset it and it cleared. The alarm is working 24hrs a day, think of its as 12 & 24hr circuits 24hr, tamper circuits, in detectors, controls, keypads, bell ect.. these work all the time 12hr circuits, motion sensors & door contacts ect.. these work when you set the system For example should the tamper on the external siren operate when the system is unset, it will ring externally regardless of programming & the internal speaker will operate to alert you of tamper condition. To change your alarm over is 1 days work, to fault find your existing, replacing all batteries & external sounder 1/2 day. Quote Mr Veritas God
al-yeti Posted October 6, 2019 Posted October 6, 2019 42 minutes ago, MrHappy said: Hi, Before you spend days doing what is a few hours work... most DIY don't understand the basic operation of an alarm The alarm is working 24hrs a day, think of its as 12 & 24hr circuits 24hr, tamper circuits, in detectors, controls, keypads, bell ect.. these work all the time 12hr circuits, motion sensors & door contacts ect.. these work when you set the system For example should the tamper on the external siren operate when the system is unset, it will ring externally regardless of programming & the internal speaker will operate to alert you of tamper condition. To change your alarm over is 1 days work, to fault find your existing, replacing all batteries & external sounder 1/2 day. But you seriously don't want him to keep the risco disco? Quote
MrHappy Posted October 6, 2019 Posted October 6, 2019 Just now, al-yeti said: But you seriously don't want him to keep the risco disco? A maintained Risco Disco is probably better than a new self installed Texecom one... Quote Mr Veritas God
sixwheeledbeast Posted October 6, 2019 Posted October 6, 2019 Any maintained system will be more reliable than a non-maintained system, but that wasn't the original question. I fully agree that a DIYer can spend weeks or months doing something that an installer can do in 1/2 day but clearly the OP has done this before so is willing to take a punt. 1 Quote
MrHappy Posted October 6, 2019 Posted October 6, 2019 25 minutes ago, sixwheeledbeast said: Any maintained system will be more reliable than a non-maintained system, but that wasn't the original question. perhaps not, 6 hours ago, bennynoneck said: I've got a risco gt600 which was installed about 5 years ago by the previous owner by someone who works in an alarm company I've always had a few issues with it..... who'd have thought 4 yr old sensor battery's would go bad... I neither rate the smartcom or the app. Quote Mr Veritas God
bennynoneck Posted October 6, 2019 Author Posted October 6, 2019 Many thanks all. All much appreciated. So does anyone know about remote apps being restricted from diyers!? Quote
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