Finally got the old Honeywell panel in that 1970s house to talk to the new wireless sensors.

The homeowner wanted to keep the original keypad, so I spent a full day mapping the old zone wiring instead of just ripping it all out. Anyone have a good trick for labeling those tiny screw terminals on a Vista 20P?

3 comments

3 Comments

coleman.avery2mo ago

That's a solid move keeping the original hardware. Just a heads up, calling a Vista 20P a Honeywell panel is a bit of a mix up. Honeywell owns the brand now, but that's a classic Ademco board. For labeling those tiny terminals, a fine point Sharpie on a piece of white tape works before you screw the wires down.

hayes.tara2mo ago

You know, I used to think it was easier to just replace the whole system. But after seeing a clean install like this, I get it. Keeping that old keypad gives the house its character. Coleman.avery is right about the Sharpie trick, I've done that on a Vista 10SE before. It beats trying to read my own handwriting on a crumpled piece of tape later. Mapping the zones is a pain, but it feels good when the old and new tech finally work together.

park.iris20d ago

The Vista 10SE actually uses a slightly different keypad bus voltage than the 20P, so if you're mixing them just double check the wiring. I had a buddy who blew a keypad not paying attention to that. But yeah, the Sharpie on white tape trick works way better than my old method of using a label maker that just peeled off after a few months. Setting up the zone mappings is the worst part, but once you get that first alarm test to go through clean it's worth it. The Ademco vs Honeywell thing is an easy mix up too, I still call them Ademco out of habit.