I am extremely pleased with this alarm system. I installed it by the entry door to the garage as that is the way we enter the house normally. I pulled a power cable and phone cable up through the wall from the basement. I installed the door/window switches on the front door, garage entry door, and the patio door. I put the motion sensor in the main living room, and ordered another one for the master bed room. My house has only 4 sets of windows in the whole house and one set in the garage. They are two double hung windows, side by side, with only about 1-1/2" between them. I ordered 5 of the Honeywell 5814 low profile window sensors and put one in the middle of every window pair. I added a Honeywell magnetic reed switch contact to every one of the window sensors to catch the right side window. It made for a nice tidy installation, that is totally covered by the vertical blinds on the windows, and it does not interfere with opening and closing the blinds. I purchased two Honeywell 5853 glass break sensors, and put one in the center of the living room, and one in the bedroom, both mounted on the ceiling. These glass break sensors will sense glass breakage from up to 25 feet away. By carefully placing them where I did, it will cover the glass from the living room windows, the patio door, and even the side lites by the front door. I also purchased the Honeywell FG-701 glass break tester to test the glass breakage sensors.Next I purchased the Z-wave module and the wireless internet module. I installed them, and found a reasonably priced monitoring company called AlarmRelay.com that will monitor the system via internet for $13.95/month, and give me total connect so I can see what is going on via my android phone. They will monitor for $8.95/month via land line, but I do not have a land line here. So far, I have added a Honeywell thermostat model YTH8320ZW1007/U to the system with the Z-wave interface, and it automatically turns my heat down on the week days at 10:30 at night. It turn it back up at 5:30 so when I climb out of bed at 6:00, the house will be nice and warm. It again turns it down when I leave for work, and at 4:00, when I leave work, it turns the heat back up so I have a warm house to arrive home to. I purchased two GE 45614 Z-wave 3-way switches and connect one to my outside garage lights, and one to my Kitchen lights. I set them up so the outside garage lights will come on at 5:30 PM if the system is Armed Away, and turn off at 12:30 if I don't come home to turn them off. The kitchen lights come on when I open the side door to dis-arm the alarm, so I am not walking into a dark house.
I had a local alarm company give me a quote awhile back for a system, and they wanted $850 for the system and $20/month for monitoring. I think I got a better deal by doing it myself, and it is much more expandable. The local alarm company would certainly not tie in the lights and thermostat, and it was a bare bones system that they were quoting. I can not speak yet for battery life for the sensors, but if Honeywell's claims are correct, I should not have to worry about it for several years. The glass break sensors have two batteries in them, all other sensors have just one. It looks like Honeywell thought of just about everything when they designed this system. One more thing, I have the system programmed to call my cell phone in the event that it alarms. My phone line is through the internet, using Ooma, and although the system is monitored, I like to get a call if it is triggered, which so far it has not, but I did test that feature. I live out in the country, and my internet service is wireless, with an antenna on my roof, pointing to a transmitting tower about 4 miles down the road. That is the best I can get out here. I am an electrical engineer, and researched several systems before deciding on this Lynx Touch system and I think my research paid off. My final comment is yes, I would buy this system again, and recommend it to anyone looking for a high class wireless alarm system for a DIY type person.
Installing the system is straight forward once you spend hours figuring out what is what. Ex; a "zone" is really a sensor. So when you are programming "zones" you are not really programming a zone but a sensor. Everything with the installation guide is similar.
The system has no direct output for an external siren so you have to add on either a wireless siren or a wireless relay to connect a wired siren (good luck with the installation guide for that one).
Seems everything with this system is an add-on. Wireless modules, IP modules, phone jack module, even this "Kit" comes without a wire to connect to the external power adapter (at least they included the power adapter).
Once programmed the Lynx 5100 seems to work OK though, thanks to a very confusing manual, I don't think I'm taping to all the capabilities of this system.I was recently in the market for a home security system, and the two top contenders for me were the 80-649-3N-XT GE SIMON XT Security System and the Honeywell Lynx Touch 5100 systems.
I liked both of these systems for a few reasons:
1. They were sold in low-cost prepackaged kits, with everything needed to set up a basic home security system.
2. They come from name-brand security and automation system vendors.
3. They work with many different monitoring services (so I can choose one I want, and not get stuck in a contract with a particular vendor).
4. They have large ecosystems of extra sensors, accessories, and communications modules, and they'll be flexible in the future.
5. And finally, they're wireless, meaning I don't have to run tons of cables through my old home to set up the system.
** Included Hardware and Build Quality **
This kit comes with the touch control panel, three wireless door sensors, a wireless motion sensor, a backup battery, a remote key fob, a 9V power transformer, and all the required mounting hardware for either stick-on mounting or screw-in mounting.
Everything worked perfectly and was put together well. The only thing missing was low-power cabling to go between the screw terminals on the 9V AC adapter and the inside of the touch control panel.
** Installation **
Installation was straightforward, but took some time. Additionally, the included instructions are not organized well for a regular homeowner trying this as a DIY project. Read through the different sheets of instructions before attempting to set up the system--and make sure you go through every menu in the installer's setup area, marking down all the settings on paper so you will know them later without having to navigate through the system's menus again.
One important note: during the system setup, if you ever see the 'Allow Installer to Re-Enter Programming?' dialog, make SURE you tap "Yes" and not "No". Resetting the system is a pain in the rear!
** Accessories **
Amazon also offers a ton of great accessories--consider getting a glass break sensor or two for basement windows, another key fob so you can keep one on your keychain and one at your bedside, and a wireless siren so you can put one in the garage or outside, so neighbors can hear if someone is breaking in.
You can also get a WiFi module to connect to the Internet and allow remote control from a smartphone or tablet, and a Z-Wave module to allow for some nifty home automation.
** Recommendation **
I'd definitely recommend the Honeywell Lynx 5100 to others; I know a few other people with older versions of this system (they all use the same accessories), and they have never had trouble with their systems (though setup was much more difficult without the touchscreen/GUI!). Be sure to install everything correctly, and to test the sensors every now and then, and it will give you peace of mind for many years.Arrived fast and packaged well. The system was an easy install and seems to be in good working order. Thanks!only Honeywell gives you the direct not just the wireless option. u need to pre-wire for power and cat 5 with internet module. only a few monitoring companies will use it without requiring u to buy their module.
good manuals, a lot of options for expansion just know u must use Honeywell cameras or their camera adapter for total connect (spent a good 3-4 days trying to set up camera with alarm company until they realized total connect couldn't use my non-Honeywell camera). even with direct internet Total Connect is slow to connect and react over 3g from cellphone.
the use/programming is well thought out and laid out on the very responsive touch-pad, can be used with/without monitoring but many settings are not fully explained and only understood by a commercial installer. to understand every option will take some time.
sensors extremely easy to install and work reliably at 75 feet at least. can turn off many functions like beeping or audible alarms and bypass/turn off sensors if you want to leave a window open etc. kind of pricey but i saved a lot by installing it myself without the extra module required by the monitoring companies and now i have cellular and pots backup. 5 stars if total connect was more responsive and if it could use any ip camera.
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