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More on Ademco Keyfobs
We’ve been using keyfobs with our security system for a couple weeks now, which is enough to get a good feel for how they work. First off, the reliability is a lot better since I relocated the panel’s wireless receiver about 40 feet closer to the garage door area. I have a feeling that the…
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Saturday’s Hijinks
Another fun Saturday around the house… First up: The security system. I finally got around to relocating the wireless receiver to try to get better performance out of our new keyfobs. At the same time, I installed the status transmitter module so the keyfobs can receive status information. So far, things look good. the status…
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A bit of everything today
I skipped work today so I could ferry the clan around on various errands, and seized the opportunity to knock a few odd things off the to-do list. First off, I paid my first visit to Namco, my favorite place to get pool supplies. The prices have gone up this year, which comes as absolutely…
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Post-setting indoctrination
I set a 4×4 post today, complete with concrete footing. While this may not seem like much, it was a big deal for me as I’d never done it before. My parting impression: it’s a lot of work. Between digging the hole and handling the concrete, it’s quite the back breaker. To dig the hole,…
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Alarm Oddity
So, I’ve got the wireless keys programmed into the alarm. Everything seems to work. The only “wild card” here is the range of the things, because the receiver is mounted a little farther away from the garage than I’d like. If the range turns out to be a problem, I’d expect all of the buttons…
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Busy yardwork day
I played hooky from work today so I could catch up on some much-needed yardwork. If my work schedule permits, I really like doing that because I can pick a day where the weather is good, knock off all the yardwork, and free up the weekend for more leisurely pursuits. I started at 9:30 this…
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Wireless Alarm Keys Demystified
I successfully programmed an Ademco wireless keyfob transmitter today, and figured I’d document the process.. My panel is a Vista-20P and the transmitter is a 5804BD. Program an RF house ID into the panel. The house ID needs to be a number between 0 and 31. On the Vista-20P, this is done in location *24:…
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Time to fix the garage door opener
As I noted earlier, our garage door opener receiver died a few weeks back. Rather than get a new, cheap, made-in-China receiver to replace it, I’ve decided to get a couple wireless remotes for our security system and program them to operate the garage door. Now, the original plan was to buy two bidirectional remotes…
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Started the Pool Pump
After a winter of freedom from the big money-sucking hole in the back yard, I bit the bullet and fired up the pool pump today. Now, in the Mid-Atlantic, swimming season runs from roughly the beginning of June through Labor Day. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a couple extra weeks on either end, but for…
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Mower blade
I took a first look at my push lawnmower today while my 3 year old rode his tricycle around outside. I reinstalled the blade (which I sharpened over the winter) and looked into a problem I had been having with the deck. Last summer I hit a big chunk of wood (or something similar) and…