Category: Security

Looking to upgrade your existing wired alarm system? Look no further than the Honeywell Vista-20P Wired Security System. The system is cost-effective and combines the best of both a hardwired system and wireless technology.

Rather than replace your entire wired alarm system, use the Vista-20P to customize and update your home security without breaking the bank.

How Does the Honeywell Vista-20P Wired Security System Work?

The Honeywell Vista-20P Wired Security System is mechanical, and as the name suggests, it works by bringing together the vast collection of wires that are placed in the walls of your home to create connections between the various sensors that make up your security system.

The Honeywell Vista-20P’s rock-solid reputation for quality and its ability to accommodate a wide variety of wired systems make it the ideal wired solution for many of our customers.

To get into the nitty-gritty, a wired system works through a relay. It incorporates an electromagnet, which becomes magnetized when electric current runs through a circuit, which then opens or closes another circuit. Simply put, they are used to turn switches on and off. While this relay functionality is fairly old technology, wired systems like the Vista-20P are known for their consistency.

As this particular control panel works on these kinds of relay-based principles, setting up the Vista-20P requires specialized wiring knowledge best left to skilled technicians or electricians.

The Vista-20P is designed to connect to each sensor via the electrical wiring in the walls of your home, and its versatile control panel is a blank slate from which you can add all kinds of cutting-edge functionality.

For example, you can connect the wired Vista-20P to a wireless receiver and use wireless devices. This way, you can use a combination of both wired and wireless sensors when setting up your home security system.

Style of the Honeywell Vista-20P

Think of the control panel as the “main brain” behind all of the other sensors and devices that you’ll be using to monitor activity and movement throughout your home. Most of the wires that connect your security equipment are safely and invisibly threaded through the walls of your home.

The Vista-20P control panel consists of a circuit board housed in a metal frame, which protects the panel from dust and tampering.

It might not be something that you’d want to show off in the foyer of your house, but in your basement or in a closet, the Honeywell Vista-20P control panel will be the silent, sturdy hub for all of your connected home security devices.

Honeywell Vista-20P Features

The Honeywell Vista-20P can support up to 48 zones and 8 keypads.

The control panel itself doesn’t come with a digital interface, but it is robust and can be integrated with a variety of additional display devices to add functionality.

For example, you can use the Honeywell Vista-20P with a Tuxedo Touch Keypad (see above) if you want touchscreen functionality or a 6160RF keypad if you’d prefer something with physical buttons.

In addition to the easy-to-use interface, the Tuxedo keypad has a built-in Z-Wave controller to communicate with Z-Wave devices like smart locks. With the Total Connect smartphone app, you can control your system from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection.

The app will also let you arm and disarm the system remotely, change user codes, and get notifications when alarms and other events occur.

You can also set up dual partitions, which allows you to separately arm and disarm parts of a single property while paying only one monitoring fee.

For example, a homeowner in a multi-unit home who rents out a portion of their home can their portion of the house separately from the tenant’s portion.

Wired systems rely on electricity, which means that ordinarily if your home were to lose power, your system will go down. But not so with the Vista-20P—it can accommodate a 12V 4.5Ah battery backup. This will keep your system up and running for about 24 hours in the case of a power failure.

Benefits of the Honeywell Vista-20P

Instead of spending a lot of money replacing an old alarm system that still works, purchasing the Honeywell Vista-20P is a more cost-effective way of breathing life into an older, wired system.

Besides saving money, you’re also creating a bridge between old and new systems. For example, you can use the Vista-20P to call the police, fire department, or other emergency services automatically through a wired landline connection, and you can combine it with other monitoring accessories to detect floods, smoke, fires, low temperature, and, of course, burglaries.

With the ability to integrate with wireless receivers, hardwired alarm devices, and alarm keypads, the customization options are virtually endless. In fact, when it comes to additional functionality, you’re only limited by your budget.

The Honeywell Vista-20P wired security system really is the best of both worlds: You can have the reliability of a hardwired alarm system coupled with the convenience of modern wireless add-ons.

If you’re looking for a cost-effective way to make use of the existing security system in your home, installing a Honeywell Vista-20P wired security system will give you peace of mind and give you upgrade options when you want them down the line.

When it comes to fencing for your yard, there are many options for you — from the material to the color and the style.

So how do you figure out what’s right for your home?

The type of fence you choose will depend primarily on the purpose the fence serves. Are you looking to add privacy to your backyard? Maybe you need an area to keep your dogs fenced in?

Regardless of your reason for needing a fence, we will go over fencing options and materials to help you make the best fence decision for your home.

Fencing Materials

There are many different fencing materials to choose from, below we highlight some popular choices:

Vinyl Fencing

Vinyl fencing comes in a variety of styles and colors. This type of fencing is appealing to many because it never needs repainting. You can choose from privacy, semi-private, and post and rail options.

While vinyl is very sturdy and won’t rot, warp or split, this sturdiness comes at a price. It’s one of the more expensive fencing options.

Wood Fencing

Wood fencing is the most widely-used fencing material thanks to its versatility. You can paint or stain your wood fencing in any color that you wish.

Wood fencing gives off a very natural appearance and can be customized to fit any style. This type of fence is significantly cheaper than vinyl fencing, but it has the potential to suffer from more wear and tear and require additional upkeep.

Aluminum Fencing

Aluminum fencing is durable and can be diverse in style, adding some modern flair to your home. One of the positives of aluminum is that it doesn’t rust, so maintenance is usually minimal.

Chain Link Fencing

Chain link may not be the most attractive type of fence, but it can be very versatile and easy to install. You will often see chain link used around sports courts and for pet enclosures. This is a long-lasting and robust fence option that does not require a lot of maintenance and upkeep.

Wrought Iron Fencing

Wrought iron is an ornamental type of fencing that is often used to increase curb appeal on your home. There are a variety of styles and colors to choose from. Also, this material is extremely durable and requires little maintenance.

Tips for Installing Fencing

Designing and installing a fence in your yard is not always an easy task. Here are a few tips to help in your fence planning process.

Know Your Local Codes

Fencing is typically subject to local zoning codes. Before you make any steps in your fence installation process, check with your local municipality to make sure you are in compliance.

There may be codes that dictate the height of your fence, how far it is from a property line and even whether or not the front yard can be fenced-in.

If you live in a development or community with a neighborhood association, be prepared to face even more obstacles when getting your fencing approved. They may have specifications style, color, and height of your fence.

Be Courteous to Your Neighbors

If you have close neighbors, installing a fence in your yard will also affect them by creating a tangible marker around your property. If you have a neighbor whose property will be affected by your fence, the courteous thing to do is to give them a heads-up first.

It is also a good idea to check with them on property lines. The last thing you want to do is have your fencing installed only to discover that you were off on your property line measurement.

Your neighbors will surely appreciate a quick conversation with you regarding the fence so that they know what is going on and can prepare.

Determine Why You Need the Fence

When choosing which type of fence is best for your yard, think about the main reason for putting up a fence.

Privacy Fencing – this type of fence is ideal for blocking sight lines and maintaining a bit of privacy from neighbors or people walking by. It can also be a way to prevent potential burglars from seeing into your yard or windows. However, this is not always an effective deterrent as it also affords someone who comes onto your property the same visual block. To create a privacy fence, you need solid fencing with vertical boards that are close together so that you cannot see out and your neighbors cannot see in.

Typically, people choose to have their privacy fence at least six feet tall to avoid anyone peering over it. If you want there to be slightly more visibility, you can choose to use pickets which have small gaps between them but still offer a lot of privacy.

Security Fencing – this type of fence is used as a security measure for your home to keep intruders out. Similar to a privacy fence, you will want a security fence to be at least six feet tall to be an effective deterrent.

The best security fences use a smooth outer surface that would be difficult to climb up and have sharp spikes on the top that would deter anyone from trying to get over.

Decorative Fencing – sometimes people want something to spruce up the look of their home and add curb appeal. In these cases, decorative fencing is your best way to go as it is typically much smaller and less obstructive than privacy or security fencing.

This type of fence is usually between two and four feet tall and pickets are more spaced out so as not to obstruct your view. You can customize your decorative fencing with different designs, patterns, and colors.

Safety Fencing – this type of fencing is excellent for enclosing an area for your dog, keeping pests off your property or protecting a swimming pool. Typically, chain link is best for safety fencing as it provides solid fencing without blocking the light or your view.

If you want safety fencing but don’t want to spend a lot of money on it, you can get metal or plastic mesh and secure it with metal posts. This is can be a good option if it’s in an isolated area where the fence’s appearance is not important.

There are many considerations when choosing fencing options and materials. But the key to creating the right fence is to spend some time thinking about its purpose, the aesthetics, and how your fence may impact those around you.

Nope.

The Honeywell Lyric alarm panel responds to RF jamming by alerting you with a warning and/or contacting the central monitoring station if it detects a signal jam for longer than 20 seconds.

What makes RF jammers so dangerous?

RF jammers are designed to block of the communications devices in a small radius, preventing your alarm system from contacting the central station. These devices can exploit gaping security holes that affect most of the cheaper alarm systems out there.

Although RF jammers are illegal in the United States, the online black market makes the devices accessible to criminals all over the world. Homeowners with larger houses are particularly at risk of being targeted by more sophisticated burglaries.

Fortunately, Honeywell equipment isn’t some ordinary consumer-grade junk that’s being handed out by most of the major security providers on the market. This is professional-grade stuff.

How does the Honeywell Lyric system stop jammers?

When a device frequency range (345MHz or 2.4ghz) has been transmitting for over 20 seconds, your Honeywell alarm panel displays an alert in the form of an exclamation point followed by number code that corresponds with the affected radio frequency.

There will also be some beeping noises that you can silence by pressing any button.

If you’ve enabled trouble reporting, your device will contact your Central Monitoring Station. Once the RF Jam condition is gone, you can clear the Trouble alert with a Disarm + Code entry.

The RJ Jam feature from factory comes activated with a RF Jam Log. To modify the Lyric controller RF Jam detection settings from the Lyric Controller’s home screen select Security > Tools > enter 4-digit installer code “default is 4112” > Program > System Type > Toggle RF Jam button to your liking.

If you have other questions about our products, contact us and we’ll help you out.

If you are a homeowner with a mortgage, it is generally a requirement by lenders that you have homeowners’ insurance. While it’s not a legal requirement, it’s considered a good idea in terms of your financial plan and protection.

While most homeowners have this important insurance, very few actually know what homeowners’ insurance covers until they need to use it

Homeowners’ policies and coverage options will differ from policy to policy and state to state, here are some general coverage guidelines to help you better understand your insurance plan covers.

What Homeowners Insurance Covers

In general, a homeowners’ policy covers hazards that are specifically listed as covered events in your policy. Many homeowners experience an unfortunate accident or disaster and assume that their insurance will cover it, only to realize that a particular event is not covered by your policy.

There are four main categories of homeowners’ insurance coverage:

Coverage for the structure of your home – your policy will cover repairs or rebuilding of your home in the case of fire, hail, lightning, hurricane, or other events specifically listed in your policy.

Most insurance policies will also provide primary coverage for any detached structures you may have, such as a garage or shed.

Coverage for personal belongings – your personal belongings — clothes, furniture, appliances, electronics are covered under certain conditions. If damaged by a fire, hurricane or other disaster listed in your policy, you typically have between 50 and 70 percent of the coverage for personal belongings that you have on the structure of your home.

Expensive or valuables such as jewelry, collectibles, or artwork are usually covered in your policy, but there may be a restriction on the dollar amount. If you have a lot of these types of personal belongings, your best bet is to get the items appraised and purchase additional coverage for these valuables.

Interestingly, this coverage also includes trees and shrubs on your property. If these are damaged by a disaster that is covered under your policy, you will be covered up to a certain amount.

Liability Protection – this is coverage that protects you against potential lawsuits involving property damage or bodily injury to another person or their home.

This part of your coverage will pay for your court costs up to the amount that is stipulated in your contract. Most policies carry $100,000 of standard coverage which can be increased to meet your financial protection needs.

Your homeowners’ policy should also have no-fault coverage should a friend or neighbor get injured in your home. This is designed to reimburse them for medical bills or other injury-related expenses.

Additional Living Expenses – this coverage pays for the cost of living away from home — staying at a hotel or a relative’s home — if your property is uninhabitable due to a disaster. There are limits on this coverage, so it is essential to understand your particular policy guidelines before incurring expenses that might not be reimbursed.

What Homeowners’ Insurance Does NOT Cover

As important as it is to understand what your homeowners’ policy covers, it is equally as important to understand what it does not cover. The two big exclusions from homeowners’ policy coverage are earthquakes and floods.

Floods and Earthquakes

If you live in an area that has been deemed a floodplain, or prone to earthquakes, you are required to purchase a separate policy to cover damage from these incidents.

With some level of unpredictability when it comes to flooding and earthquakes, it may make sense to research your area and talk to a professional to consider purchasing these coverages. If you are not in a designated danger zone, the premium for these coverages should be minimal should one of these disasters ever strike.

Other Man-made and Natural Disasters

Other events that aren’t covered by your traditional homeowners’ policy include:

• Mudslides
• Landslides
• Sinkholes
• Warfare damage
• Nuclear accidents

Neglect

Another potential incident that homeowners’ insurance may not cover is damage that results from neglect. For example, if you have a failing roof that has needed replacement for years and a natural disaster exploits its structural weakness causing damage, you may not be completely covered.

Your insurance company may investigate the claim to determine the cause of the disaster. If neglect and not the storm are determined to be the cause, they may deny or reduce your claim. For this reason, it is important to maintain your property.

How Much Coverage Do I Need?

It’s not always easy to know how much coverage you should purchase for your home’s insurance. You want to make sure that you are covered for common disasters, but don’t want to spend an arm and a leg for coverage that you will never use.

Your mortgage lender will typically have minimum coverage stipulations that you must follow for your loan to be approved. But it also depends on your financial situation in terms of protecting your assets and liability levels. This is why it’s important to consult with an insurance professional who can help you determine appropriate amount of coverage based on your situation.

Insurance can be complicated but knowing the basics will prepare you to meet with an insurance professional and ask questions about what your policy covers and what is does not.

In the quest for a cleaner, greener way of life, cycling has increased in popularity because of its minimal carbon footprint. Cities around the world have adapted by creating bike lanes, bike parks, and bike parking facilities.

But with bicycles’ smooth integration into modern-day life, another facet of life adapts to it as well—crime.

To a thief, stealing bicycles can be more tempting than stealing cars. While they don’t fetch as much money on the resell, they are smaller, more inconspicuous, and are less likely to have an alarm system, making crimes difficult to trace. Bikes are also easier to resell since they can be sold directly on the streets without going through a dealer.

While many commercial locks, chains, and security accessories are available on the market, you should know how to make the most of even the most basic safety measures.

It is also important to be mindful how and where you park and take your bike. Here are some easy tips on how to prevent bike theft that you can apply to our day-to-day habits.

Firstly, are very few things will deter a persistent thief. The below methods aren’t 100% effective. However, they will make it harder for potential thieves to steal your bike.

Keep your bike indoors whenever possible.

This tip is specifically for those who like to keep their bikes outside or in the garage overnight. It may seem obvious, but bike owners may be lulled into a false sense of security when they park their bikes behind a gate or inside a garage. The truth is, if a thief has already got eyes on your bike and observes you leaving it in the perimeter of your home, it will still be relatively easy for them to access it.

Take the extra effort to bring it inside your house at night, or if you must leave it in the garage, make sure it’s chained to something large and immovable. We’ll discuss the proper way to chain your bike in a moment.

Choose parking spots with heavy traffic.

You probably can’t avoid parking your bike outside, especially if you use it for your everyday commute. When parking your bike out in public, choose spaces that have heavy foot and/or car traffic. Thieves are less likely to steal if there are witnesses.

If a thief knows he is more likely to get caught there, he may avoid the spot. Also, opt to park your bike with other bikes. The more there are, the less likely yours will stand out.

Don’t be too flashy.

Now this one may sound like victim blaming, but a thief will always go for the biggest payoff: the most expensive—or expensive-looking—bike. It’s unfair to put this burden on the owner, but it’s a fact.

We’re not deterring you from buying high-end bikes, but we advise that you be mindful of your investment. Large brand names, bright colors, and flashy accessories draw attention to how much your bike costs.

If you know your bike is tempting, perhaps find a safer, more exclusive parking for it. Better still, if you won’t be doing extensive road racing on a daily basis, maybe save the high-end bike for the track and use a cheaper one for your daily commute.

Avoid cable chain locks.

Cable chain locks are lightweight and easy to use, but they are also the easiest to break with a standard pair of bolt cutters. This is because it’s made of small strands of tensile material woven together instead of one solid mass.

A thick chain, although more bothersome, is harder to damage. Thieves will need to have specialized equipment on hand to break the chain so that eliminates at least opportunistic ones from targeting your bike.

A U-lock is also a good option for locking your wheels to the frame. It’s made of thick, solid steel and difficult to cut or bend.

However, the U-lock isn’t as maneuverable as a regular chain. It is more advisable to use it in addition to chain locks instead of just on its own.

You can use a U-lock to secure the wheels and a chain lock to secure it to an anchor.

More on that later!

Secure removable components.

People don’t just steal bikes, they steal bike parts as well. These still have re-sell value, if not as bike parts, at least as metal. If you can replace quick release mechanisms on your bike with bolts, it makes it harder to take your bike apart.

When chaining up your bike, make sure to include and secure things like your saddle, handles, gear set, and other accessories. When you’re wrapping the chain around, loop it through the wheels and the frame instead of just around.

This isn’t just to stop mobility, it’s also so that someone won’t be able to slide off the chain by simply removing the seat, wheels, or handles. It also makes the chain tighter, harder to shake loose and slide a file or saw between it.

Chain it to something immovable.

Make sure to chain both your wheels to the frame, and then chain them to an anchor of some sort, preferably with separate sets of chain locks. This extra precaution just makes it harder for thieves since they’ll have to break several more chains.

Whatever you chain your bike, chain it to something heavy, durable, and immovable. Some designated bicycle parking lots have a row of thick steel bars specifically for this purpose.

If no bars are available, find something that is firmly cemented to the ground or building, and cannot be smashed or broken to slide the lock off. A heavy gate, pillar or pole may work well for this, but never chain your bike to a tree. Yes, it is firmly planted into the ground, but trees—especially thinner ones that you can wrap a chain around—are breakable. To an experienced thief, it isn’t as difficult as you would expect.

Check your app privacy settings.

Avid bikers, especially those who use it for sport or exercise may find it beneficial to track their progress by logging their rides on an app that uses GPS. There’s nothing wrong with this, but make sure your settings on these apps are set private.

Many of these apps display users locations on the map and it’s free and easy for other users to view this information. This may be used by thieves to observe where you usually start or end your rides, meaning where you normally park your bike.

Luckily, most apps also have the option to keep your information and location private, but not as a default. Make sure to change your settings before you go out for a ride.

Be wary of vandalism.

Small acts of vandalism aren’t always random. Some thieves will slightly damage your bike wheels in the hopes that you won’t ride it home, making it easier for them to take later in the night.

They will make sure the damage is enough to make it unrideable but not unsellable. Keep an eye out for slashed tires or bent bars. If this happens to you, don’t leave your bike. Walk it home or take it with you.

Know your own bike.

Similar to how you would take note of your car’s license plate and registration numbers, make sure you also keep records of your bike’s serial number and those of any high-end accessories it may have.

If available in your area, you may register it to a local or national database. This is so if your bike is stolen, it may be tracked down if it is ever put on public sale. This may not deter from street selling, but it will raise flags if someone else tries to register your bike. It is more of an after-the-fact fix, but in this unfortunate incident, retrieval is your best case scenario.

If it does happen to you, report it to the authorities immediately. Even if you spot your bike thief, it is not advisable to approach or confront them. Keep eyes on them and take note of their description, and then tell the nearest law enforcement officer as soon as possible.

Invest in a GPS tracker.

If you really want to be careful, you can purchase a GPS tracking device that attaches to your bike and pings back to an app on your phone. This is another after-the-fact fix in case your bike is stolen, but of course, you can also use the tracker to check up on our bike while it’s out of sight.

Conclusion

Ultimately, it’s about properly using the security tools at your disposal. Whether you can afford high-end locks and trackers, or simply want to work with the basics, making the most effective use of any of these safety tools can spell the difference between keeping and losing your bike.