Honeywell VISTA-20P Ademco Control Panel, PCB in Aluminum Enclosure

Good alarm for the money easy to wire easy to install and you can ad just about any think to it. The first one I got it was hard to program but keep with it and now its a snap. For 47.00 how can you go wrong.

I use this product as a local alarm/self monitored system for my home. The whole thing isnt really meant for those who are not willing to put the time and effort into something like this. While I was upgrading my older system to this, youtube came along and helped me as well. Once you get the wiring done, and you dont understand the programming guide, there are plenty of videos out there on youtube of how to program and understand what it means. Just type in something like Honeywell Vista 20p programming (The vista 15p is the same but with 2 less zones) **I want to give a heads up with programming you MUST have at least an alpha keypad to program. Keypads like the honeywell 6160 will do just fine. This is because the screen can show words and letters so you can understand what your programming. It is harder with the just numeric keypads like the 6150. If you can do all of that, your in luck my friend, youve found yourself a great security system.

This product was a nightmare to program I had nightmares at night of the keypad eating my hand in my dreams but as you read the installation guide and watch YouTube videos it’s a breeze to program. In the end this is a great product with many programming flexablities and its great lines of 5800 wireless sensors. I have mine hooked up to a ip auto dailer so I don’t need to pay month fees.

I purchased the Vista-20P (and new keypads) as a replacement for my 25+ year old hard wired Vista panel. It took some preparation to map out which wires went to which terminal on the new panel and to familiarize myself with panel programming. But theres great material on the internet including YouTube videos. I then ripped out the old panel, installed and wired up the new one, and completed the basic programming in 4 hours. Worked the first time!

Replaced my old panel myself. Works perfectly.

As a retired professional alarm installer you get what you need at ,great price

If youre planning on a DIY wired (or wireless) alarm system, then this product is impossible to beat, both for function and for price. Plenty of zones, and it will accept multiple types of keypads. The instructions tend to assume that you know how to program one of these things, but there is plenty of information available on the web to help you through it, and once you understand how the programming works, youll see that the instructions are very detailed and complete. One thing this unit doesnt offer is the ability to dial my own cell phone if the alarm goes off. Then again, no other product, at any price, does either. But because this product offers many outputs, I am going to see if I can program a Raspberry Pi to perform that function.

I replaced my Vista10Se that was doing weird things. This model is very close in layout but the wiring was slightly different. If you are switching from a different model the resisters they ship with the panel are likely different from your old one and you will need to swap all of those out. What you could put on each port was more flexible than my 10SE, but there was a restriction on what you could put on one of the ports on the 20SE. I switched to two 6160 key pads with my upgrade so I have full text on both keypads. One of those keypads is a 6160RF so I can use things like key fobs. Make sure you copy all of the setting out of your old panel if you have access to the programming... otherwise just fill out options sheet as to what you may want to change from the default. You can likely just call your security company to get setting like the dial in number and responses if you need. Each company will vary. All of my wiring went back in without a problem. I like that I can put real words on my zones now so you dont need a chart to see what is open. The relays are a little louder. I can hear them clicking as I lock and unlock the system. The messaging off this unit is much better than my old one. I also saw some after market devices to have the messaging go direct a phone w/o the need of the monitoring company to forward it. Those devices and the app can let you remotely arm and disarm as well. Keep in mind that some monitoring companies just bundle all that in to their offering now so you may be able to get it that way. I was able to keep my old cellular backup and the IP adapter that allows my monitoring to work over the internet as well. If you have not programmed these before they can be a little frustrating... and understanding resistive loops might have you scratching your head. There are a lot of online videos for these panels. I have to say the programming my first RF device was a task even with the videos... I probably should not have started with trying to customize it to my desires and gone with the defaults as a starting point for the RF (as that would have worked). In the end all is good and as I want it.

I bought 2 panels, one of which was fine, the second unfortunately was damaged and out of warranty by the time I used it. The panel had been previously programmed and not defaulted, two zones were damaged and the battery sensing circuit was damaged. When you buy used equipment, you need to bench test immediately or have a better exchange warranty.

I purchased a house with an old security system (2007 era, big name company, you can probably guess which one) installed. I wanted a self monitoring option, and didnt want to purchase new sensors. With almost no security system experience I was able to use the manual that comes with this to replace the existing control panel. Saved me hundreds in installation costs for a new system and it works perfectly with my existing sensors. I bought the Honeywell 6160 keypad to program it and an Ademco Wave2 siren for noise. Excellent value and user friendly if you have the patience to read the manual carefully.