Alexor the Great

02 Nov 2009

by: By John Adams

DSC continues its charge into the wireless alarm space with the new Alexor panel. According to Q Alarm Supplies’, Rob Lucas, Alexor communicates with DSC’s new 2-way devices as well as mustering all existing DSC 433MHz security sensors.

DSC released Alexor earlier in the year at ISC West amid significant fanfare and with the tagline “Complete Security Upheld by the Power of Speed”. The speed DSC was talking about in Las Vegas wasn’t the speed of alarm reporting, it was the speed of installation and there’s no question that when it comes to registering zones and getting a panel operational DSC’s systems are the business.

There are similarities between DSC’s 32-zone Alexor and the 32-zone 9045 alarm panel released last year but there are also a number of key differences that make Alexor a superior security system. For a start, Alexor is not one-box solution with keypad, back-up battery, PCB and dialler all bundled up in the same housing.

Instead, Alexor is built to mirror traditional alarm system architecture. There’s a control panel with dialler and backup battery, there are separate keypads and keyfobs, there are wireless communicators and then there are various input devices – lots of them. But while architecture is the same as traditional wired gear, what makes Alexor different from traditional panels is that most the system’s internal communications are handled using 2-way wireless.

Alexor has a layout that will please installers who prefer not to combine panel, keypad, siren, dialler and backup battery in one box in an accessible location. With Alexor, the smarts, power and communications devices can be snugly tucked away yet this system elegantly retains DSC’s focus on rapidity of installation. You install the panel and secondary comms device in a secure spot, put wireless keypads on walls near entry points, install your wireless sensors and sirens, and away you go.

Of course, Alexor isn’t just about a change in layout. There are a number of other features that enhance operation and functionality. The user interfaces are a case in point and with these Alexor owners are spoiled for choice.

You can operate the system using a wireless fob, you can enter a PIN to arm and disarm the system in the traditional way or you can use a prox tag – the PT4. The addition of prox is a neat feature of Alexor keypads. You present a PT4 to the wireless keypads as you would to any prox reader.

Use of prox for arming and disarming means you can forget about messing around with PIN numbers altogether – that’s handy for older folk.

Importantly, the new system allows encrypted 2-way communication between panel and keypads, and panel and keyfobs. This is fairly intuitive stuff. If a homeowner attempts to disarm the panel with their keyfob post-break-in, the fob will report that the system is currently in alarm.

Along with this, the WT4989 2-way wireless keyfob has a panic button, audible feedback, 2 double touch function keys, active alarm indication and a backlit icon display.

If you chose to use wireless keypads, a single Alexor panel can handle up to 4 of them and thanks to that 2-way wireless they’ll report system conditions in the same way a hardwired keypad will.

“Alexor has a layout that will please installers who prefer not to combine panel, keypad, siren, dialler and backup battery in one box in an accessible location. With Alexor, the smarts, power and communications devices can be snugly tucked away yet this system elegantly retains DSC’s focus on rapidity of installation”

There’s some cool functionality with DSC’s keypads. All installers know that batteries are a key component in the management of wireless alarm systems and DSC has taken power battery management to a new level.

According to DSC’s Rob Lucas, when the wire-free keypad is not in use, it goes into a fully operational economy mode to reduce drain on the battery. Supporting this conservation of battery life is a sensor which determines the ambient light in the area and automatically adjusts the display and key backlighting.

“When the batteries are low, an indication light alerts the home owner to change them,” Lucas says. “Importantly, the home owner can easily remove the keypad, or any other device from its mount and make the replacement. If the user prefers, AC power can be installed to support keypads in high traffic areas.” 

The WT5500 keypad is a handsome unit with a 2x16 LCD display, front and back tamper, multiple door chime and a typical battery life of 3 years. Importantly, range in open air is 300 metres, which is excellent performance – arguably the industry’s best. When a wireless WT5500 keypad is connected to the new WT4911 outdoor siren, which has a wireless temperature sensor, the keypad will also display the outdoor temperature.

Another difference between the 9045 and Alexor is that DSC has designed a couple of wireless communicators to go with it. While the panel has a traditional digital dialler onboard there’s an optional Internet communications device (TL265GS) and a GSM/GPRS dual path alarm communicator (GS2065).

Both these communicators employ 128-bit AES encryption as well as offering remote activating and programming, supervision heartbeats and signal strength and trouble display. This suite of comms options sets up Alexor for the foreseeable future when it comes to making choices about remote alarm reporting.According to Lucas, at the core of the Alexor panel is DSC’s wireless device enrolment and template programming functionality.

“The wireless device enrolment process ensures that installers no longer need to manually program serial numbers or wireless attributes,” Lucas says. “Template programming allows installers to quickly program the functions required for basic operation.”

The best feature of DSC panels from an installation point of view is the speed of enrolling sensors. It takes a minute or 2 and just a few steps to enrol a fob, a remote wireless keypad and a couple of sensors. Alexor does most the work behind the scenes leaving the installer very little to do.

When you enrol a device there’s no messing about with manual programming of serial numbers. The system just displays screens that prompt installers to confirm device serial numbers, zone numbers and zone types. Mess it up and the system tells you where you went wrong. The speed of registering sensors means a couple of hours are more than you’d need to install a good-sized solution.

Sensor options are broad. Importantly, the system recognizes all DSC’s low power 433MHz sensors and enrols them without missing a beat. But it also offers support for a range of other wireless devices including an outdoor siren, an indoor siren, a carbon monoxide detector and a flood detector

Fact file:

Features of DSC’s new Alexor alarm panel include:

* 32 wireless zones, 16 wireless keys (without using a zone slot)

* Wireless quick enrol

* Template programming

* 16 user codes, 1 master code and 1 maintenance code

* Account code error checking (patent pending)

* Alternate communications via GSM/GPRS and IP

* Onboard siren at 85dB

* 2 Input/Output terminals

* 200mA Aux Output

* 500 event buffer

* Wall and case tamper

* 24-hour battery backup.