Which Cellular Communicator for Vista-20se??

[fission7x]

Folks, you've got an alarm noob here.
I've recently bought a house with an installed Vista-20SE system.
I called the installer to transfer the former owner's monitoring contract to my name (paid thru 2014), but because I have a VOIP landline by a PhonePower, the installer recommended installing a cellular communicator for reliability.
There seem to be a number of choices available.
Which one would you folks recommend?
I hope to install it myself.
Thanks for your help!!

[DEL Installations]

TG1E, Uplink 2530 or higher series, DSC GS3060 or almost any Alarmnet would work.

Plan on an additional power supply and backup battery in addition to any unit listed above.

DIY is generally not an option, as dealer services are needed to get the cell up and running, as well as "enrolled" via the carrier.

[fission7x]

I was leaning toward the DSC GS3060.
Without knowing which one the installer would use, this comparison may not be valid, but he quoted me $500 to install and setup the one he would use.  It looks like I can get the  GS3060 for about $160.
If I could hook it up myself and then have the installer configure and set it up, would I save any money??

[DEL Installations]

Depends.

The real short answer is doubtful and if so, a very small amount when factoring in hardware and necessary cabling. A dialer capture unit (non-alarmnet) is going to need at least an 18/2 for power and whatever is needed for the dialer, preferably 4/22 or a category cable. In the case of a non-ECP bus unit (anything but alarmnet) you need another pair for a supervisiory zone on the host panel, so figure at least 6, preferably more, conductors + the power wire.

In addition to the 3060 (and most others), if it doesn't come with it, you are going to need a battery and transformer for it, assuming you are not installing a secondary power supply.

Add another $50 for those parts alone, which is fair market value.

If you are installing a secondary supply, transformer, battery and enclosure, that is around $100+ in parts alone.

You also need to make sure whatever communicator is being used is compatible with the CS the unit is being proposed to be connected to.
 IE: some CS's will only support Alarmnet or similar, or maybe a couple of the more popular units....problem is when you buy a unit that may not be supported in your area or whose carrier is not supported. These are not generic cell phones.

Then factor in location and coverage. Most people (even plenty of installers) are not aware of the considerations for installing these units, albeit most are successful to some extent, but once gremlins appear, do they know what to consider and look for?

The only provider I know of who is universally compatible, as long as you have service/coverage is Uplink, as they offer more porting options than C24 and Telular.

Then it comes down to who's going to support the unit, maintain it, etc. as well as liabilities involved....

Sure i can be done, but my end question is really how much are you saving in your efforts?

[ytdjccf]

I have installed 7 do date Uplink 2530 easy setup and works fine they also have a .99 warranty option if 2g goes to sunset will replace unit. total cost is around $200 unit, battery, charger & transformer.
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