Another Which Panel Thread, Galaxy G2-20 Vs Galaxy Flex 20 For Some Automation

[MindrustUK]

Hi all,

 

I’m selecting a panel for my home, I’ve got a Honeywell G4 at the minute and I’m happy enough with this but it’s a bit limited on the output side. I’ve spoken to a few people and nosed around various forums, some have said Galaxy G2’s are bullet proof where as the newer Flex series can be a bit buggy but are worth the investment.

 

Not too worried about scoping for size. I’ve got two external doors that will have magnetic contacts and 6-7 PIR sensors throughout the house, A bell box (or two) and three keypads. I believe either system should be good with this.

 

My real question is on the I/O side of things. I have a fairly involved monitoring system and home automation system that’s going to be attached to this. The monitoring system and home automation needs a few lines out for the following:

 

2x System Armed / Disarmed

2x Intruder Alert

2x Duress / PA

1x Motion, even when the system is disarmed

 

All in addition to the standard SCB / Bell Box connections.

 

One set of outputs will be for remote monitoring the other set is for the home automation system.

 

So I make that seven outputs in all + bell box’s, I was told the Galaxy Flex 20 can be setup like this and to get a “Trigger module 8 outputs - A071-00-01” however hearing of some issues with the Flex 20 I wanted to make sure.

 

1. This is possible and will work on the Flex 20 without needing to buy more hardware?
2. That I’m not being up sold the Flex over the Galaxy G2-20 unnecessarily and have the reliability bite me later on?

 

Any thoughts or advise?

 

Thanks

[GalaxyGuy]

Not sure about the '1x Motion, even when the system is disarmed' feature.  Do you mean as an aggregate of any motion detector in the system ?  If so, this would probably need to be done in software.

 

The G2 is a solid panel, but doesn't really hit the spot when it comes to home automation.  It has a limited set of output options / links.  The Flex is okay, but I would still opt for a Dimension 48 which has a nice big metal case for extra boards and a big reliable wirewound transformer.

[james.wilson]

As above dimension and use links for your activity output

[JB_]

Dimension all the way, shed loads on ebay for a really decent price.  Just make sure you get one with a recent software version.

 

2x System Armed / Disarmed  (Set output)

2x Intruder Alert  (intruder output)

2x Duress / PA  (Pa output)

1x Motion, even when the system is disarmed  (ready output)

[matthew.brough]

I disagree entirely. I'd much rather have 10 year old firmware than today's.

[GalaxyGuy]

 

1x Motion, even when the system is disarmed  (ready output)

 

 

Didn't realise this covered both set and unset conditions.  Neat.

[MindrustUK]

Great feedback! Thanks all, Dimension it is.

[Driller]

Thought I'd tag on to this thread.  Need to fit a panel to a place, pretty standard, nothing fancy, few PIRs and a couple of door/window contacts but want to be able to check alerts/log and activate/deactivate remotely.  Only just found out about GX Remote (must be way out of touch!) and Galaxy Guys SelfMon (weird name but sounds good!) which can be used with Dimension and flex.

 

Flex seems more suited to "home" use and has the option of a GSM module. Dimension doesn't have the GSM module (strange as the G2 44+ has/had it) but has a lovely metal box and as mentioned above a chunky 2.5A transformer compared to 1A in the Flex.

 

Both have the ethernet option of course.

 

Is an ethernet notification considered as reliable as an SMS notification?  I'd prefer the Dimension just for the metal case to be honest.

 

Also is GX remote still a bit flakey?

 

[MrHappy]

Euro 280...

[GalaxyGuy]

17 hours ago, Driller said:

Thought I'd tag on to this thread.  Need to fit a panel to a place, pretty standard, nothing fancy, few PIRs and a couple of door/window contacts but want to be able to check alerts/log and activate/deactivate remotely.  Only just found out about GX Remote (must be way out of touch!) and Galaxy Guys SelfMon (weird name but sounds good!) which can be used with Dimension and flex.

 

Flex seems more suited to "home" use and has the option of a GSM module. Dimension doesn't have the GSM module (strange as the G2 44+ has/had it) but has a lovely metal box and as mentioned above a chunky 2.5A transformer compared to 1A in the Flex.

 

Both have the ethernet option of course.

 

Is an ethernet notification considered as reliable as an SMS notification?  I'd prefer the Dimension just for the metal case to be honest.

 

Also is GX remote still a bit flakey?

 

 

SelfMon provides automated polled path checks, so that gives peace of mind that things are always being checked in the background.  It also has several messaging methods to contact you depending on how you configure reporting.  For example, you can set up Push Notification, SMS, Voice Messaging or Email. Combinations of these can be configured.

 

I don't use the GX app personally, as it's too much of a hassle to log in. The latest release does seem to be stable enough though.  The new SelfMon vmod also supports a keypad over MQTT, so with programs like home assistant, you have instant access to the keypad without all the login and connection issues.

 

The Dimension does have a supported option for GSM (GT40), but it was really poor.