I have a DSC 1616 unit that I installed and programmed myself. At some point, perhaps through something I did unintentionally, the system started to behave as follows: every time I arm it, it then displays "Bypass" and zone 1 is in fact bypassed. If I then clear the bypass (* 1 0 0 #), the system behaves as expected.

The mystery is that the system should only turn on bypass mode if I explicitly key in the bypass code after arming it. It's as if the zone is somehow programmed to default as bypassed, but I can't see any such mode in the installation or user manual.

I'm no expert, and I would not be surprised if I'm missing something obvious here. However, I am stumped!

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers,
Greg

 

Is zone 1 a motion or "interior" zone?

 

Zone 1 is a motion detector, and it has been programmed with definition "06" for "Delay, Stay/Away".

I'm guessing that your theory is that perhaps I'm arming it for "stay" mode, and thus the motion detector is correctly being bypassed. But would stay arming bypass a definition 6 zone? And when I arm the system by punching in my access code, does that ever result in "stay" mode arming?

Thanks very much for your help!

 

Problem solved.

It seems that zone definition 06 is an interior zone, and therefore it is bypassed when "stay" armed.

It also seems that if you arm the system by punching in the access code, it goes into a "stay" armed state; however, I can't find this documented anywhere. (By the way, my keypad is a model RFK5501-433.) Using the "Away" button arms it without the bypassed interior zones.

Thanks to jdh79 for giving me the clue to the solution.

Cheers,
Greg

 

If you don't open and close an entry/exit zone it reverts to stay mode. It's an anti-false alarm feature. It's in the info, but it is one sentence buried in a paragraph in the user manual.

 

MrRonFL,

I couldn't find it in the user manual, but there seem to be a number of different versions of the manual out there.

If I might add some editorial opinion, the DSC documentation is often terse and ambiguous. It seems more like supplementary material for an installer who gets a training course from someone who does the primary job of explaining the system. I suppose this fits the business model for DSC of working through installers, and not directly with DIY customers like me. This is a bit of a shame because the DSC systems are very good value for money, and would be even more attractive with better documentation and some improvements in the UI. As it stands, the DIY market is sure to be dominated by companies that provide very easy to install systems, and that will be a missed opportunity for DSC.

Cheers,
Greg

 

Yes, DSC manuals are notorious for being difficult to wade through.

That auto bypass feature has been a standard with _all_ of the major alarm systems for so long, that they don't even put it on the data sheets anymore.