How Do I Integrate a 4232CBM to a Honeywell VISTA-20P?

The 4232CBM uses a 4-Wire harness to connect to the VISTA-20P keypad bus. An RS232 connection uses three (3) wires while an RS422 connection uses four (4). The 4232CBM is mounted inside the alarm panel cabinet. The maximum wire run for RS232 is 50', the maximum run for RS422 is 1000'.

The Honeywell 4232CBM is used to connect a VISTA-20P, VISTA-21iPLTE, or VISTA-15P panel to a third-party automation platform such as Control4, or Crestron. These automation platforms traditionally use either RS232 or RS422 protocol to communicate with compatible automation software and hardware. In recent years, with the introduction of the wireless Z-Wave protocol, VISTA panels are often used in conjunction with a Tuxedo Touchscreen Keypad, which has a Z-Wave controller built in. This is another way to add simple home automation to these panels.

To program the VISTA-20P to support the Honeywell 4232CBM, follow these steps:

1. Enter Programming. Enter programming using an Alpha Keypad such as the 6160, 6160RF, 6160V, etc. An Alpha Keypad is always recommended when panel programming. To enter programming, press the Installer Code + [8] + [00]. You'll know you have entered programming when the keypad displays "Installer Code 20". The default Installer Code for these panels is 4112. If you don't know the current Installer Code, you can try the backdoor method to enter programming. Once you get into programming, enter *20 + [New 4-Digit Code] to set a known Installer Code. You can also press [#] + [20] to have the system read out the current Installer Code. The code is displayed in hexadecimal, so an Installer Code of 4112 would read back as 04 - beep - 01 - beep - 01 - beep - 02 - beep-beep-beep. The triple beep lets you know that the last entry has been displayed.
2. Program the panel. Your panel may not require programming in location *91:
   • VISTA-15P or VISTA-20P - Version 9.18 or higher, no programming in this field required.
   • VISTA-21iP - Version 4.21 or higher, no programming in this field required.
   • VISTA-21iPLTE - All Versions, no programming in this field required.
   To find out how to check the version of your panel, click here.
   
   If you have a panel that is on an older version than the ones listed above, you will need to perform this programming. Once you enter programming, press [#] + [91]. The panel will display "Field *91 Option Selection". In a similar fashion to the way the Installer Code was displayed above, the panel will display the two entries in this programming location. So, for example, if the *91 field is currently programmed with a 2, 0, when you enter [#] + [91], you'll see "Field *91 Option Selection" on the top row of the keypad, and at the lower right, it will display 02 - beep - 00 - beep, beep, beep. This tells you that the first entry in this field is a 2. From there, press [*] + [91] and enter 2, 2. You'll hear the keypad beep three (3) times to confirm the entry was accepted, and that the field was filled. Again, you can press [#] + [91] to verify that both entries are now showing 2, 2. Just remember, whatever the panel displays as the first digit in this field when you first enter [#] + [91] , re-enter the same digit there after you press [*] + [91].
   
   If the automation platform being used will emulate a graphical keypad, sometimes referred to as an AUI (Advanced User Interface) then you'll need to enable a virtual graphical keypad on the system. If there are any Tuxedo-Style keypads on the system, you will need to verify their addresses prior to performing this programming. If you're unsure how to check a tuxedo keypad's address, click here.
   
   Once you know the addresses that are in use for AUI devices already connected to the system, you can enable the next available AUI address for use with automation. The addresses that can be programmed as an AUI on the VISTA-20P are 1, 2, 5, and 6. By default, addresses 1 and 2 are enabled for Partition 1. Press [#] + [189] and make a note of the current programmed entries. There are four entries in this field. Entry 1 corresponds with Address 1, Entry 2 corresponds with Address 2, Entry 3 corresponds with Address 5, and Entry 4 corresponds with Address 6. Each entry determines the home partition for the AUI Keypad set to the corresponding address. If you don't have any touchscreen keypads, then you can use Address 1 for automation.
   
   It is recommended that the entry you make to enable the virtual keypad is set to bypass the Auto-Stay Arming feature, if enabled. An entry of 5 allows the automation system to follow and control partition 1 without triggering Auto-Stay when the system is armed to the Away mode remotely. An entry of 6 will do the same for Partition 2, and an entry of 7 will do the same for Partition 3. To enable the virtual keypad for Address 6 on Partition 1 with Auto-Stay Arming being bypassed (and assuming that the first two entries are set to the default) enter: [*] + [189] + [1] [1] [0] [5]. With these entries in field 189, AUI Address 6 will display and control Partition 1, and if the Automation Controller sends an Arm Away command to the system, it will always Arm Away, even if there is no one on site to open and close an Entry/Exit door during the Exit Delay.
3. Complete the Wiring. The panel should be powered down while you complete the wiring. It is recommended that the 4232CBM be mounted inside the panel's metal enclosure and double-sided foam tape is provided for this purpose. Be sure when you mount the module to the metal can that none of the metal components on the back of the module can make contact with the metal of the enclosure.
   
   Refer to the instructions for the Home Automation System to determine how to make the connections on that side. A wiring harness comes with the 4232CBM. This will be used to connect the module to the VISTA-20P panel's keypad bus. The harness will only connect to the module in the correct position, so there should be no way to get the connection wrong on that side. The opposite end of the harness has four (4) flying leads. These four (4) wires will connect to the panel as shown below:
   
   The Red wire from the harness connects to Panel Terminal 5
   The Black wire from the harness connects to Panel Terminal 4
   The Green wire from the harness connects to Panel Terminal 6
   The Yellow wire from the harness connects to Panel Terminal 7
   
   
   Once the panel connections have been made, make the connections for the home automation side. If you will be using RS232, follow the wiring shown in the diagram above. Note, the colors shown are used are for illustrative purposes only, you can use any wire color you have available, as long as you make the connections to the correct spots at each end. From the 4232CBM, the terminal for RS232 TX will connect to the Standard DB9 connector on Pin 2, and the terminal for RS232 RX will connect to the Standard DB9 connector on Pin 3. The 4232CBM terminal for Ground will connect to the DB9 Pin 5.
   
   If you will be using an RS422 wiring connection between the 4232CBM and the Home Automation System, follow the wiring shown below. The wiring between the 4232CBM and the VISTA Panel will remain the same. Again, the colors shown for RS422 are for illustrative purposes only. Also, if any information shown in this diagram differs from what the documentation for automation system shows, assume the automation documents are correct. The information below is generally how an RS422 connection is made. Also, notice the 120 Ohm resistor shown (4-Band Color Code Brown - Red - Brown - Tolerance varies, Grey shown, which is 0.05% +/-). This resistor should be strapped across RX (-) and RX (+) at the 4232CBM but only if the wire run for the home automation connection will exceed 100 feet (30.4m).
   
   
   
4. Power panel up. Power the VISTA-20P panel back up by plugging in the transformer, and then reconnecting the battery. The panel will beep upon power up. The LEDs on the 4232CBM should light up. The remainder of the home automation setup will be completed on the home automation side.

Please Note: When the 4232CBM is used Total Connect 2.0 is no longer an option. So, you can use Total Connect 2.0, or you can use third-party home automation, but you can't use both. You CAN still use an AlarmNet communicator to send panel signals to a central station, and for uploading and downloading the alarm panel using the Compass software. You can also upload or download panel programming via AlarmNet360 when a compatible communicator (LTEM-PA or LTEM-PV) and panel (VISTA-20P Version 10+) is used.