How Does a Honeywell Wireless Transceiver Work?

A Honeywell wireless transceiver works by communicating with various system add-ons. Certain system add-ons require the ability to not only send signals to the system, but to receive signals from it as well. For these add-ons, a wireless transceiver is needed, not just a standard receiver.

Traditionally, most wireless system sensors only had to send signals to an alarm system. They never had to receive signals from the system. This only required that the system had a wireless receiver. A transceiver was unnecessary, as the system never had to actually send signals to the sensors. The only outbound communication the panel ever needed was a phone dialer to dial-out to a central station. As communication shifted away from phone lines, appropriate communicators were developed for alarm systems. Today, most alarm systems rely on WIFI cards and/or cellular communicators for outbound communication.

However, there are some wireless system add-ons that need to receive signals from the panel, in addition to sending signals to it. In order to support these devices, the system needs a transceiver, as opposed to a traditional receiver. There are only a few examples of when this comes into play. Wireless system keypads need to display the current status of the system at all times. This requires that the panel is able to transmit wireless signals to the keypad. This will let it know whenever system has been armed or disarmed. Likewise, the system must also be able to receive signals from the keypad, in case a user uses the keypad to arm or disarm the system. Another example of a device that warrants the use of a transceiver is a wireless siren. These devices need to receive wireless signals from the system so that they know when to activate. Then they must be able to receive a follow-up signal from the panel when the system is disarmed so that they know when to stop sounding.

In the case of Honeywell Alarm Systems, most of this communication will take place at a wireless frequency of 345 MHz. This is the frequency used with wireless Honeywell 5800 Series Sensors. An exception is the Honeywell SiX Series Sensors that are used with the Honeywell Lyric Alarm System. These sensors operate using a 2.4 GHz RF signal, and they use bi-directional communication with 128-bit AES encryption. Since bi-directional communication is used, these sensors require the use of a transceiver. However, an end user will not have to worry about this, as all Lyric Systems include a compatible 2.4 GHz wireless transceiver for this purpose. Users should be aware that any sensor that uses bi-directional encrypted communication will require the use of some type of transceiver.

Although the 345 MHz wireless receiver used with the Lyric Panel functions as a transceiver, it does not currently support bi-directional wireless devices. This is because the bi-directional wireless devices require the use of a "House ID" that the Lyric does not include. In other words, the Lyric Panel cannot be used with bi-directional 345 MHz devices, such as a Honeywell 5828 Keypad or a 5800WAVE Wireless Siren. Remember though, most 345 MHz Honeywell 5800 Series devices are uni-directional, not bi-directional. These uni-directional devices will only require that a compatible receiver to be used, which the Lyric Controller has.

But the Honeywell LYNX Touch Systems all have integrated 345 MHz wireless transceivers for supporting the aforementioned devices. This gives these systems the ability to support bi-directional communication with devices using the 'House ID' protocol. As for the Honeywell VISTA Panels, they do not come with a wireless transceiver or receiver of any kind. Instead, one will need to be added separately. The Honeywell 6160RF and 6150RF are both compatible wired keypads that each include their own integrated 345 MHz wireless transceiver for this purpose. If the system already has a keypad, they can add a Honeywell 5883H Wireless Transceiver Module for this purpose. Additionally, if a user only needs a wireless receiver for the system, they can add a Honeywell 5881ENH instead. The Honeywell 5881ENM, which supports up to 16 wireless zones and 5881ENL, which supports up to 8 zones, are also wireless receiver options for these panels.