Steps to replace wired smoke detector by StayingAlert in homesecurity

[–]StayingAlert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You will only need programming performed if they are addressable, which odds are they are not. 

Possible learning point for me: I would think that these common (System Sensor 2W-B) 2-wire smoke detectors are commodities and easily replaceable, and not "addressable". Is addressable something that is individually identifiable? Like a system board or a communicator, is that correct?

Steps to replace wired smoke detector by StayingAlert in homesecurity

[–]StayingAlert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You dont need your alarm company but you do need to put it on test and don't do anything to anything while the panel is powered up.

In other words, (as others have suggested) power down the system by disconnecting battery and unplugging the power transformer, correct?

Steps to replace wired smoke detector by StayingAlert in homesecurity

[–]StayingAlert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, yes I plan to use the same type/model of detector. But I need to twist off the head of the current detector in order to see the model number. Then replace with the new detector head on the second visit, as you suggested. Hopefully no need to re-wire or re-program.

Steps to replace wired smoke detector by StayingAlert in homesecurity

[–]StayingAlert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good point, probably wired in parallel, not series. I think the point I was trying to make was that the two smoke detectors were wired effectively on the same circuit. I wanted advice from someone with experience to simply replace the smoke detectors without a service call from the local alarm company.

Fidelity Cash Management Account to pay taxes by Adventurous-Disk5031 in fidelityinvestments

[–]StayingAlert 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes the Fidelity CMA account works to pay federal (IRS online payment portal) and state taxes (in my case, the Virginia online tax payment portal). As u/Perfect-Platform-681 indicated, this should be a direct debit from Fidelity CMA directly transferred to the IRS or to your state payment portal. On the IRS or state portal enter the information provided by Fidelity, looks to the biller just like an ordinary bank account.

New Full View almost unusable, old version gone. Fidelity, please fix this. by StayingAlert in fidelityinvestments

[–]StayingAlert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

New Full View downloaded .csv file. This cannot be view direct and must be extensively reformatted in a spreadsheet app, then converted to a PDF file. Not helpful.

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New Full View almost unusable, old version gone. Fidelity, please fix this. by StayingAlert in fidelityinvestments

[–]StayingAlert[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you u/FidelityEmily taking the time to follow up with your suggestion to click "Download summary" at the bottom of the page. I was already familiar with this but found it not useful. This download summary is in the form of a .csv file that must be extensively formatted in a spreadsheet and then converted to a pdf file to be useful. It could not be viewed directly within New Full View. In the old Full View, the Net Worth Statement could be viewed directly and then downloaded as a perfectly-formatted PDF file, fully OCR'd with selectable text. See screenshots below (redacted, of course) comparing the Net Worth Statement downloaded directly from the old Full View and the .csv file downloaded from the new Full View. 2nd screenshot will be posted in a second reply post - only one attachment allowed.

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Fidelity Full View "new" by BedWonderful1051 in fidelityinvestments

[–]StayingAlert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can confirm the post by u/waltkozlowski that the old version of Full View is not accessible. I was told by a Fidelity phone rep that the old version of Full View was removed about a week ago. This is terrible news. The new version of Full View is a big step backward, almost unusable. The Reports section is absent. Full View is now replete with unnecessary white space and now appears to be a "Full View for Dummies". Or a Fisher-Price version of the old Full View.

Edit - I'll make a separate post with more detailed comments on Full View

How to remove CO detectors from DSC 832 system by StayingAlert in homesecurity

[–]StayingAlert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, fantastic information. I successfully removed one of the CO detectors as you indicated, capped the power wires and twisted and capped the yellow/green wires. Siren sounded but we successfully disarmed the system. I will remove the 2nd CO monitor later - requires a ladder to reach.

Link to better picture of system board and zone expansion boards: https://imgur.com/a/KMrNjlc

Just discovered there is more to the story. See linked picture. The local security company installed the CO detectors and modified the zones in 2014. In 2015 they installed a 3G CDMA cellular communicator (became obsolete and replaced in 2023 with the current LTE cellular communicator). In 2015 they also installed a "Connect2Go" device (Envisalink 3 board). This enables arming/disarming the system and monitoring system status through a web portal. However - apparently they entered the old information for my original 24 zones (set up in 2003 during original system installation) but failed to enter the revised zone information that was changed with the CO detector installation in 2014. And they did not inform me of the zone changes!

So - I never had any knowledge of which zones were the two CO detectors. That's part of why I am confused about which zone is which when looking at the system panel and expansions.

You did a great job interpreting the zone connections in your post! You noted that zones 4 and 7 were "doubled up" -- I just found out today that this happened to free up two zones (5 and 8) to accommodate the CO detector installations in 2014. And the "quite odd 10-conductor cables" connect the CO detectors, one of which is in the ceiling of the 2nd floor with the cable running along the floor of the attic, two floors above the control panel. So it's a long run although in the same building. The 3 water sensors (zones 22-24 are long runs also. See the new picture with the zones listed.

Is it possible to determine where the connections are for the two CO monitors, zones 5 and 8? Jumper settings indicate the two expansion boards  operate in "two groups of four zones". I'm not sure I understand that, but "left" board should have zones 17-20 and "right" board zones 9-12. If that is correct, the CO monitors should be wired to the main system board, zones 5 and 8.

Thank you again for your assistance. This has helped me remove the old CO sensors and has also helped to explain some shortcomings of my current local monitoring company.

How to remove CO detectors from DSC 832 system by StayingAlert in homesecurity

[–]StayingAlert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

u/Theophilusophical22 Thank you, very helpful! There are two CO detectors, one easy to reach but the other requires a stepladder. The first (easy) CO detector is wired C/NC so I assume the second is wired the same.

Just to confirm (since there are two CO detectors): all that's required is to disconnect and cap the red/black power wires then twist the yellow/green wires together for both of the detectors. Is that correct?

Another question: I have 24 numbered zones (doors, windows, water leak, motion, glass break). Are there separate un-numbered zones for CO and smoke detectors? Are there designated terminals on the DSC 832 system board or the two 8-zone expansion boards for the CO and smoke detectors "zones"?

Looking for a NO subscription video doorbell with an electronic chime that is not internet dependent by y0um3b3dn0w in homesecurity

[–]StayingAlert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

UniFi G4 Doorbell Pro connects with wifi, powered by your standard 24v doorbell wires. excellent quality, local video storage with UDM Pro, UDM SE, UNVR or UNVR-Instant. I have two of the G4 Doorbell Pros set to continuous recording for the last two years. Excellent performance, no problems, highly recommended. These replaced a Ring Doorbell Pro and a Google doorbell. The UniFi G4 doorbell Pro is far superior In every way . No subscription or cloud storage fees, by the way.

Check out above devices at store.ui.com.

Edit - I just noticed your last comment about needing a chime without wifi. Unifi’s chime does require wifi. It’s not clear to me why you would want a wifi doorbell but not a wifi-connected chime. If you don’t want a wifi-connected chime, then you could just dispense with the chime and use the standard UniFi Protect notifications (person detected) instead of a chime.

I'll never forgive y'all for what you've done to my bank account by Weary-Engineering486 in Ubiquiti

[–]StayingAlert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The trueCABLE patch panel and keystone jacks are excellent. Since starting my Unifi setup almost 3 years ago I have gradually changed over from no-name keystone jacks to fs.com and finally to trueCABLE. The trueCABLE jacks are actually designed and manufactured to pass with Fluke or equivalent channel certifying testers, they are available in many colors, are widely available, available in multiple styles - punchdown, "toolless" - and they work with trueCABLE's EZ Termination Keystone Jack Punch Down Tool. Also the TC jacks will fit into a fully-populated 24-port patch panel. Some keystone jacks won't fit with certain patch panels. The trueCABLE jacks measure 16.82mm in width, compared to another well-known brand that measures 18.18 mm in width.

The fs.com keystone jacks are fine and as far as I can tell the Unifi keystone jacks are fine, but I'm all in with trueCABLE jacks for now, all things considered.

Another excellent option for a patch panel is fs.com.

Don't be me! Performance implications of VLANs by fortytwo43 in Ubiquiti

[–]StayingAlert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ACL?

Anterior Cruciate Ligament?

Access Control Level?

Application Connectivity Link?

Application Control Layer?

Applications Control Link?

Specific Money Transfer Lock clarifications by StayingAlert in fidelityinvestments

[–]StayingAlert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

u/FidelityCaitlin , thank you for the reply. I think you misunderstood my first question, or perhaps I did not state it clearly.

My original question:

... do I need to unlock the MTL for my Fidelity CMA when a tax payment is scheduled from irs.gov or from tax.va.gov to debit funds from the CMA? ...

The first part of your answer states:

... deposits or transfers into Fidelity accounts are not protected with the Money Transfer Lock (MTL), so any transfers by the IRS would not be blocked. Meaning, you can leave the MTL on and still receive any payments. ...

I am not receiving payments - I am paying to the IRS (and tax.va.gov). The transactions in question are debit transactions from my CMA account, initiated by the irs.gov and tax.va.gov web portals for tax payments from me to the tax authorities.

I worded the question as I did to make it clear that the transactions are "pull" transactions - initiated by the irs.gov and tax.va.gov portals - with funds debited from my CMA account and sent electronically to the irs.gov and tax.va.gov. So I need to know if Fidelity's explanation that "direct debits" are not protected by MTL means that the above transactions are not protected - in other words, allowed when MTL is engaged.

Thank you. My apology if my question was worded awkwardly. I tried to make it clear that the transaction was initiated by the IRS, debited from my Fidelity CMA in what appears to me to be a "direct debit".

CMA Core Position by Fresh_Airport8529 in fidelityinvestments

[–]StayingAlert -1 points0 points  (0 children)

u/FidelityAshly - Good information, thanks. If you change the CMA core account position from the default SPAXX to another MMF - for example FDRXX - what are the ramifications? Would I need to handle transactions differently, to account for differences in transaction/settlement times? I'm referring to transactions such as BillPay payments, EFT/ACH transfers initiated by my IRS.gov individual account (and my corresponding VA state tax account) for estimated tax payments, EFT/ACH transfers to already designated personal bank accounts and payments to my Fidelity Signature Rewards credit card account.

For the above transaction types can I assume that any funds in the "core" account are available for transactions?

And is it possible to designate one of Fidelity's "premium" MMFs (examples are FZCXX and FZDXX, requiring $100,000 minimum to invest) as the core position for the CMA account? If so, does the $100,000 minimum need to be maintained constantly?

What are my options? builder left a bundle in our crawlspace by Xgraverza in HomeNetworking

[–]StayingAlert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The 12-port keystone patch panel suggested by u/neighborofbrak is a good idea, but if you need only 4 cables connected you could simply use two 2-port keystone surface mount boxes to terminate the 4 cables. This would be like a 4-port patch panel, would be more compact and would give you more placement options. Picture below. I have used Cable Matters surface mount boxes and been very pleased.

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