There are a few more panels following the upgrade to the VISTA-128 Turbo, which adds a cellular element beyond the hardline communication with the monitoring centre.
Photos by Marc LaBossiere / Winnipeg Free Press
The old-school keypad now works in conjunction with the newly introduced app and allows for both hardline and cellular communication with the monitoring centre.
Three screen examples of the TC 2.0 App showcase how user-friendly it can be to arm and disarm each of the alarm systems’ three partitions.
As a young man still living at home, my parents’ house was broken into and robbed. The intruders backed their truck into our backyard in broad daylight, breached the back door and proceeded to steal audio components and a variety of other expensive items. What I remember most are the footprints on my bedsheets as they gathered up and ran off with my entire home audio system. Possessions can be replaced, and luckily no one was hurt, but it still stung.
The following week my father went through the process of replacing the missing items covered under house insurance, and invested in a home alarm system. Although the constant monitoring provided by the alarm system obviously provided a level of comfort, there was no escaping the fact this event had imprinted a trauma onto the family’s collective frontal lobe. As such, every house I have ever owned has been equipped with an alarm with monitoring. When moving into my current property, the out-buildings required a commercial install.
Alarm systems were hard-wired back then, due to the technology that was available at the time. And in 2003, a residential system could not be broken into separate areas, or partitions which could then be armed and disarmed independently, which was a requirement for my property. This of course resulted in a complex install using a commercial system called VISTA-128. Trenching cabling from the main panel located in the house to the building at the front of the property only added to the complexity. Over a series of four days, a knowledgeable crew (from a company then called AAA Alarms) diligently set-up the entire system. After a series of tests, the property would be protected by 24-hour monitoring, with the ability to arm and disarm each of the three partitions separately. Other than having to replace the backup batteries a few times, my alarm system had performed its duties consistently for more than 16 years.
A few years ago, AAA Alarms was acquired by MTS. And then another change occurred when MTS partnered with Bell. So, AAA Alarms is now called Bell MTS Smart Home. With the advances in technology, wireless alarm systems were becoming the installation of choice because they are much easier to implement. These wireless systems now offer touchscreen pads, and look quite advanced in comparison to the old-school keypads still used on my property. Furthermore, the introduction of companion apps offer the ability to arm and disarm remotely. The latter feature interested me greatly. As such, an inquiry was made with Bell MTS with regards to my existing system, and whether an upgrade would and could be feasible.
Because my existing system is hard-wired, and includes five keypads for three separate partitions, there was no way to replace my keypads with touchscreens, short of abandoning the old system and starting from scratch, which was also fraught with its own set of challenges due to the complexity of my current alarm configuration. Furthermore, the VISTA-128 was not capable of an upgrade that includes the use of an app for remote function, because it relied solely on landline connectivity for communication with the monitoring centre.
I really wanted the ability to use an app — what could be done?
A few months ago, the unimaginable happened — my alarm system crashed. Apparently, the motherboard on the VISTA-128 had fried and couldn’t be repaired — it needed to be completely replaced. Now was the time to escalate my request for a commercial system that also provides a companion app for remote function. After several discussions with various individuals with the Bell MTS Smart Home sales division regarding my system issues and my app request, a solution was discovered by an extremely helpful sales supervisor, Rhonda Petrash. While making an inquiry on my behalf with tech support, it was discovered that the newer version of my old system, now called VISTA-128 Turbo provided dual communications potential with the monitoring centre, landline, and via cellular network. When installing this newer hardware version (that complies completely with my current configuration), and by implementing a GSM unit (for the cellular option), there was an App called TC 2.0 (Total Connect) that also communicates via cellular network, and would allow my system to enjoy remote operation and functions.
This to me was a no-brainer. The VISTA-128 Turbo allows exact integration with my current alarm configuration and introduces what had been sought after for years — a companion app that allows remote arming and disarming. This was wonderful. After two days of on-site hardware upgrades and a variety of tests, my alarm configuration now communicates via two modes of transmission (for added security), and the TC 2.0 App offers a slew of options that can be tailored according to the user’s needs. I can arm and disarm remotely, at will with total confidence.
The day my alarm system crashed revealed just how great an importance is placed on the security of my property. Not being able to arm my system made me feel somewhat vulnerable, generating a great deal of anxiety. Thanks to the knowledgeable crew at Bell MTS Smart Home, we again feel safe at home, and while we’re away. The property is protected like a fortress, with an invisible shield. Coupled with the numerous on-site surveillance cameras, those past images of footprints on my bedsheets have slowly began to fade away again.
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