[Solved] A Little Help Understanding the Partition Data

[krkeegan]

I have a 20SE, which while it provides 2 partitions is a non-addressable system. Best I can tell, panels for the second partition are installed on a completely separate bus.

However, I am trying to finish up the module for MisterHouse and I could use a little help understanding how partitions work on normal addressable systems. In the documentation, I see a reference to the raw data as containing a bitfield identifying which panels a message is destined for and from that apparently identifying the partition?

I am guessing that each panel is designated to a single partition? By knowing which panel (address) is on which partition, I can then determine which partition each message was destined for? Is that somewhere in the ballpark?

I likely have more partition questions, but that should get me started.

[mathewss]

Yep you are correct on how one can determine the partition.

This is an interesting one regarding 20SE and dual partitions one I have not tested before.

I am not sure about this second keypad bus that would be one I have not heard of before. If that is how its done then it makes sense but then you would need two AD2* to make it work.

Do you have your panel setup in dual partition mode with keypads on each partition where you can you do some tests providing debug logs?
Having one partitioned armed and one disarmed should provide some interesting data. In a 20P panel you would see "ARM" "DISARM" alternating messages with different addresses masks on each message.

Re
Sean M

[krkeegan]

So I don't have, nor do I have any need to have partitions. So the limitations of the 20SE are fine with me. I am just trying to properly code things in the module for others to use.

The separate bus makes sense, remember the 20SE doesn't use addresses, so how else can it handle partitions. Anyways, the following is an excerpt from the installation manual, while not totally clear, I think it demonstrates that it uses a separate bus.



The manual is available here: http://www.info-techs.com/ademco/files/controls/installation/v20seii.pdf the page I took that from is 15.

My next question is how do I handle what my manual defines as "common zones." Again, I don't have these setup on my system. I gather that these zones appear on both partition 1 and partition 2, but are only armed when both partitions are armed. How do I detect the "armed/not-armed" status of these common zones? Do they appear as "bypassed" zones on the armed partition? Am I just required to deduce the status of the "common zones" based on the armed status of both partitions?

Finally, the 20SE can only handle 2 zones. Are there any other odd partition designs that occur when a system has more than 2 partitions?

[mathewss]

Cool. I have never seen that dual bus setup. That does make sense.

I would imagine a zone on a common partition will report faulted when open on the partition that is disarmed but I am not sure if it shows up bypass or not. I could arrange a test of this on our test panel to confirm.

The Vista 128BP and 50PUL both have 8 partitions and its possible.

Re
Sean M