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Set your Date and Time on a DSC Panel

Table Of Contents
  1. Set your Date and Time on a DSC Panel

It is very important to make sure that your alarm systems date and time is correct. The date and time reflects on the internal logs of the system, and it helps investigators and engineers to identify when a system was armed or disarmed or at what time the system has gone into an alarm condition.
Without the correct time on the system, insurance investigators might have issues confirming if your system was armed during a burglary and might reject your claim, and Engineers can not properly troubleshoot from the event-log. If communications of the systems are compromised, these logs also serves as a backup of sequence of events. 

Date and time loss

So why does the systems loose their date and time, or why do the time drifts over a period of time?

The time and date is usually lost after a prolonged power failure when the system internal backup battery goes below 10.5Vdc, and the systems then switches off to protect the battery from being damaged, by draining the battery voltage to low. On power restoral, the system will switch back on, with an error condition on the keypad (The yellow/orange) triangle will burn.

If you have a LCD full text keypad for your system, you will also notice that the date and time of the system is blank on power up, and that your yellow trouble light of the system is lit. If you use your trouble condition command to investigate further the system will give you a date and time error as part of its trouble condition. By re-setting the date and time, the error condition will disappear, provided that your battery has also started to re-charge. (You might have more than one error condition)

Another scenario is that the time drifts and is out by 30 minutes or an hour over a period of days or months. The last scenario is normally caused by mains supply that is not the correct frequency or by generators that does not supply the correct 50/60Hz to the panel. There are other options to deal with these matters. The most popular option on modern systems is to use a NTP time server to auto update the time over a period of 24 hours, but be warned not all panels can offer this as a solution.

DSC Power Series – Setting the date and the time

For home owners that would like to avoid the costly call out fee to set the panels date and time below. To set the date and time of an alarm system press the following from your keypad:

  • [*][6][1][2][3][4] [1]  [H][H][M][M]    [m][m][d][d][y][y]  [#][#] – The [ ] represents a button push. 
  • *6 is the system command
  • 1234 is the default master code of the system, and might have been changed by the installer.
  • 1 is the date and time submenu
  • HHMM is the time in a 24 hour format.
  • mmddyy is the date in the format month day year. It is a two digit month number followed by a two digit day number followed by a two digit year number.
  • ## is to exit the programming sections.
  • Example : Program the system date 19/07/2021 on the 31 June 2021@ 21:15 

Programming

Keypad programming

*6 1234 1 2115 063121 ##

Setting the date and time with a full text LCD keypad is a lot easier than using LED keypads. The same procedure is followed as per the instructions above, but you can use your arrow keys on the keypad to scroll.

Envisalink – Setting date and time

You can also use an alarm communicator board, and use an NTP time server to set your alarm systems time and date. That way the system will auto correct its date and time every couple 12 to 24 hours by using the Connect2go platform or the , and you do not have to worry about checking if your date and time of the alarm system is correct.

If your system is exposed to a power failure, the system will auto restore its date and time. You can check out connect2go here:

  1. Envisalink Overview:
    • The Envisalink is an IP-based communication module that connects your alarm panel to your local network.
    • It allows you to remotely monitor and control your alarm system using a web interface or mobile app.
  2. Setting Date and Time:
    • To ensure accurate timekeeping, follow these steps:
      • Connect to Envisalink: Access the Envisalink web interface by entering its IP address in your browser.
      • Login: Log in using your Envisalink credentials.
      • Navigate to Time Settings: Look for a section related to time/date settings. The exact location may vary based on your Envisalink firmware version.
      • Manual Configuration:
        • If your Envisalink doesn’t automatically sync with an NTP server, you can manually set the date and time.
        • Enter the correct date and time in the provided fields.
      • NTP Configuration:
        • If your Envisalink supports NTP (Network Time Protocol), configure it to use an NTP server.
        • Enter the NTP server address (e.g., pool.ntp.org).
        • Save your settings.
      • Save and Reboot: After making changes, save your settings and reboot the Envisalink module.
  3. Automatic Time Correction:
    • Envisalink can periodically sync its time with an NTP server (usually every 12 to 24 hours).
    • This ensures that your alarm system’s clock remains accurate without manual intervention.
  4. Testing:
    • After configuring the time settings, test by arming/disarming your alarm system.
    • Check if the timestamps in the event logs match the correct time.
  5. Considerations:
    • Ensure your Envisalink module has a stable internet connection.
    • Regularly verify that the time remains accurate.

Remember that accurate timekeeping is crucial for event logging, automation, and system functionality. With Envisalink, you can maintain precise time settings for your alarm system

Connect2Go Mobile – Apps on Google Play
https://www.connect2go.com/
EyezOn – EnvisaLink™ EVL-4EZR Security Module For DSC/Honeywell Panels
EyezON Mobile – Apps on Google Play