Honeywell VISTA-20P Ademco Control Panel, PCB in Aluminum Enclosure

Purchased this panel directly from an authorized Honeywell dealer. This was to replace an existing Vista 20se which did not support the Tuxedo Touch console. The unit powered up correctly, but 20 minutes later AC failure was displayed on the console. I assisted the installer in tracing the failure to a burnt power brick. The unit was considerably hot and could have caused a fire. The installer checked all power leads and verified the board was properly cased in the panel. On further examination, there was a loose 1/2 inch solder lead found under three components. This leads was snipped during construction and was causing a short between several components. This led to a short in the external power brick which overloaded the unit. The enclosed power brick had no thermal fuse and continued to short until the unit literally burned up. Upon removing the solder lead and replacing the brick the unit continued working correctly. I have not observed any issues since that time. I personally contacted Honeywell Customer support and they completely ignored my information. I was told that any issues with the unit were in the hands of the installer and dealer. They wash their hands of any responsibility if the unit burns down your house due to manufacture defects. I would use this product at your own risk, and keep a smoke detector nearby.

Ive installed hundreds of these panels and they arent bad but it just seems very outdated for an alarm system that hasnt seen many upgrades in decades. The Amazon listing says first posted on Amazon in 2001. Not a whole lot has changed since then except the firmware/revision version and little features. While other manufacturers were making their most basic systems smarter with built in wireless receivers, compartments to easily attach a cell unit, Zwave, etc... The Vista panels offer none of that straight out of the box. This panel you see in the picture will need a wireless receiver or an RF keypad and all kinds of add-ons to be able to do what other panels can do straight of the box. Its a good replacement panel if you had an older Vista , DSC, FBI, concord etc with hardwired zones but even the all-in-one panels can easily take over the hardwired zones now (except hardwired smoke detectors). When I install a new touchscreen panel in a home, the customer is usually happy and feels like they are getting a real upgrade. When I install a new Vista panel in a home, the customer feels like theyre getting the exact same system that has installed 20+ years ago because they basically are. As an installer, I would never use this system in a home or business unless I have a bunch of hardwired smoke detectors or if I need more than one partition. If you arent a technician, programming can be a nightmare, especially if you only have a 6150 keypad. Definitely do NOT buy a 6150 keypad. Buy a 6160, 6160RF or one of the nicer keypads by Honeywell (touchscreen or tuxedo)

So my Journey began with an old Brinks / ADM system that got reset and I couldn’t find installer codes to recover. It was 25 years old anyway. I wanted to keep my existing wired sensors including C0 detector but I also wanted to be able to expand the system by adding zones. The Vista 20 P was just the thing. I was able to replace the old Brinks BHS3000 system by simply swapping the boards within the enclosure. Yes they were the exact same housings. This kept me from having to pull back all the wiring and feed them into the new enclosure. This allowed me to simply disconnect each wire, one at a time, and re land it on the Honeywell board. Took me a total of 20 min. For good measure the enclosure door was a perfect swap so all the labels are correct. That was the easy part.... Then came programming. With the included manual and quite a bit of help from YouTube, the system is now working. It takes a bit of patience to learn how to read the manual. The YouTube videos provided a great deal of clarity. I used a 6160RF key pad to allow for wireless sensor expansion and remote key fob use. After About three hours I had it working at least as well as my old system. There are some tricks to it like in zone 1 you have to use one of the included terminating resistors if you plan to use it for a door or window switch. Also if you want the zone chime to work on the doors or windows only, you have to create a “Zone List” which has to be Zone List #03. Spent at least an hour figuring that one out. Wouldn’t have put so much time into that one item but my wife and kids like having the door chimes. Bottom line is the system upgrade cost me approx $140 with one keypad (I’ll be adding more later) and it was actually more capable than what I had expected. Keep in mind it’s designed for a professional installer so don’t expect plug-and-play but once it’s up and running it’s a solid, scaleable system. I’ll write more as I take advantage of the features.

The system works just as advertised. Everything came properly packaged and worked first time.

Yup its a vista-20p panel with chip10.24. Includes a new transformer, lock and a dozen or so resistors.

This replaced an adt system panel and wasnt terribly hard to wire in. Programming was a bit difficult, but several videos online to help with the system.

Excellent product. Easy too install, but hard to program. very recomendable to buy. The sensitive es very well. The case its bigger

Works fine but as with other Honeywell alarm products, documentation is not aimed at the amateur. Takes a while but with some good DIY video on the internet, you can eventually get there.

This is a great system for the money. There are a few quirks in the programming instructions but I was able to figure things out with YouTube videos. Do your homework before installing and you shouldnt have any problems.

Easy install and user friendly