TRizzi, I’ve looked at your threads in the home security systems section of doityourself-dot-com and in the Honeywell and Ademco section of shieldlab-dot-com, and in both of those you gave a more thorough explanation of your situation that made it easier to analyze and advise about your problem. I would simply recommend that you follow AlarmMike’s and MrRonFL’s advice. They are both very experienced alarm professionals who know the equipment you are working with.
Having said that, here’s my two cents worth:
It might help you understand your system better, to know that you are not programming your keypad: You are using the keypad (the 6160) as an interface to effect system programming in the control panel (the Vista-20P). All system programming resides in the control panel (usually referred to as just “The Panel”). The only programming that resides in Honeywell (formerly Ademco) keypads, in keypad local programming, is the keypad address (so the panel knows which KP is talking to it) and when that particular KP will beep, things not relevant to the rest of the system. Again, all system programming resides in the the Control Panel, in Honeywell systems.
I mention this because some other alarm brands do have _some_ system zone programming resident in their keypads or RF Receivers, but not Honeywell/Ademco. When you replace a Honeywell/Ademco keypad, the only programming necessary for the replacement is to address the new KP to match the old address.
Think of an old desktop computer with the "tower" sitting under the desk and the keyboard and monitor on top of the desk. You see and work with the keyboard and monitor, but the actual computer is out of sight under the desk. Your keypad is like a combined keyboard & monitor and the Panel is the actual computer.
As for your mystery Zone 26:
I’m not going to assume anything about the original installer’s intent, or what s/he might have had in mind. That kind of conjecture piled on top of other conjecture generally isn’t productive in diagnosing and/or fixing the problem, in my own personal experience.
According to what you said, your monitoring company seems to have all your smoke sensors listed on your first floor. “First floor” implies that your house has at least 2 floors, and it’s highly unlikely that smoke sensors were not also installed on the 2nd floor (and higher floors, if any). So it really sounds like the signal listing is not accurate at the monitoring station. It’s not their fault. They only have what information they’re given by the Installer.
As for fire codes: The usual situation for Fire Code compliance is that a home is built with 120VAC line-power smoke alarms installed that meet all Fire Code requirements. Installing additional smoke sensors with your alarm system is supplementary fire protection, and I’ve never heard of any AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) that required additional devices to meet code standards, as long as those standards were already met by existing devices. So I’m a little dubious about that conjecture.
It’s pretty clear from the information that came out in the alarm forums that your Zone 26 (Z26) was/is a wireless (RF) device that was not being “heard” by the Panel, possibly because it doesn’t physically exist. It _does_ puzzle me that you reported (other forum) that you received a “Fault” at one point. That shouldn’t be possible unless the wireless sensor/transmitter actually is physically present somewhere and managed to get a signal through to the Panel. Unless you mis-spoke and called a “CHECK” a FAULT. Those are different signals.
The one possible ( I don’t claim probable) explanation I can think of is that the Z26 device does physically exist in some “obscure” location in your home that you didn’t think to check, such as a small utility space that houses your furnace/water heater, or an attic space--attic space, if you have it, should have a heat sensor rather smoke sensor connected (integrated with) the transmitter. Same goes for utility space if your furnace/water heater uses gas or fuel oil; or your garage, if any. Heat sensors, even wireless ones, are generally smaller than smoke detectors and less obvious, and tend to be in more obscure spaces and easier to overlook.
