Taking down a 1995 panel reminded me how far we've come

Swapped out an old system yesterday at a house in Akron. The panel was from 1995, wired with that thick red and black stuff, and the keypad had buttons worn smooth. Then I looked at the new touchscreen and the little wireless sensors I was putting in. It hit me that I used to run wire through every attic and crawl space for hours, and now half of this job was just pairing things with an app. I remember my first install back in 02, we had to test every zone with a magnet and a prayer. Now the panel talks to my phone and tells me exactly which sensor is low on battery. Customer asked me if the new one needs a landline, and I laughed for a second too long. Has anyone else had one of those moments where you realize the old gear you grew up on is basically obsolete tech now? What was the oldest panel you've pulled out recently?

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hannahcraig12d ago

Is it weird that I kind of miss those old wired systems sometimes? Pulled a 1987 Ademco out of a basement last month and the damn thing still worked, just couldn't get parts for it anymore. That thick red and black wire you mention, yeah, I've got scars from crawling through attics with that stuff, but at least you knew where everything was. Now I'm sitting in my truck pairing sensors and the customer texts me a photo of a blinking light, and I have to talk them through a factory reset over the phone...