The TriggerLinc, is Smarthome’s newest Insteon based device, taking place of X10 based Security Sensors….

The DS10A is the X10 equivalent of the TriggerLinc, and provides the majority of the sensor coverage on our house, and has been quite reliable…  But does have some range issues…  From customer reviews, it seems that the DS10A should get somewhere around 35-45 feet range, and from my experience that is roughly the coverage we get….

The Triggerlinc, is supposed to change all of this.  Smarthome claims up to a 5 year battery life, up to 150 feet access from any Access Point (or RF based Insteon device), Native Insteon support, internal terminals for wired sensors, and of course the ability to link devices to the sensor natively (via Insteon).

In the informal testing, the TriggerLinc definitely has a better range over the DS10A, a faster response (especially since the w800RF32 is out of the loop), but there are a lot of little features that Smarthome has ignored.

1. If you wish to mount the TriggerLinc you will be using doublesided tape, unless you want to remove the circuit board from the unit, mount it, and then remount the circuit board.  The mounting holes are below the circuit board. Correction, I misremembered the layout of the TriggerLinc transceiver.  The mounting holes are indeed in the battery compartment, but the mounting holes for the magnet part require disassembly.
2. My understanding is that there is no low battery signal, of course, I haven’t been able to test this yet…  But this seems to be a glaring omission.
3. #2 wouldn’t be so bad, except there is no “heartbeat” signal.  Typically the DS10A devices would send a signal out every 30-45 minutes, to allow the security system to have an “up to date” status, but it also allowed the Security Script to verify that the sensor was good working order, and that a hardware failure, or low battery situation hasn’t arisen.  Since there is no heartbeat, the Security script can’t tell that the sensor is still working.

A minor quibble is that there is no downloadable manual.  Smarthome seems to be moving their documentation to a Wiki, but that means I can’t download the entire manual and browse at my leisure.

On the positive side, the Triggerlinc is more compact, it has the option of wired connections.  It feels sturdier, even though I believe it’s roughly the same construction & weight.  The Linking process is fairly easy, and similar in nature to the linking of an Appliance module.  Overall, the Insteon produce is a good product, the introduction of a heartbeat, or a low battery warning signal, would be a good version 2 feature.

In fact when I have the opportunity, I will be purchasing at least one more Triggerlinc, and a new 2412U… I am hoping that the 2412 will help resolve a signal issue to my SwitchLinc.

But is it worth $35?  Let’s see:

Pros:

• It’s Insteon
• No X10 / RF adapter needed, beyond the Insteon Access points (eg. No W800RF32) so less expensive startup cost.
• Faster response

Cons:

• Almost 6 months late, they were originally scheduled to be delivered in January
• The wired terminals are broadcast as the same device, so you can’t wire a 2nd device to it and have it broadcast as a different device.  (For example, a Door & deadbolt.)
• You have to remove the circuit board if you want to screw mount the TriggerLinc (and magnet).
• To mount the magnet, you need to disassemble the magnet housing.
• No Low battery warnings
• No “Heartbeat”, so there is no way to detect if the sensor is working (other than physical use / testing)
• More Expensive on a sensor by sensor basis ($35 for 1 Triggerlinc, vs $10 for 3 DS10A)

That’s a tricky question, overall if you do not have a RF Security receiver (ala W800RF32A), then certainly.  But, if you have a RF Security Receiver, then I would strongly recommend using a mixture of DS10A’s & TriggerLincs.  The DS10A can easily be modified to act as a contact switch and at its low prices, how could you not want to use them?

But if budget is not a concern then the TriggerLinc is almost the hands down winner…

My wish is that Smarthome would make a variation that removes the magnetic sensor, and just leaves the external terminals, but for half the price.  I use DS10A’s to track the deadbolt’s on our doors, and I don’t see an affordable way to do that with Triggerlinc’s.

– Benjamin