Honeywell 5883H vs. 5881EN

A Honeywell 5883H is a wireless transceiver that can support uni-directional and bi-directional 345 MHz devices. But the Honeywell 5881ENH, the Honeywell 5881ENL, and the Honeywell ENM are all wireless receivers that can only support uni-directional 345 MHz devices, and not two-way devices.

If you want to use wireless Honeywell 5800 Series Sensors with your Honeywell VISTA Series System, then you will need to add a wireless receiver or a wireless transceiver. A receiver can only receive signals. It cannot send its own signals. As a result, a wireless receiver can only be used with uni-directional, one-way communication devices. You cannot use bi-directional, two-way communication devices with a wireless receiver. But a transceiver can send and receive signals. By adding a wireless transceiver, you can use both one-way and two-way communication devices with a VISTA System. The receivers and transceivers for VISTA Systems support the 345 MHz frequency used by Honeywell's famous lineup of 5800 Series Sensors.

The easiest way to add wireless sensor support for your Honeywell VISTA System is to add a Honeywell 6160RF Keypad. This is an Alphanumeric Keypad with a built-in wireless transceiver. Since you need to get a keypad to control your system anyway, this can be more cost-effective. Once you add a 6160RF to your system, you can also begin adding one-way and two-way 345 MHz wireless devices. But perhaps you already have a keypad, say a standard 6160 Keypad, and you don't feel the need to add another keypad. In that case, you can add a standalone receiver or transceiver module to your system. That is where the 5883H, the 5881ENH, the 5881ENM, and the 5881ENL all come into play.

The only standalone wireless transceiver that you can add to a Honeywell VISTA System is the Honeywell 5883H. If you want to use bi-directional, two-way communication devices with your VISTA System, then that is the module to get. Bi-directional, two-way communication devices from the Honeywell 5800 Series include the Honeywell 5800WAVE Siren and the Honeywell 5828 Keypad. In order to use any bi-directional communication device with a VISTA System, you must have a wireless transceiver like a Honeywell 5883 module or a Honeywell 6160RF Keypad. Please note that both the 6160RF and the 5883H support unlimited wireless sensors, though you will still be limited by the number of zones that the VISTA Panel itself can support.

If you don't need function for two-way wireless devices, then you can consider a wireless receiver module instead. These modules will only support uni-directional, one-way 345 MHz devices. For many users, this will work just fine. They just need to be aware that they will be unable to add two-way communication devices if it is ever needed. Options for standalone wireless receiver modules include the Honeywell 5881ENL, the Honeywell 5881ENM, and the Honeywell 5881ENH. The 5881ENL can only support up to eight (8) wireless zones. The 5881ENM can only support up to 16 wireless zones. If you try to exceed those aforementioned limits for either the 5881ENL or the 5881ENM, then you will receiver an E4 or E8 error message after you exit programming. You must delete any wireless zones in excess of the number supported by the receiver. The 5881ENH can support an unlimited number of wireless zones, but you should be aware that you will still be restricted by the total number of zones that the panel itself is capable of supporting.

The table below outlines these modules: