What Is a Daughter Card on the IQ Panel 5 Security System?

A daughter card on the IQ Panel 5 is an optional expansion module that adds support for legacy wireless sensor frequencies. The panel supports PowerG natively, but daughter cards let you use existing 319.5 MHz, 345 MHz, or 433 MHz sensors from Honeywell, 2GIG, or DSC alongside PowerG.

Why Daughter Cards Exist

The IQ Panel 5 (available in AT&T LTE and Verizon LTE) ships with PowerG and PowerG+ wireless technology built in. PowerG is a long-range, encrypted two-way radio that supports up to 128 security system sensors right out of the box with no extra hardware. However, many existing installations use sensors running on older 319.5 MHz, 345 MHz, or 433 MHz radio frequencies. Replacing every sensor during an upgrade is expensive and time-consuming. Daughter cards solve this by adding a second radio inside the panel so it can hear signals from those legacy sensors alongside the built-in PowerG radio.

This makes the IQ Panel 5 ideal for takeover installations — when someone is switching from a Honeywell, 2GIG, DSC, or Interlogix system and wants to keep their existing sensors. The IQ Panel 5 supports one daughter card at a time in addition to the built-in PowerG radio. If you have sensors on multiple legacy frequencies, you would need to choose the most common frequency and replace any sensors on other frequencies.

Available Daughter Cards

Three daughter cards are available for the IQ Panel 5 family. The IQ QC0004-840 adds support for Qolsys/Interlogix 319.5 MHz sensors. The IQ QC0005-840 adds support for Honeywell and 2GIG 345 MHz sensors, which is one of the most common legacy frequencies in North America. The IQ QC0008-840 adds support for Legacy DSC 433 MHz sensors. Each card plugs into a dedicated expansion slot inside the panel and is recognized automatically when the panel reboots.

IQ Panel 5 Daughter Cards Test showing installed expansion card slots

What Daughter Cards Do Not Do

Daughter cards only add the ability to receive signals from sensors on that frequency. They do not provide two-way communication or encryption for legacy sensors — those sensors continue to work exactly as they did before. The security and supervision improvements of PowerG only apply to PowerG sensors. If full encryption and supervision matter, upgrading to PowerG sensors is the better long-term approach. Daughter cards are best used as a cost-effective bridge during a transition, or when a full sensor replacement is not practical. After installing a daughter card, run the Daughter Cards Test from Advanced Settings, then System Tests to confirm the card is communicating correctly with the panel.

Verifying a Daughter Card Is Installed

To confirm a daughter card is installed and working, go to Advanced Settings, enter the Installer Code (1111 by default), touch System Tests, then touch Daughter Cards Test. Touch Run next to each card slot to test it. The panel returns a Pass or Fail for each installed card. A monitoring plan ensures that all sensors — whether PowerG or legacy — report to a central station for professional emergency dispatch.

Daughter cards on the IQ Panel 5 expand the panel's wireless sensor compatibility to include legacy frequencies without replacing existing sensors on the IQ Panel 5. For help with daughter cards or sensor compatibility or other configurations on your IQ Panel 5, contact the Alarm Grid support team. We are here Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM Eastern Time. Email us at support@alarmgrid.com, call us at 888-818-7728, or visit our website and chat with a live support agent.