Alarm system-telephone wire

This is a question I am asking for my in-laws, so excuse me. They hav

a whole house alarm system with a phone dialer. The installer sai they should have the junction box for the phone line (underground placed in their basement so it couldn't be cut or disconnected. The called the telephone company, and they said the box had to be mounte outside above ground. Can you think of a good way to protect this uni from having a thief disarm it by cutting the wire or opening the cove on the connector? My father in law is kind of set in his ways, an doesn't want me to tamper with it (I would just move it and tell th phone company to pound sand). My idea was to cover the wire with slotted pipe or such (still doesn't take care of the connector cover. Another idea was to install a fake but visible wire and cover, an camoflage the other so it wouldn't be visible. I can't be the firs with this problem, so please give me some ideas! I like to keep peac in the family and also come up with answers to their concerns. Thanks

-- toolmiser

Reply to
toolmiser
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Hi, In my area, phone cable comes to house underground, but the box is mounted on the wall outside above ground. It is enclosed in a conduit, and box is semi-sealed with special screws which needs special tool. I guess only way a thief can cut wire is smashing the box or breaking the conduit. Tony

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Chances are, rather than go to the trouble of cutting the phone wire, the burglar will just smash a window, walk in (alarm notwithstanding), take what they like, and leave well before the police show up. The average smash-and-grab takes no longer than a couple of minutes, far less than the average police response time.

I'd suggest saving the time, effort, and money that you would otherwise use moving the junction box and put it into the installation of other things that will deter a thief, like stronger locks, window bars on easily-accessible windows, reinforced door-lock strike plates, and improved lighting. The idea is to make your house seem less appealing than that of your neighbours - most thieves will target the "easiest" house on a street rather than trouble themselves with one that is harder to access.

Reply to
JJ

Run an additional alarm wire as a seperate zone outside to the phone box. If the thief tries to cut the phone line, he will not know which wire is which so he will cut all the lines. Once he cuts the alarm wire, the alarm will go off. Of course the dial tone will be dead at that point, but at least it would scare off the thief when he heres the alarm.

Reply to
Mikepier

It's likely that any thief that is professional enough and determined enough to plan to cut phone lines will figure a way around any simple solution you put in place. I also think that for the typical home, it's not too likely you'll find this level of determination. Even after cutting the phone lines, a well placed siren is still effective. As another solution, most alarm companies now offer a radio unit that can be installed in the home as a back up which will contact the monitoring station.

Reply to
trader4

Unless they know what they're after & who has it/one.

Pop

Reply to
Pop

Talk to one of the major alarm companies or even one of the monitoring services for recommendations. There are some good ways to do that without a lot of expense, but I'm not going to go into them here.

Radio links are the best bets: No wires to cut, they're pretty well hidden, and battery-backed. Also of course, the TYPES of sensors etc. needs to be considered carefully - is that a professional install or a diy install? If it's a diy, stop now - it's likely not a very secure sysem. Pop

Reply to
Pop

Subject: Alarm system-telephone wire Newsgroup: alt.home.repair => toolmiser

I've moved them myself (in the capacity of a professional alarm installer), of course we didn't tell ma-bell in advance. They want the ability to service the line unimpeded. That works out great for them - for maybe the one time in ten years they actually come on the property.

I would move the NID inside the basement or garage - whatever, that's just me. If the alarmco won't do it you'll have to do it yourself. Alternatively, you could place the NID in a lockable NEMA box outside the premises and wire tamper switches on *both* sides of the box (in case they beat it off the wall, or open it). The tamper circuit can come in on a spare pair from the dialer cable. Of course, you'll want to protect the exposed wiring in conduit.

Your kinda in a bad place if the father in law doesn't want you to screw with it, the alarmco refuses to move the NID, and we know the ma-bell wont do it.

There are backup reporting options like cellular, long range radio, and Internet.

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What brand of system do they have?

Reply to
G. Morgan

Our phone line runs from the service wire to the eaves, then down behind the siding in a conduit, terminating in a box, with lock, on the side of the house. The telephone wires then run out of the box, along a horizontal seam in the siding.. The alarm signal wire goes from the box to the garage alarm switchboard by a devious and disguised route, but mostly along the exterior. The line tends to follow natural grooves in the siding. I used tiny staples to tie it down, then ran acrylic caulk over the line where it was visible, then painted. Just about invisible now.

Reply to
Roger

Get a big dog.

Joe

Reply to
J O E

Yes, I believe most of these radio units use the cell phone network. Around my place, they add ~ $10 to the monthly monitoring fee as well.

Victor

Reply to
Victor Grund

If you feel compelled to render the NID less accessible then you install rigid metallic conduit to a height that makes it inaccessible from the ground and install the NID at that height but still outdoors. In most places the utility can not insist that the NID be accessible without a ladder.

Relocating the Network Interface Device (NID) to the inside of the building is not an option in most states. The NID is the demarcation point between the wire that the building owner is responsible for and the wire that the utility is responsible for. The NID is utility responsibility equipment. If you damage it or affect the outside plant in any way you can be billed for the entire cost of normalizing the installation. Use a wireless back up and leave the NID alone.

-- Tom H

Reply to
HorneTD

Subject: Re: Alarm system-telephone wire Newsgroup: alt.home.repair => HorneTD If you feel compelled to render the NID less accessible then you install

That, and tamper switches on the NEMA enclosure the NID will be inside.

It's done all the time for commercial customers.

You must work for the telco. Sorry, but my job is not to make yours easier.

Reply to
G. Morgan

Not in the couple of states where I work. I have nothing to do with alarms but sometimes have to get involved with data circuits. Standard practice on a multiple line commercial installation is to put a metal cabinet on the

*outside* of the building. The telcos will not install anything new inside a building.
Reply to
George

I am a self employed electrician. I have worked as a construction industry communications wireman but I have never been employed by a utility. What I have said has nothing at all to do with making my job, or the utilities job, easier. I was only trying to avoid the major expense to the OP of having a violation of their states utility tariffs corrected at their expense. In most states the utility is not allowed to have their NID inside of any portion of a domicile. We are talking about a house so what is done for commercial customers has very little bearing on the question. A change in the NID location must be done by utility personnel at the customers expense. If you DIY and the utility decides to make an issue of it that will get rather expensive very quickly.

-- Tom Horne

Reply to
HorneTD

What Tom Said.

Also, a tamper switch in the NID is quite silly anyway:

1) Loss of phone signal on an armed system will raise an alarm, on a disarmed system will raise a trouble code. 2) Kinda hard for me to believe that a burglar is going to open the NID to disable the phone line.

Don't move the NID. Bad, Bad idea.

Reply to
Matt

Subject: Re: Alarm system-telephone wire Newsgroup: alt.home.repair => Matt What Tom Said.

I was talking about tampering an outdoor NEMA type enclosure, that the NID would be mounted inside. The service drop would be in pipe leading up to it. It's disguised and hardened that way.

As far as moving the NID inside the premises, that is a risk I'm willing to take. But your advice and Horn's is a valid point.

Reply to
G. Morgan

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