You are correct. A correctly installed system shouldn't give false alarms. In my first home, it never happened for as long as I lived there (years). In my 2nd home, it did give false alarms for the first month till I had it adjusted correctly. Hasn't happened since for over a decade and counting. I've tripped it myself by accident so in that case I just shut it off or reset it.
The one we had installed in the restaurant went off almost daily. Fu__ing thing was LOUD too. Often the cops would be there to help me open.
I like fake or real visible cameras. If they are real, you got video. You also can see outside. I got some fake ones.
Greg
When I lived in Abq. I had some problems with a wacko neighbor. A exterior camera would have been nice but lighting, cost and maintenance kept me from doing it. Didn't think about a fake one.
Anymore you gotta be real careful. Big Brother might be watching anywhere. ;)
Something DEFINITELY wrong then. At my brother's shop he has has 2 false alarms. One was when a jack handle fell on the floor and triggered a glass break alarm, and the other was after the overhead door company seviced the roll-up door - and we had a REAL strong noth wind that pushed the top panel of the door in JUST enough to trigger the door micro-switch (magnetic reed switch). I re-adjusted the door and it has never happened again - that's in 16 years.
Ya think? ;)
It would really piss me off when it went off in the middle of the night and I was the closest manger so I always got the call.
It was one of those tied into the flashing fire lights. Sort of like a scene out of the movie Aliens. A great way to start the pre-dawn day. When you're hung-over even better. :)
I think we never got it fixed for numerous reasons. It's been almost 20 years ago.
The church I used to belong to decided it was a good idea to install an alarm system. The doors were open all day with the alarm shut off - so anyone could walk in and walk out with anything they wanted - but they had to have an alarm for when the doors were locked.
Couldn't get people with keys trained to shut the bloody thing off when entering after hours - and being I lived only 2 blocks away, I was the one that had to respond to the alarm when it went off.
The other problem was getting the last person to leave to lock ALL the doors. Several times the wind caused an unlocked door to open, tripping the alarm in the middle of a nasty winter storm at 2am.
When nothing changed after 2 years I told them they had to find someone else to wake up in the middle of the night.
Someone here uses the tag line, "when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
You want them away from the house and afraid to even try an actual break-in. Lights on motion detectors are the first line of defense. Next is an intrusion alarm for the doors and windows. That too, should turn on some light and sound an alarm.
Really? What if you come in second place in the contest? I'm prepared to defend my self and family, but my first preference is to avoid the confrontation. I don't practice with a gun every day so reality is, for safety, I'd rather keep it at the ready, but never used.
No extremes, but good locks are a start. Simple things like drilling through the window frame and inserting a nail helps keep them from being pried.
Yes
They are now considered a code violation in many places. One morning many years ago though, I found my back door window broken, but no entry thanks to a double key lock.
Real ones are better
Trying to recall the conversation I had about 14 years ago, I think what you said has to do with the type of windows. I admit tho, you are making me struggle to remember what I was told back then.
In my old house I think I had what you mentioned on my windows and in one case, I believe it saved my house from a break in. I was very glad I had an alarm.
Agreed. There are a lot of ways to help prevent falsing and I'd investigate those before deciding I didn't want the protection of an alarm just because of the false triggers. Sometimes it means switching to different kinds of sensors.
About 20 years ago when I installed my systems (there are three - two have to agree to send an alarm to the central station) I had no end of trouble with glass-break detectors going off whenever there was a thunderstorm so I removed them all. I used thin metal foil varnished onto the window (very old school!) to replace the glassbreaks on the rear basement windows, a favorite entry point for thieves. I covered the glass top half of the basement door (people were SO trusting 80 years ago) with thick bullet-proof Lexan I got when a local plastics place went under and had a fire sale.
I understand glass-break detectors have gotten much, much better and I may reconsider them, but they were almost guaranteed to false with enough thunder present. It may still be a problem because whenever there's a loud enough thunderclap, four or five car alarms start sounding.
Most insurers will give you a discount for a central station alarm. If you have a claims history for burglary, they may DEMAND it.
-- Bobby G.
Often it's user error. Sometimes it's bad design. In either case, it's not impossible to figure out what causes the falsing and to get rid of it.
-- Bobby G.
news:4f7f07eb$0$30079$ snipped-for-privacy@cv.net:
there is: a dog. If
somewhere else. They're
I have both a real dog (JRT) and an electronic dog:
There's also a unit out that simulates a TV using LEDs. Very low power drain and very useful to give a house that lived-in look.
-- Bobby G.
lets all remember if someone wants in bad enough they will find a way: (
its best to keep a low profile, valuables not in plain site, dont tell anyone i have a diamond in the cookie jar, stuff like this is near free and mostly effective.
dead bot locks where the dead bolt goes not only thru the plate but into and thru a 2 by 4 stud wall saved me once.
having the home look lived in, with lights on timers etc, getting someone to pick up mail and phone books and trash left around yard helps too.
ultimattely if they want in bad enough they will get in.......
My friend, I think you're right. Of course, burglars are lazy. So, if your house is protected, they will go to a different house. You can expect HeBe-ub to give you grief, now. Read the "who is it" thread to understand why.
Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus
its best to keep a low profile, valuables not in plain site, dont tell anyone i have a diamond in the cookie jar, stuff like this is near free and mostly effective.
dead bot locks where the dead bolt goes not only thru the plate but into and thru a 2 by 4 stud wall saved me once.
having the home look lived in, with lights on timers etc, getting someone to pick up mail and phone books and trash left around yard helps too.
ultimattely if they want in bad enough they will get in.......
My friend, I have known people whose pets got diabetes. No fun at all. You can expect HeBe-ub to give you grief, now. Read the "who is it" thread to understand why.
Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus
Hi, I just lost our 10 yo Aussie shepherds. One of best dogs we had. It developed a severe case of diabetes, went blind last year and quit eating couple weeks ago. We had to have him put down. We already have replacement in the house. After, I found out this breed is prone to diabetes due to it's genetics. Don't let your dog go over weight, that is warning sign.
"home guy" always demonstrates that he is totally incapable of any reasoned or logical thinking...
I guess I am confused. You imagine you live in a perfect place where there is sunshine every day and the animals sing. So why did you go through the effort to install an alarm in your perfect place?
I am really confused now. "home guy" says EVERYONE in Canada knows that it is superior to the US and you don't?
I don't know about Canada, but when I checked about a year ago here in the USA there was quite a big price differential between a monitored service you can get via phone or internet connection and one that includes cellular backup. You could be paying $50 more a month for the cellular one. Whether it's worth it depends on what you have to protect, how prevalent crime is in your area, etc. I suspect any system that goes off is going to send 99% of the thieves running. You could probably find a sticker that says "Protected by a cellular system", even if you don't have one, which might add some discouragement.
I think for most people seeking one, a good system that is installed correctly, with loud sirens inside and outside the house, that is monitored in some way can be effective.
As for the OP's silent alarm so that police can catch the burglar, forget that. Police get lots of alarm calls and almost all of them are false. There is no guarantee as to how fast they will respond. You want the perp detered before he actually enters the building if possible. An alarm going off when they force a door or break glass can do that.
Same thing for the silent alarm so you can use your gun to defend your property. You want the burglar defeated before they even enter the house, by the alarm going off. Or failing that, as soon after they enter the house as possible. The gun is for last resort.
Also, some mention was made of having the alarm system contact a neighbor. In most cases, I think that is a bad idea with all kinds of problems. Ranging from the neighbor getting false alarm calls at 3AM. To, what do you want the neighbor to do? Go over and find out if a burglar is really there? How about the burglar attacks them or since the alarm should also have gone to the police, they show up and the neighbor winds up against the wall or worse?
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