We are installing a centrally monitored, wired alarm system in our house.
I noticed that the Network Interface device sits unprotected at waist level on the outside of the house. Even more concerning, the phone line enters and exits the box unprotected.
Other than paying for a radio link backup, what is the best way to "harden" the phone line?
- Would it make sense to encase it in electrical conduit at least until the wire is out of reach?
- If so, What type of conduit and fittings should one use so that it is both sufficiently tamper-proof and weather resistant?
Depending upon where the inside hydro panel is located, it might be best to dig down about two feet underground and drill through the basement wall, and remount everything inside the house. Although this can cause some inconvenience later when the telco has to visit to repair the local loop from the GWI to the house, it's nothing compared to the "inconvenience" of being broken into and having the monitoring non functional......
R.H.Campbell Home Security Metal Products Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
It is likely bet to check with your phone company first. However I suggest rather just moving it all in side, that it would be better to leave it all there. Bring the hot line inside as you suggest to a new box and run a new wire underground to nowhere. That way someone would think they have it and stop looking when in reality they just killed a dead line.
I have a friend who remodeled and moved the telco demarc inside his garage, leaving the old one sitting outside (unprotected, as you noted). A few months later his phone went out, and he called the telephone company for repair. The telco tech showed up and worked outside for a while, then finally came to the door and asked "how long has your telephone been out of service?". The tech had been testing the circuit up to the old demarc...never thinking that the circuit might have been moved inside.
If it is good enough to fool Bell South, it should be good enough to fool the thieves.
I'm dealing with the same issues right now, and am still having trouble with "hardened" or secure phone lines. There will be a weakness somewhere, whether it is at the entry point to your house or somewhere else between your house and the phone company. If you're a thorough theif, I assume you'd find and get into the green access box for the area and kill the line there. That way, you don't even have to worry about what you encounter at the premise itself.
Don't these alarms have some sort of backup system in place. I always assumed if the line was cut or disconnnected they called a friend or neighbor to investigate. Something of that nature. My buddy had his set up so that it also rang his cell phone if anything suspicious was going on.
Don't these alarms have some sort of backup system in place. I always assumed if the line was cut or disconnnected they called a friend or neighbor to investigate. Something of that nature. My buddy had his set up so that it also rang his cell phone if anything suspicious was going on.
Sir, no, not paranoid; just not being totally realistic given the nature of residential burglary.
If you were dealing with a commercial warehouse situation containing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of valuables, then I might be inclined to think as you do. However, the average house thief is one step up from an ant in intelligence and resourcefulness, and is far from a professional looking for a big commercial score. You give the average house burglar far too much credit ! He is far more likely to just kick in the weak strike of your front door, alarm or not, grab what he can, and run like hell. The alarm only means he might pass you by, or at the very most, spend less time in the home given that authorities could well be arriving shortly.
Again, nothing in security is absolute ! However, with all of these things, you are playing the odds ! And if you harden ALL the entrance areas of your home (and not just the phone line), you are far less likely to be the victim of a robbery. These idiots are lazy and stupid, and are looking for a way into anyone's home, not specifically yours. After all, they can find the same things in just about any house along the street, so why would they spend time breaking into your home if it's more difficult to get in to at the onset, and there is a chance of discovery vis a vis a monitored alarm after that. In most cases, they'll simply move along and look for "easier pick'ins".....
Move the demarc block inside, or do what the other gentleman suggested, then stop worrying about that part of the defence system. Spend time and money on hardening the locks and strikes of your main doors against kickin, secure your patio door properly, harden your basement and other low lying windows against easy entry, and that will do far more to keep the thugs out than unduly worrying about the phone line at locations away from the house (in my experience and opinion)
Simply walk around your house and see how you would enter if you were a young burglar looking for an easy score ! You'll probably guess correctly ! Then do something about it right away. Remember, your alarm system is NOT your first line of defence; it's your second line, and your backup, if they get past your first line of defence - the physical perimeter of your house !
In the old days, they didn't put moats and walls around castle communities for nothing....
R.H.Campbell Home Security Metal Products Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Perhaps I have misunderstood your answer, but the problem is that the wire comes in from above -- i.e my concern is the "drop" from where the line reaches my house at about 15 ft off the ground and then drops to the level of the basement. My question is about hardening this run by encasing it in conduit.
Remounting the network interface device internally won't help because an exposed wire still runs down the side of the house.
Not sure what underground has to do with it. The real problem in my mind is not the location of the box but the fact that a clearly exposed wire runs down the side of the house from the telephone cable above to the place where the wire enters the basement (independent of whether the network interface device is inside or outside). Does that makes any sense?
Yes, I see that on a lot of older homes. I don't have a proper answer to give you, nor a good way to actually harden the line in that situation. My only suggestion would be to reroute the cable into the house higher up at the second floor, but then you have the added difficulty of going from the upper floor to the basement inside the home.
Perhaps your best bet would be to consider one of the wireless backup communication solutions...
]"R.H.Campbell" writes: ]> Depending upon where the inside hydro panel is located, it might be best to ]> dig down about two feet underground and drill through the basement wall, and ]> remount everything inside the house. Although this can cause some ]> inconvenience later when the telco has to visit to repair the local loop ]> from the GWI to the house, it's nothing compared to the "inconvenience" of ]> being broken into and having the monitoring non functional...... ]> ]> R.H.Campbell ]> Home Security Metal Products ]> Ottawa, Ontario, Canada ]>
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]Perhaps I have misunderstood your answer, but the problem is that the ]wire comes in from above -- i.e my concern is the "drop" from where ]the line reaches my house at about 15 ft off the ground and then drops ]to the level of the basement. My question is about hardening this run ]by encasing it in conduit.
]Remounting the network interface device internally won't help because ]an exposed wire still runs down the side of the house.
Well, you could have the line go into the house right at the strain relief attachment to the house. However, the perp with a long pole tree trimmer could probably still cut it. A cell phone hookup is another possibility, until they come in with a jammer.
This subject comes up from time to time. The following is culled from earlier posts I made in reply to similar questions.
You can "harden" the line by enclosing it in galvanized, threaded pipe from a point that is difficult to reach if it's an aerial drop or from a cement pad if it's an "underground aerial" (strange, but that's what many telco's call a buried drop). The DIYer (or technician) can install some means of backup such as a cellular or control channel transmitter or even long range radio.
Another possibility (one which is significantly less expensive) is to harden the phone line. This is done either by moving the incoming line and the telco "demarc" (gray box on the side of the house) inside or protecting it with a heavy metal enclosure. C&C Products makes a fairly secure, tampered enclosure called VoiceLok for this purpose. Here's a link (my website) to the VoiceLok.
Generally threaded iron pipe is used, though normal EMT conduit should be okay. Most monitored systems respond in the phone line is dead, and an external alarm bell can be used as well. The best is a cell/radio backup of course.
My father, the locksmith had an answer that seems to make sense to all security issues.
The bad guys are lazy. That is why they are the bad guys. You only need to make your home less of a target than the home next door to avoid the problem. That means make it look like it will not be all the profitable to rob (no nice looking things visible) or make it look harder to get in safely.
I had a wealthy neighbor with lots of valuable art pieces etc in his home. However you could not see any of it from the outside and the outside of his home always showed considerable need of maintenance. Outside it was the shabbiest home around, but inside it was a wonderland. He never got hit.
I have been hit twice in 50 years. Someone store some tools out of my car (I was working on it under the dash at the time) and once they tried to get in a window. My cat jumping out of bed and into the hallway did the trick that time. I saw the flash light shine on the cat and everything got quiet. I called the cops who caught up with them at the next corner and found the minor damage to the widow. That window was the most hidden possible entrance to the home.
Ask for an underground line or add a cell phone device added to your security system. As also noted you may be able to have the line enter the home at some point out of reach.
My understanding is that, if your alarm system is actually monitored, then cutting the line will cause the alarm co. to react as if the alarm had gone off, so hardening it is pointless. Is there some reason why you don't trust the alarm company to answer these questions?
Sir, if you are using a conventional telephone line for monitoring, that is NOT the case. Your alarm panel is a passive device, only using the phone line when it needs to send test signals, alarms or other signals such as openings and closings. Cutting the phone line doesn't send anything to the central station because there is no phone line to do so.
Your alarm can be programmed to actually trigger the alarm in the event of loss of dial tone, but this is nothing but a "local" alarm. The central station doesn't know your alarm may not be working until the panel fails to send in its programmed daily or weekly test signal. If you are using some means of wireless backup, then the above doesn't apply, and your CS could well know of a line cut.
So hardening the phone lines CAN be a measure of additional security worth doing depending upon your particular situation...
R.H.Campbell Home Security Metal Products Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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