Alarm

[Ed]

Regards..How much should I pay for a wired alarm system 5 movement detectors

2 door switches outdoor siren and strobe plus dummy box and indoor siren ? any ideas of cost or suggestions ? Thank you E

[Colin Wilson]

If you want to DIY it...

PIRs are dirt cheap (=A35-=A310 each max for a standard detector), panels= =20 will probably set you back about =A335, and I didn`t think anyone actually= =20 bothered with door switches any more !

As for fitting a dummy box, considering the time spent up a ladder=20 fitting the damn thing, you might as well spend the extra =A312 and get a= =20 real one !

Try checking out the prices here (watch the wrap) :

`re probably easy enough for a DIY install in most circumstances=20 too...

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[Dorothy Bradbury]

Also consider not putting the alarm on your house insurance: o Discounts are often small - and a great get-out clause for insurers o Installation & Maintenance - insurers often require approved on both

Texecom are a common brand and quite good. Watch choice of PIRs if you have pets - and take care with cables, route them carefully and finding a staple through one spoils your day.

One big benefit of them is their fire/smoke capability: o Kitchen - don't fit smoke, fit a heat-detector

---- particularly if anyone has a habit of unattended barbecues o Hall - smoke detector outside bedroom area

---- benefit is 12V powered off the alarm & battery backup

The Panic alarm is handy, site carefully re main bedroom/hall.

Better to use PIRs than window contacts, although if you get one with an LCD display you can program it to tell you which window you left open. That's useful for forgotten larder or utility room windows, and when you can't figure out what Zone 7 really is or such like :-)

Fitting a larger battery if you live in the country is a good idea, since power tends to be more variable - and avoid fridge/other power circuits.

Every wired device you add means more cable - although some systems use a chip to help minimise cabling, many systems exist. Well worth adding an alarm if only for the fire/smoke protection, re security it is not going to stop a determined thief - it simply moves them on to the next victim who hasn't installed one (or of course doesn't arm the thing).

Re nighttime security, it seems having a separate bedroom keypad for the night-alarm enablement makes people use it more often v forgetting. That comes down to personal preference and who is last to bed etc :-)

DIY isn't difficult, but under floors don't feed them thro the same hole in joists as power cables (yet I bet the majority are) and don't put them where floorboard nails or flexing can damage them. That latter point is a common cause of nuisance "24/7 security loop" tripping years later.

LCD ones can be easier for other familly members to set, as they can be programmed to give useful messages instead of like programming a VCR. Don't power the unit off an RCD protected circuit (someone takes out a security light & waits for the often years old alarm battery to run flat). Lighting is as much a part of security as the alarm of course, without a recourse to 500W helicopter search lights burning cats fur off at 50ft.

[Colin Wilson]

Both good points !

If the alarm ever failed, they`d try to wriggle out of paying if you had=20 it declared.

AFAIK the "pet" PIRs just don`t scan as low in the room, so may miss=20 considerable gaps in coverage, so positioning may be more critical.

I have to admit I did once put a staple through someones alarm while=20 running a phone extension for them... I was expecting a call for weeks=20 afterwards :-}

And dirt cheap... wow they`re almost a fiver now - the last ones I bought= =20 (cased in metal) were about =A33.50 !

Basic panels like the Optima are easy enough to program for basic use=20 despite no fancy display - from memory they`re something like this...

to activate : SET to omit a zone : OMIT SET to deactivate :

As long as you have a list of zones stuck near the panel you`re laughing

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[Ed]

I don't think I could do it [Aged] How much do you think a professional would charge to do the job. Thanks E

[Graham Wilson]

My parents had a burglar alarm fitted that included a smoke detector.

The smoke detector was a conventional device and situated in the hallway cose to the kitchen. The whole street knew when dinner was ready!

We had a panic button fitted in the hallway. The only problem was my little nephew could reach the button and as a result he kept setting it off. Oh, let's play with grandma's alarm system. Ahhhhh!

Graham

[Graham Wilson]

You can actually pay for an add on to some insurance policies. This covers you even in the event that you forgot to set the alarm.

It is certainly available on some commercial insurance policies. Has anyone come across it in residential policies?

If you want ultimate protection fit smokecloak. Not cheap though.

Smokecloak is a unit that is secured to the wall near the ceiling. It looks like a wall mounted hi-fi speaker.

If the alarm is activated then the unit releases a dense fog into the room. The fog is similar to the "smoke" used in smoke generation machines in nightclubs. (The unit can be topped up again and again).

The only difference is that the fog generated by this unit spreads rapidly, is more dense and hangs in the air for much longer.

The unit will fill the entire room in seconds. Visibility drops to zero. You can't see anything. The system will keep topping the fog up should any escape through doors or windows.

The police love the system. Our local police said that they were called to a break-in at a school that was fitted with the same system.

The 3 lads that got into the building could not find their way back out. When the police turned up the lads were sitting on the floor. When one of the police officers climbed through the broken window he nearly stepped on one of the intruders. Apparently, they were sitting about 6 feet from the window but could not find their way out.

Graham

[Alan]

In message , Colin Wilson wrote

Be careful with placing a PIR in a hallway. If it is facing your front door a the postman puts a large cold package through your letterbox into your centrally heated hall the sensor will detect it :(

My sensor is now above the front door pointing the other way and angled to miss anything landing on the door mat :)

[Dave Stanton]

The other point about being approved is that your alarm is fitted in the same way as hundreds of others, so light fingred fred might learn how they are fitted and find some way to avoid it. If you fit it yourself, he wont know what you have done.

Dave

[PJ]

Anything from £100 pounds up to around £1500 depending if you want s**te or a top notch high security jobbie.

Sensibly though if you pay less than £350 it's probably crap or badly installed or both.

[PJ]

If you want to DIY it...

PIRs are dirt cheap (£5-£10 each max for a standard detector), panels will probably set you back about £35, and I didn`t think anyone actually bothered with door switches any more !

£5 for a PIR... it s**te then. Hoiw many false alarms don't you want!

As for fitting a dummy box, considering the time spent up a ladder fitting the damn thing, you might as well spend the extra £12 and get a real one !

Plus the wiring, time, etc.

[Owain]

"Dorothy Bradbury" wrote | The Panic alarm is handy, site carefully re main bedroom/hall.

A (concealed) panic button in the bathroom or loo can be a good idea. In a hold-up or hostage situation the bathroom is usually the only place the occupants will be allowed to go to unaccompanied, especially if it's an internal room, and often it's also the only room that can be locked from inside, forming a place of refuge. Silent alarms should preferably be used if there is a real risk of hostage situation to avoid retaliation.

Of course, these irritating precautions wouldn't be necessary if Barratt et al built proper homes with ramparts, portcullis and moat.

Owain

[PJ]

AFAIK the "pet" PIRs just don`t scan as low in the room, so may miss considerable gaps in coverage, so positioning may be more critical.

Not the case these days. Pet PIR's are now programmed and are no longer simply a single plane detector.

And dirt cheap... wow they`re almost a fiver now - the last ones I bought (cased in metal) were about £3.50 !

Adn you expect quality for £3.50 do you?

Basic panels like the Optima are easy enough to program for basic use despite no fancy display - from memory they`re something like this...

to activate : SET to omit a zone : OMIT SET to deactivate :

Zzzzzzzz,zzz,zzzzz

As long as you have a list of zones stuck near the panel you`re laughing

Why? Will the list be funny? I've never laughed at a zone list. There again I have an iD system so I don't need a zone list !

[PJ]

Why don't you phone some and ask? Also ask your local Police crime prevention officer. They'll give advice of a much higher quality than most of the dick heads here.

[PJ]

Oh dear, that old chestnut. Oh Please!

[PJ]

Ah! didumms

[Dave Stanton]

OK, so you know how I have mine wired ?. Picking holes in everyones posts today are we, no mates to play with today then ?

Dave

[Dave Stanton]

Old Billy no mates today, I think someones taken his ball and wont let him play.

Dave

[PJ]

Errrr, we're in the UK. Not Iraq!

[Lurch]

On Sat, 28 Aug 2004 01:47:25 +0100, Colin Wilson strung together this:

Not actually.

to activate : _or_ SET

Typing SET will arm the system within 3 secs so that before you get to the door the entry alarm starts but you don't realise so just after you've got out the door and locked it the alarm goes off. (Just one of the mysterious 'faults' that took ages to find!)