Extending an alarm wire

May 03, 2018 55 Replies

If it's wired with a separate tamper loop, they're never going to be sure which colour wires are which, and if it uses resistors any cutting/shorting is going to trigger it anyway.

I presume they're either 'clever' enough to avoid places with an alarm, or 'dumb' enough to assume it will go off and they have a few minutes to grab and run anyway ... FSVO clever or dumb.

I suppose it it worth mentioning again that 9 out of 10 of the alarms that I fit (other than new builds) are fitted about a week after the house has been burgled.

Yes - I'd guess most would either be an alarm expert and capable of getting round the security systems, or not. Only a very thick burglar would simply cut the cable.

Yup. I've lived here for a long time, and the area has changed a lot. I obviously could afford this area when I moved in, but zero chance if doing the same now.

I had one 'successful' burglary and a couple of attempts before fitting an alarm some 30 years ago, and since then none. But just how well it has acted as a deterrent rather than just the area changing, I dunno.

The whole point of alarms is to make the scum go and burgle your neighbour.

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I know this isn't why they're fitted, but it's quite "normal" for the burglars to come back in a few weeks to steal all the new shiny things the insurance payout has bought.

Haven't you been watching the latest films and TV programs? All you need is a box with flashing LEDs connected by two wires with croc clips.

Getting into security systems is in the same league as obtaining high resolution pictures from a single pixel on a camera.

Its more difficult with modern systems, they can use end of line terminations so they can detect cuts, shorts and changes in resistance.

The old Chubb systems I used to work on 40 years ago were easy to hack if you knew how.

They can use EOL if they want. The first thing to disable is the bell box. Five minutes job done and the ladders are back on the van.

Taking the cover off mine will sound the alarm in both bell boxes. They probably think one is a dummy so will not be prepared.

They probably won't cut the phone either.

Quite often exactly a week later. The insurance money has been spent on replacing whatever was stolen and the burglars know from their previous visit that the householder is most probably out.

Add in that any windows or doors that were forced will probably not have been fixed to be completely secure: it's much faster to replace a laptop than it is to replace a back door and frame.

I doubt it. Which insurance company will pay out in a week? I've just made a travel insurance claim, where we had a 100% squeaky clean justification and full documentation and it still took them about six weeks. Insurance companies are only quick and efficient at collecting premiums.

Sounds optimistic, a colleague was burgled just after xmas, he only got the payment through last week to go out and replace stuff ...

We were burgled on a Friday. I reported it on the Friday, and emailed details of how much on Friday evening. The money was in my account by close of business on Monday.

Not true with our burglary. One working day.

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