Guide to wiring a buglar alarm

[alarm man]

Guide to wiring a buglar alarm.

[Owain]

I wonder if it also works with trombonists and bagpipers.

Owain

[james]

system or crappy solar powered one. You're better off using a monitored system or one with a phone dialler connected up. No one takes any notice of alarms now as they are going off all the time.

[Clint Sharp]

In message , alarm man writes

has entered their premises?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Then it's time to make friends with your neighbours. I'd not ignore a neighbour's one going off.

[Andrew Gabriel]

In terms of protecting your home, there are other things you should tackle before thinking about a burglar alarm.

Firstly, make sure the physical security is up to scratch -- working locks to appropriate standards used correctly, external doors and windows of appropriate strength and condition, etc.

Secondly, a working neighbourhood watch scheme or everyone knowing their neighbours well enough that they keep an eye out on each others' homes anyway, and alert each other to any issues.

Only then might it be worth looking at an alarm, but you have to ask yourself what you want it to achieve. Most burglaries are over in 90 seconds, which is quite likely before a call will have even been put though to the police by any monitoring station, so it's not likely that monitored alarm will get you any extra protection against burglary than a cheap system. It would enable you to be informed that a break-in had occured though, as would a phone dialler. However, this is where your neighbour relationships come in again -- the alarm can serve to warn them, and a 999 call from one of them saying they can see you being burgled will get a much faster response than an alarm monitoring centre police call-out. Also, monitored alarms with police call-out are not available on DIY alarm installation, so of little interest in this newsgroup. You may be able to get alarm monitoring with no police call-out on DIY installations.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Now that's a good idea. Instead of a siren, a recording of bagpipes played very loud. Would put the fear of gawd into any burglar.

[Bob Eager]

You've all got it wrong. He's talking about an alarm to wake himself up in the mornings. Generally, these alarms play "Reveille" very loudly.

[Owain]

Actually, I have such a contraption, although it's usually Cwm Rhondda and Hail Caledonia rtaher than Reveille.

I must point the horn speaker out of the window at 5 am one morning and see how the students across the road like it.

Owain

[Bob Eager]

Actually, I used a time switch from an electric cooker as an alarm clock for years. Connected to a tape player, lined up at the start of the 'clock' sequence on Dark Side of the Moon!

I keep meaning to wire up the doorbell to a 'dive, dive' type klaxon.....!

[Guy King]

The message from "Bob Eager" contains these words:

I know someone who, on a suburban semi, had a door-pull that launched a recording of a really deep bell tolling slowly. Dead impressive.