Home burglar alarm - wireless, text

[James Harris]

Unfortunately, because of an incident the other day I think I need to install a burglar alarm. I wondered if you had some recommendations.

My own thoughts:

• Simple bell types end up being little more than an annoyance to neighbours. A dummy alarm might be better.

• Monitored types come with regular payment costs. Police are unlikely to have the capacity to investigate every time they go off.

But with modern technology there are surely some better options, notably:

• Rather than the alarm annoying neighbours or the police the alarm could silently send a text to a few mobile phone numbers when it is triggered and/or via broadband.

• Images could be made available via broadband to a phone app. Something using open standards would be better than a closed, proprietary system.

• Rather than running wires around the house, detectors (open/closed and motion) could wirelessly send to the base unit, though to be practical their batteries would need to last for a long time, and have an LED to indicate state.

Any corrections to my ideas? Any suggestions for a system that will do the kind of thing that I have in mind?

[Huge]

I am told that burglars can recognise a dummy bell box. I do not know any burglars to check this with. Genuine ADT bell boxes are available (for a price) on eBay.

IMNHO, dummy bell boxes (and indeed, exterior bells) are a waste of time and money. All they will do is annoy your neighbours.

They don't. Monitored alarms report to a monitoring station who decide whether to "police" the incident. That decision is based on the number of sensors that have tripped (they will not police an incident where a single sensor has tripped) and whether they can get in touch with you.

If there are more than a (small, diminishing) number of false alarms in a year, the police will no longer come at all.

No-one will accept a monitoring contract for a self-installed alarm.

Depends who it alerts. Our alarm triggered a couple of weeks ago. We were in Vancouver. The previous time it triggered (years ago), we were in Malta. Both times, the alarm monitoring company sent a "patrolman" who sorted things out. Being alerted is useless if you can't do anything about it. And you're going to run out of friends quite quickly if your alarm keeps waking them up at

3am.

The batteries in our wireless system last at least a year.

If you want a monitored DIY system, there is no such thing.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Absolutely no problem. Mine phones my mobile if it is set off. Can phone more than one number too. The external bellbox isn't essential to the operation - and could be flashing light only, if you still wanted one as a visible deterrent. (If you think such things work)

[Brian Gaff]

Is your property alarmed? Yes its bloody scared out of its mind.

Brian

[Dave Liquorice]

I'd like to know who goes around frightening emergency exit doors.

[The Other John]

[ARW]

From VIZ magazine"I am always told not to run or panic if there is a fire, so why is there a picture of a bloke legging it on every emergency exit sign?"

[ARW]

Depends if you have CCTV that is on the internet.

You can have an alarm call you if it activates and you can watch your CCTV on your smart phone when it calls you.

How DIY monitored could that be?

[ARW]

I can often spot a dummy box. I can also disable most working bell boxes without setting them off [1] and in most cases I could do this if I wanted by not alerting the neighbours that anything is amiss.

Burglars that target your typical home are opportunists and smack heads. They do not know the difference between a dummy box and a dummy box with a flashing light or a working bell box. They just go further down the street to the house with no bell box.

[1] And that includes the ADT ones.

[Max Demian]

If there is a sign saying, "In case of fire, break glass," do you set the alarm off just *in case* there's a fire?

[ARW]

Only if it's a case of wine.

[Huge]

Yep, you can sit on a lounger in Spain and watch someone steal your telly.

Great.

[alan_m]

Honeywell?

If you are considering an alarm system that notifies you by way of the mobile phone network consider the SIM card that you may fit. You want one where the credit doesn't run out each month and you may need to avoid some of the network providers.

See the whole thread

$20giff$20gaff$20alarm/uk.d-i-y/s5hkbwo_Ggs/eyYxhmvBAgAJ

[ARW]

Not for me. I don't have one. Have you seen the s**te they broadcast?

[PeterC]

On a bus: 'Toughened glass, use hammer to break' Hammer in box with glass front, on glass: 'Toughened glass'

Where's me 'ammer when I need it!

[Michael Chare]

I have a Texecom Premier Elite with a wired module. I get an email and mobile notification if the alarm is triggered.

(Self installed system)

My system is wired, but Texecom do offer wireless components.

[Max Demian]

In another box with a glass front...

[Huge]

And that's incredibly useful if, e.g., you're in Vancouver, as I was the last time my system went off.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Get it to contact the key holder while you're away.

[ARW]

How did you know it went off:-)?