#RevsceneVLS General Chat SOCIAL LIFESTYLES ADSPACE AVAILABLE. CONTACT INFO@BLITZGEAR.COM 2016 VLS Community Head Moderator: SaucyWoman
2016 Social Media Liason: Blitzgear
@Revscene #RevsceneVLS. Vancouver LifeStyles Discussions: Car-free, political and current events, random thoughts, or topics that don't fit in the other forums. Remember to check out feature articles on the Main Website | |
03-06-2009, 08:11 PM
|
#1 | NOOB, Not Quite a Regular!
Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Burnaby
Posts: 43
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
| Home Alarms
Hi everyone,
I currently live in Surrey and my family's house doesn't have an alarm system so I'm not too familar with this topic. But, I recently purchased a townhome in Coquitlam. My question is: is it worth it to get the wireless alarms, or get one of those monthly monitoring services?
Any personal experiences, comments or suggestions welcome =)
thank-you
|
| |
03-07-2009, 11:12 AM
|
#2 | I *heart* Revscene.net very Muchie
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,905
Thanked 438 Times in 240 Posts
|
First off, how old is your town home? All of the newer builds I've seen have been pre-wired so you'll just need someone to come in and install the panel, contacts, motions, keypads, etc.
IMO it's not worth it to get a 100% wireless system. They will never be as reliable as wired systems, wireless contacts cost more and you will need to replace the batteries for each contact every couple of years. If this is a retrofit with no wiring in place I would consider a wired system with the cables fished and hidden. Wireless is the installer's lazy way out.
Monitoring service is related to your alarm system. When your alarm goes off, your system will dial out to the monitoring station and then they'll call your property references, and then police if needed. You can still have a local alarm system w/o monitoring.
EDIT: When choosing an alarm company, choose a reputable one based on what your friends and family have experienced good service from. The last thing you want to do is look in the phone book or listen to radio ads to find one. Bigger companies like ADT will do quick installs (2-3 hours tops) and their main focus is your monthly monitoring revenue, not a good install. Whereas companies like Alarm Force are targeted to people who are afraid of using their alarm systems... but they're also the laughing stock of the industry haha.
|
| |
03-08-2009, 07:47 PM
|
#3 | HELP ME PLS!!!
Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: here
Posts: 5,793
Thanked 146 Times in 67 Posts
|
if you have good neighbors and you know them, I wouldn't waste my time with monitoring. waste of money. 99% of thief's will just run out when the alarm goes off anyways (get some loud sirens and more then one). and good neighbors will check it out too, and can call police themselves for free.
if you have 100k worth of gold and cash laying around the house, that's another story, and I'd probably get monitoring. or if you don't trust any of your neighbors.
that said, alot of companys won't install unless you sign up for a monitor contact, so search around
|
| |
03-09-2009, 08:03 PM
|
#4 | MOD
Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: VANCOUVER
Posts: 26,849
Thanked 7,553 Times in 1,957 Posts
|
yes, most have a 3 year contract.
|
| |
03-18-2009, 12:26 AM
|
#5 | I *heart* Revscene.net very Muchie
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,905
Thanked 438 Times in 240 Posts
| Quote:
Originally Posted by johny if you have good neighbors and you know them, I wouldn't waste my time with monitoring. waste of money. 99% of thief's will just run out when the alarm goes off anyways (get some loud sirens and more then one). and good neighbors will check it out too, and can call police themselves for free.
if you have 100k worth of gold and cash laying around the house, that's another story, and I'd probably get monitoring. or if you don't trust any of your neighbors.
that said, alot of companys won't install unless you sign up for a monitor contact, so search around | Good neighbors don't exist anymore. When was the last time you paid attention to a neighbor's car or home alarm and did something about it?
Monitoring works on the same principle as the alarm system itself. Security companies can never guarantee you won't get broken into just because you have an alarm or monitoring. Monitoring gives the owner piece of mind. In the event of a break-in the owner will be notified and the police will be called.
|
| |
03-18-2009, 07:33 AM
|
#6 | RS.net, where our google ads make absolutely no sense!
Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: GTA
Posts: 960
Thanked 9 Times in 6 Posts
|
You might also want to consider a company which allows at least 1 false alarm a year without charging you a penalty. Meaning they won't bill you a $100.00 if your alarm is accidently set off and police are dispatched. This sort of situation is bound to come up every now and then, especially if you give guest access to your house when you're not around.
|
| |
02-21-2012, 04:06 PM
|
#7 | My homepage has been set to RS
Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Van
Posts: 2,082
Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
|
anyone recommend a good installer. I have all the parts.
|
| | |
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:46 PM. |