Wireless Burgler/Home Alarm System

[EgNyTeR]

I'm interested in purchasing a wireless home alarm system for my place and was wondering if anyone had any recomendations?

I've looked at all those companies such as ADT, Alarmforce, and Brinks . . . I don't like the fact that I need to pay a monthly fee for monitoring. I just need a system for deterent purposes and my neighbors are always home. If they hear a siren they'll call the police for me.

I've look at some systems on eBay which are pretty good in price but look kinda ghetto. Does anyone have any experience with wireless DIY systems? Where can I buy them locally?

I know there's a company called ROCKMOUNT Security Solutions but I'm not sure how good those systems are.

http://rockmountelectronics.com/stor...index&cPath=21

Any help would greatly be appreciated . . . thanks

[syee]

I use this at home. It's pretty ghetto but to be honest, it does what it's supposed to.

Basically all the one I bought does is have a few wireless sensors that connect to the base station. Base station is hooked up to a phone line (and has a 9V battery backup) and calls the numbers it's got programmed into it if any of the motion sensors are tripped.

The only problem I've really had with them are that the sensors are pretty budget, so they sometimes get "stuck" on. (i.e. it thinks that there's something there when there isn't). Because of that, I have to go walk by the sensor to reset it. I've had one of them die on me, but the motion sensors are so cheap (<$10 each), I usually just go buy another one.

If you're looking for something top notch and reliable, then these wireless ones may not be for you. If you're just looking for something that'll give you a warning when a motion detector gets tripped, then this will work.

You may want to check into how the sirens work though. The kit that I bought works of the power line. (i.e. it's kinda like the power line networks) Hence that means I can only put the siren inside. While it's painfully loud inside, you can't really hear it outside so your neighbors might not be able to hear it.

[mickz]

ADT, Alarmforce, etc. are all about the monitoring. They'll give you 1 keypad, 1 door contact and 1 motion detector for something outrageous like $99 if you lock down on a long term monitoring contract. These types of installations are only ideal for people who want to save a bit on their insurance, there's no real sense of deterrence with these.

I'd get an alarm company to get it done properly. I wouldn't trust that particular brand you posted for a number of reasons.

1) Price. You get what you pay for. A wireless keyfob from DSC will already run you in the $100 range. If you're getting two keyfobs, a keypad, a motion and a contact all for $150 that should tell you something. I can guarantee that cheap alarm system will be so false alarm prone in a matter of days you'll stop wanting to use it because it becomes an annoyance.

2) How everything is laid out. Normally in an alarm system you'd have your control panel tucked away somewhere in your house far, far away from your keypads and sirens. So if you were to try to attempt and disable the system by tampering with the keypads (like they do in the movies) the siren would still go off.

It looks like the Rockmount one has everything built into one unit. If somebody were to break into your home all they would have to do is take a hammer to the keypad and it's game over. No siren, no dialing, nothing. Better yet I like how they supply a power adapter with the system. Picture this, somebody breaks into your home and sees your keypad with wire leading to a power adapter plugged into the wall. Someone could just unplug it and easily defeat your alarm system. Any good alarm system should have their AC Supply hardwired to a transformer.

If you decide to get an alarm company to come in to do your installation I also would not go the wireless route if possible. Wireless systems are less reliable compared to hardwired. You will also have to replace the batteries in each wireless contact about once a year depending on how much traffic the contact gets. A wireless contact costs way more than a hardwired contact. You may pay a little bit more for the labor for the hardwired contact up front but over a period of time the hardwired is more dependable , less expensive and less hassle to maintain.

[!Aznboi128]

^ that's awesome info,

For my hardwire alarm by dsc, one thing I would suggest is dual alarm, I got one inside and one outside (hidden and out of reach) this way others outside cab hear it too, works well. Loud as f**k
Posted via RS Mobile