Need some advice on choosing a wireless alarm system

[JP]

Hi all,

I'm moving to Brunei in a couple of months and have been advised to buy
a wireless alarm system to take with me as they're hard to get out
there. I can't use a wired system, because I'll be in rented
accomodation. The sort of specs I think I need are as follows.

Main control box, with a wired external siren box.
Couple of door sensors
Some window sensors
3-4 PIR sensors
3-4 zones (including a zone for a garage)
Have one zone alarmed (garage) while in house
Backup battery (in case of brownouts)
Wallwart type power supply, so I can get a local one of correct voltage.

Optional extras that might be handy.
Ability to dial out to a cell phone with a message
Ability to connect to a computer etc to send an email
Ability to connect a camera for motion sensing (could have a computer do
this)
Ability to connect to home automation systems

The optional extras are just that. Primarily I'm looking for a system
that is easy to install, will cover the areas I need and be reasonably
cheap $2-400.

Could anyone offer suggestions of makes/models of kits that might be
suitable. I looked around and most of the ones I found don't seem to
have an external siren option (good for deterrent) or come with only a
couple of window sensors and a single PIR. You then pay a lot for the
extras to expand the system. By the way there is no monitoring facility
out there, so I don't need a system that can do that.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

J.

 

[dep_blueman]

You could do the low end of what you are asking for with a Lynx system
from ADEMCO.

I did a quick shopping cart test at one of the online stores that has
them and you can get the following for ~$500...

1 Main control box, with a wired external siren box. (Lynx unit is
keypad and dialer all in one and you can wire a siren box to it if you
like)
4 door/window sensors
3 PIR sensors
Backup battery (in case of brownouts)(via 4 AA NiMH batteries; not
great but would likely hold for a few hours)
Wallwart type power supply, so I can get a local one of correct
voltage.

We had one in a house we purchased and it seemed to work well. We
replaced it with a hardwire system but if you can run wire then IMO
this might be a workable solution. Based on what I saw of our system
it would be really easy to install and remove. It does X10 but we did
not test that so I can't say how well it works.

There are others out there as well that might be less $s. See
www.ademco.com for details.

-D

 

[Jakes452]

Man are you taking a chance asking this group for help. Be sure to keep
both hands on your wallet and double check you locks at night. This
place is a den of thieves and scammers. Even in Bruneiyou are at risk.

If your a DIYer be sure to closely investigate (primarily if you
buy online) any of the online alarm seller, especially if they claim a ASA
certification (see that later). You wouldn't want to buy from someone
whose
sideline is understanding your alarm system for the purpose of exploiting it
later byknowing your codes or maintenance access numbers. They could call
up your alarm and do any number of things to disable it or render it
ineffective without your knowledge..ever.
Be wary of those who do not have a brick and mortar store.

When I was shopping and using this newsgroup some online dealers advertised
a ASA certification with a picture of a ASA emblem shown on their website.
It gives a good first impression but when you look into it you find out that
it was nothing more then some....guy.... creating a website to supposedly
post complaints, with no entries of complaints or follow-through. It was
analogous to someone flashing a police badge that turns out to be fake. The
ASA moniker is a badge without any accreditation and surely this is
misleading and potentially a scam.

Some of the free advice you get is not because of someone's unselfish need
to
make the world a better place to live. Most are giving you advice on the
hope of getting a sale or...."other" information. Listen but don't act on
the advice until you can confirm or gain some trust in the source by
researching them.

Sometimes you can learn a lot about sellers by plugging in email address or
screenname into a Google search of past news postings. You will be
surprised, .....no..MAKE THAT SHOCKED..... at what you find out about those
offering to outfit your alarm.

This is a very unregulated online business, and especially risky for
something as important as your home security.

good luck....and look for help somewhere else!

 

[JP]

Wow, you sure do get some interesting replies here.

First, I realise from reading through past posts that I have to be
careful who I buy from. However, as I would be doing the install myself
in a country halfway around the world on a non-monitored alarm, I don't
think I'm going to have any problems there with people knowing how to
get into the house. Nor with poor installation practices, because I'm
not going to want to pay the travel charge for someone to come and do
that . This is another reason I'm looking for a wireless system.

Second, the area I'm going to be living in, is a neighbourhood solely of
people working for the same company. there have been a number of
burglaries, because the community have a relatively high standard of
living, so I'm looking for a system that will notify me/my neighbours of
a break-in so that the local security can be called, and to discourage
the thieves from choosing my house to target.

My main purpose in posting here was to find out if what I wanted to do
was realistic with products currently on the market, and to get some
opinions on the different products available and their
reliability/quality etc.

It seems as though the number of PIR's I planned to use is what will
make the system more expensive than I first thought, but I think they're
more useful as we will have a house with a lot of windows/patio doors,
so I figured that pir's would be a more convenient way of covering the
area.

Thanks and I look forward to hearing more from you all.

Cheers,

J.

PS thanks for the link to the ademco lynx, that looks promising.

 

[Jakes452]

that would be very naive of you.

 

[Aegis]

Agreed. PIR's were never meant to be a means of 'primary' protection. Cover
your perimeter, THEN start placing PIR's for interior space protection as a
backup.

 

[Paul]

True, in Brussels you can't find the usual low quality US wireless
alarm systems because they are not certified for the CE.

In europe you have a wide choice of equipments with my favored the
french dual band dual frequency type. It don't avoid Radio Frequency
Interferences (RFI) but make the chances to have a double RFI low and
halve the risk that your system is muzzled to dead by an outside low
power transmitter without warning.

Paul