Home security system

[truckracer]

I recently ordered a new home security system for my house. My house is already wired and presently has a security system. I wanted a more up to date system with advanced features.

I ordered a General Electric interlogix nx-8 caddx panel with three lcd keypads and more two stage microwave/infrared motion detectors.

The website i ordered from gave me what i feel like is a good deal for the hardware. I noticed on the website while shopping, they had an online message forum. Of course i was interested because their forum was set up very kind of like this one with several discussion areas concerning security systems and installations.

After reading along, i was quite offended. The whole discussion board was littered with posts trashing those of us who "do it ourselfs" and were quite rude.
Many of these posts were from people claiming to be "professionals".

This website does sell to individuals who desire to do their own installations.

I feel like that their are a lot of technically inclined people who can handle their own installations. people who step up to the plate and take the initiative to learn about something and reap the rewards from their success rate an A+ in my book.

Just like our hobby here on this website, all of us may not be "professionals" but i have seen some great looking installs via pics posted on this site. I would put the knowlege of most of the members on this site against the "professional" satellite installer. I bet most of us would come out pretty good. I am not saying that we know everything there is to know, but no one should trash somebody for trying something on their own. When people do things themselves, they learn a wealth of knowledge they will almost always retain. Security systems are not rocket science and i hate to burst their bubble, but there are more people in this world than those handfull of professional installers who can successfully install and program a home security system.

They are just mad because they loose several hundred dollars because you did it yourself and did not call them.

This forum thanks to all of you is the kindest and nicest forum i have ever been on.
Thanks to the moderators and all members for doing a great job keeping this forum positive. Trucker

 

[Van]

I mostly agrea with you that a technicly savy Jo can do a great job on theyr own, but also that they are not the norm nor the majority. I am a professional installation tech and see the good and the bad of self installs as well as professional installs. What isnt readily obvious is that websites like this one are "hobbyist" websites and they atract a very very specific segment of society, the person who enjoys long hours of excrutiating frustration at trying to tune in a satellite dish while standing on a rickety old wooden step ladder and squinting at a signal screen on his 13inch tv 150ft away through a bay window.

Seriously though, the website does atract a very specific group of people that are not the average dbs sub.

 

[sikma]

This is a little off the topic but.............in my area, a lot of people think that security systems will help 'catch the bad guy.' In truth, once an alarm is set off, it takes 8-10 minutes before a local law enfocement dispatcher is notified. A lot of property can disappear in 8 minutes. Also, make sure you are very familiar with your system, as police will charge you for each false alarm they respond too. I've found that just putting 'security alarm stickers' on your windows or simply have lights or an audible alarm sound (but no alarm is sent to a company) does just as good a job.

 

[bpickell]

Just the other day our alarm went off, one of our employees forgot something at his desk and entered the building not knowing there was an alarm. It was going off for about a half hour or so. I never received a phone call from the alarm company nor did the police ever show up. Now that's service worth paying for.

 

[bhelms]

I still think the best "alarm system" runs on 4 legs, growls, and will take a chunk outta anyone he doesn't like...!

 

[dragon002]

a security system where i live is:

1 i can name neighbors, 8 blocks away.

2 motion sensing lights mounted 15 feet high on the house.

3 a great police force in town.

4 two 12 guage shotguns, a 30.06 pump rifle and a S&W .357 all loaded and up where the boys cant get at them.

5 people in town who know full well they will be used, if need be.

6 i also have a radio shack alarm system with a 106db horn and two strobes, no window /door sensors....all infared and ultrasonic "eyes"

 

[bpickell]

I still think the best "alarm system" runs on 4 legs, growls, and will take a chunk outta anyone he doesn't like...!

Dog's don't work. A friend of mine has two rot's, his house was burglarized. The back door was kicked in the robbers let the dogs out and he went in.

 

[minorthr]

We have an ADT system which is an incredible rip off its like $30 a month, but it makes my wife feel better. Ive had it go off a few times and not only did the police never show but I never got a call. When I called ADT they said they thought it was a false alarm. So to supplement it I bought a german shepard which is a far better security system and has worked twice so far including pinning one guy against the wall outside our house till my neighbor saw it and called the police.

 

[bhelms]

...So to supplement it I bought a german shepard which is a far better security system and has worked twice so far including pinning one guy against the wall outside our house till my neighbor saw it and called the police.

Yeah - That's the way I see it. I'm mid-rural. It would take authorities 20+ minutes to arrive if there were no delays. The dogs and misc. critters we have are at least some form of on-site deterrent; even if not perfect they will "respond" immediately. If I have a fire...well...that's why I make sure the smoke/CO detectors are working and carry good insurance!

On the other hand the security system will at least give the owner a "panic" feature that might save a life in the case of a medical emergency. You don't need a fancy system to provide that level of protection, tho'. ("I've fallen...!")

 

[Bob Haller]

Dogs even small ones are a visual and auditory deterrent. Burglars want to work in quiet, not bothered by dogs who make noise and mite bite. Our 4 dogs would more likely lick them to death

 

[truckracer]

i agree

I would basically want my alarm system just to watch over the house when i am gone (for what the system is worth). when i am home of course there is a decent arsenol of firearms that will do the rest. My favorite is my taurus .45 semi-auto with hydroshock rounds. 15 round magazine.

I did purchase a voice dialer that will interface the data bus of the alarm system and it will dial up to 8 numbers and give voice prompts to the recipient of the call.

Since i have a couple of friends and three cousins that live less than 1/4 of a mile away, they have agreed to be my "monitoring company". So i think this will work out well since one friend is retired and he is home most of the time.

by the way i am getting him into the satellite hobby. He is very interested and he has good electronic and technical skills. He builds performance cars in his spare time. everything from old muscle cars like chevy chevelles to turbocharged mazda miata's. He likes them all. He does not mind to spend money on his hobbies, so i figured the satellite hobby would be great for him- he wants a bud.

 

[Wayn23]

Dog's don't work. A friend of mine has two rot's, his house was burglarized. The back door was kicked in the robbers let the dogs out and he went in.

I disagree, alarms may stop thefts after they are tripped but i had 3 windows broken out in 3 seperate robbery atempts and one kicked in door in another,in every instance they left with out taking anything after the alarm went off but boken windows in the middle of winter suck. I have three dogs now and not once has anybody tried to break in. I had to leave my dogs at another house when I was in the hospital for surgery a couple of years ago and someone cut the lock off my fence and broke out a rear window, sure they left after the alarm tripped but they don't even try when my dogs are home. I have a 110 lb. female Malamute, a 100 pound shepard mix and a Irish wolfhound mix and they make plenty of noise if you even come near the yard.

 

[dragon002]

I would basically want my alarm system just to watch over the house when i am gone (for what the system is worth). when i am home of course there is a decent arsenol of firearms that will do the rest. My favorite is my taurus .45 semi-auto with hydroshock rounds. 15 round magazine.

I did purchase a voice dialer that will interface the data bus of the alarm system and it will dial up to 8 numbers and give voice prompts to the recipient of the call.

Since i have a couple of friends and three cousins that live less than 1/4 of a mile away, they have agreed to be my "monitoring company". So i think this will work out well since one friend is retired and he is home most of the time.

by the way i am getting him into the satellite hobby. He is very interested and he has good electronic and technical skills. He builds performance cars in his spare time. everything from old muscle cars like chevy chevelles to turbocharged mazda miata's. He likes them all. He does not mind to spend money on his hobbies, so i figured the satellite hobby would be great for him- he wants a bud.

i still prefer the 12 guage, aim it down the steps and UNLOAD, no aiming , just mix the shots around.

 

[aboz]

I used to work for a alarm company (I choose not to name them,but they are mentioned in this thread) I agree that it's good to have multiple levels of security. I remember when dispatching on alarms, some were "passed" off to me that tripped 5 minutes ago. Makes you wonder when you call on a bad sensor warning you get bitched out by the customer because thier house got broken in and no body called. However, I do recommend a fire/carbon/medical becaquse they got the highest priority.