"Wireless" home security systems???

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Voodoo

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Me and my family are moving to a new city. Because we don't know the area, we decided to rent for a year. This will give us time to scope out different neighborhoods before we decide to where we want to settle down and buy.

The area we are renting in is, according to police data I was able to obtain, one of the safest in the city. Maybe a handful of burglaries a year. However, as long as I've owned and lived in houses, we've always had alarm systems. Fortunately, we've never had a "problem" that would cause it to go off or notify the alarm company. Not even a false alarm. It just gave us an added sense of security.

Well, because we a now "renting", it will be impossible for me to install a hardwired alarm system in the house. The owner just won't allow it. I have been looking into wireless systems. It seems that they incorporate X10 technology, something I experimented with (with varied success) in the past.

Can anyone offer some advice with regard to these "wireless alarm systems"? Are all the brands the same? I'm looking at the systems offered by SmartHome. They seem to have a great reputation in home automation. I really hate to go without an alarm system, and a hardwired system is out of the question. Please help!!!:eek:
 
How about just a motion sensor at strategic locations inside the house?

It might not be "wireless" but the cables could be just laid along the baseboard.

It should go off before any burglar discovers the system to disable it.
 
I don't have direct experience, but I know a lot about wireless, since that's what I do for a living. I'd be leary of a wireless alarm system - too easy to jam. I mean, it's brain dead SIMPLE.

All depends on the level of security you need, of course. If you are only a target for the average punk, wireless is probably OK.
 
I have had an X10/SmartHome/Radio Shack (all the same, I think) installed for the last three months. So far I am quite content with it. For about $150 it came with 2 door/window transmitter/sensors, a motion detector, a keychain remote, a larger remote (nightstand?) and a base station with autodialer.

The sensors and transmitters can be mounted with 2-sided tape or screwed into place. Each transmitter can actually be used for multiple sensors, which are cheap ($5-10), so if you had, say, three windows in a row, they could each have a sensor driven by on transmitter.

It has both instant-arm (for when you're going to sleep or leaving the house with a keychain remote) and delayed, so you can hit the button, then have a minute to get out before it arms, and thirty seconds when you come back to disarm before it make a noise.

When triggered, it DOES make a noise. An optional accessory is another screamer (to put in an attic vent, for example, to share the fun with the neighbors).

It can also dial up to four numbers and play a message you record. Mine call my cel, my wife's, and my work. I can then "listen in" and decide whether to call the cops, rush home, or laugh at the wife for accidentally triggering it.

The base system "checks in" with its transmitters on a regular basis, and so knows when there is a battery problem.

I suppose that a determined expert burglar could, if he knew you had it, jam the wireless system, but an apartment isn't Fort Knox, and people with that kind of planning and expertise are going to be knocking over jewelery stores for hundreds of thousands of dollars, not an apartment for a few hundred in stolen goods.

In any case, I mostly have it so that I instantly know if the perimiter has been breached while I'm in Condition Snooze.

Matt
 
Quartus:

Would you please elaborate on the "jamming" of a wireless alarm system? I mean, wouldn't the intruder need to know before breaking into my house that I had a wireless system?


Should I just pick up a dozen or so of those self-contained battery-powered window alarms and be done with it? It'll be a lot cheaper! ;)

Matt:

Thanks for your input. I didn't know Radio Shack carried that stuff as well - I'll have to check them out on my way home from work. It would seem that most of this stuff is made by the same manufacturer, but seperately branded.
 
I've had a couple of wireless systems (Guardian Protection brand). They both worked fine and I've never had a problem with either. Note, however, that such systems aren't truly "wireless." Because of the layout of my last house (location of keypad, control box, and existing phone lines), the installer had to run a bunch of phone wire to connect everything together.
 
I've had a wireless system for almost 11 years now. The only wiring was connecting the main panel to the telephone line. It uses the telephones instead of keypads, which is really nice. You can change the setting from any telephone in the house. If there is a problem, like a low battery in one of the sensors, it will tell you when you pick up the telephone to make a call.

An alternative to paying for extra window sensors is to have a "noise" sensor installed. These pick up loud sounds like glass breaking. Then put the cheap little radio shack type single audible sensors on everything. When one is moved, it initiates a screaming alarm that sets off the noise sensor on the monitored system and alerts the monitoring company.
 
Would you please elaborate on the "jamming" of a wireless alarm system? I mean, wouldn't the intruder need to know before breaking into my house that I had a wireless system?
Click to expand...

Yes. If you don't have reason to believe that someone would target you specifically, you probably don't need to worry about it. The average "opportunity" burglar wouldn't be prepared for jamming your system. If you live in a higher end neighborhood, though, you may have a different ballgame. Professionals who go to the trouble of staking out your house, etc, could easily defeat a wireless system by jamming that frequency. You'd be amazed at how much technical expertise is available to the criminal world. In the early days of cellular, when cloning was a problem, we saw some pretty sophisticated stuff in the hands of the bad guys. And that was on the high side of 15 years ago.


The base system "checks in" with its transmitters on a regular basis, and so knows when there is a battery problem.
Click to expand...

If it does that quite often, say every few seconds, the jamming problem is solved. Don't hear from a sensor, sound an alarm. Oops. Now you trigger the alarm every time a battery dies! Back to the drawing board!
 
Hk.....

I hadn't thought about using the individual window sensors to "set off" the noise sensor on the system. What a great idea!
 
TallPine:

Already have a 60lb FIDO alarm system. :) Great dog, and good with people - almost too good, if you know what I mean. She may not maul you to death (though she is quite able), but she will most certainly lick you to death!

Not to say that she's not territorial or protective. She's just not as "alert" as I'd like her to be. For example, my bro-in-law's dog will bark and run around like crazy if someone walks by their house (and their house is set back a good 30-40 yards from the sidewalk!). My dogs "radar" isn't that sensitive! :D
 
Wireless Alarm

just installed a Powermax by Visonic that I got from:
http://www.homesecuritystore.com/ez...productID=630&source=overture&wireless_alarms

Completely wireless; except for the phone line hookup. Chose to run a dedicated phone line from the control unit to the outside phone line box for 'line grabber' (RJ-31X) capability. IE: little bit more security so a phone off the hook doesn't disable the ability of the monitoring company.

This unit has a miriad of bells-and-whistles and have been quite pleased w/ both the unit and the customer service from The Home Security Store and from the monitoring service.
Monitoring is from Home Relay for $8.95 / month + $35.00 activation.
 
Monitoring is from Home Relay for $8.95 / month + $35.00 activation.
Click to expand...

Now we're talking. I was paying Brinks $24.95 a month for years, and cut that off.

$8.95 is much more like it

My house is alarmed, but not monitored but by my good neighbors. I need a FIDO.

The CAT System won't like this a bit.
 
Carlos,

At times, my CAT alarm system works better than my FIDO system does!:eek:
His "radar" is often times more sensitive. My cat can often sense when someone is walking up our driveway. Unfortunately, his reaction is to run away! "Experts" often claim that pets can often sense pending natural disaster (like, in my case, earthquakes). To a certain extent, I believe it.

CZSteve,

Your wireless unit looks exactly like the one I am looking at from SmartHome. Visonic seems to be the big name in wireless alarms. May I ask how you came to choose that particular outfit? I'm going with Smarthome because they had such favorable ratings on BizRate, and its prices are in line with all of its competitors.
 
VooDoo

Came across Home Security by searching "wireless home alarm" on Yahoo.
After some searching and a couple/three calls to their customer service decided to order.
The Visonic has all sorts of option; many are probably very common anyway.
IE: separate codes where you can be notified while @ work as to when a teen/pre-teen gets home after school.

We have 2 cats and a 95# dog that according to a guy @ Home Security would be problematic w/ regards to the IR sensor (pet immunity sensor for larger dogs or cats that jump is iffy at best).
He suggested that if we could close the master bedrom door to keep all pets out while away and install the IR in there, that might be best. Assuming most burglars go to the master BR first.
Use this while we're away and IR is off w/ perimeter zones on while @ home.
 
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