Home & Shop Security Rant...

[Art Kelly]

I've been thinking about looking into security and fire protection for home and attached-garage workshop, so it was a little easier to cave in the other evening when a sales rep from a national firm showed up offering free equipment for a five-year monitoring contract. The monthly fee was a little high--$42 and change.

He was really pushing for a commitment and I told him I wouldn't sign "on-the-spot." He said it was now or never for the "free" equipmnet, so I asked to see the right-to-rescind clause of the contract. It was the standard three days, so I caved in, figuring I could look over the contract and system description the next day and cancel before the installer came if I didn't like it.

I signed and there was a knock on the door. It was 9:00 PM and the installer was there with a bucket of tools and a wireless system.

He was installing stuff a mile-a-minute and when the time came for the motion sensors, I said I though there should be several, but it sounded lke they were only going to do one.

They finished at 1030 .

I spent the next morning thinking about the system they installed. The motion detector was at the opposite end of the house from the most vulnerable glass door, which was also right beside the phone line connection to the house. Just reach down and disconnect the phone, put a brick through the door and help yourself.

Even if the phone line wasn't disconnected, all the jewelry, guns, computers, tools and cameras could have been taken without ever setting off the alarm.

Just to put me in the right frame of mind for the next step, I discovered that the sensors on all four sliding doors were installed such that when I opened the door wide, the magnet hit the stationary door and broke off; and the installer hooked the phone line to the monitor up by cutting the wire in the wall outlet box--the line went on to a phone that was now disconnected.

I canceled the next business day.

Lessons learned:

1. Cellular backup is a really good idea if your phone line is accessible from outside.
2. A motion detector is necessary at every glass point of entry, including the garage or workshop window, unless it's an area you really don't have any portable valuables in.
3. These guys don't give a rat's a$$ about your security.
4. Wireless systems are easy to install, but there's a battery to replace for every sensor. Even for the inadequate system they put in, that's 8 batteries.

Hope this keeps someone from making the same mistake; sorry for your angst if you already did.

Art

[glenn bradley]

There seem to be a good deal of shady "security" installation and monitoring outfits. Some of my questions before buying/subscribing included;

- Where are your monitoring facilities geographically and what constitutes who is watching and when (I also got direct numbers for the sites).
- How many false alarms am I allowed by the security company AND by the police department when using "your" system (better outfits get better tolerance for false alarms by the PD, check with yours).
- How many "tests" invoked by me do I get per year (I get one a month and use it randomly to test their response times and raise heck if they miss their agreed intervals).

I agree on having cellular with battery backup (mine is installed where no one will think to look for it should they bypass the primary). With unbundled services you may be able to have the cellular service use your current service and avoid extra charges.

Primarily, avoiding break-ins is a game of "there's an easier target down the street" to some degree. Make your house/shop a difficult target. Don't advertise what you have:

- NRA bumper stickers advertise to crooks that there may be guns in your house worth stealing, they don't scare them off.
- Harvest Christian Revival stickers give crooks a good idea of where you'll be when the show is in town.
- Other things like that, look at things from the crooks viewpoint.

Deadbolt all exterior doors. Burglar proof your window frames and all that jazz. Glad you dodged the screwball that tried to sell you under pressure. Oh yeah, exterior lights and a dog are a lot cheaper than replacing tools or the increase in your homeowner's insurance if you have make a claim.

[Sam Layton]

All of what Glenn said, Plus. I believe in alarms 100%. They are good to help guard your property. However, the most important factor is when I come home and my alarm has not been activated, I know that I will not walk into a burglary in progress, which could result in someone getting hurt.

The only alarm system I would ever consider is a, "hard wire system". A lot of alarm co's don't like to install hard wire systems because they are more work. They like wireless because they are very quick to install, and they can charge a lot of money. If they can give you a deal today, they can give you the same deal tomorrow.

Sam

[Matt Meiser]

Ours is self-installed and when the monitoring company went out of business I found a local guy with good references. Very happy. The other semi-local places were pushy too. And monitoring through him is 1/2 what the big companies want. Which isn't to say its lesser--there's big monitoring centers that all the small guys are resellers for.

[Billy Chambless]

He said it was now or never for the "free" equipmnet,

That's when I would have shown him the door. Any time a salesman demands a quick answer, my answer is "No."

[Steven DeMars]

First of all, when choosing a alarm company, always use the company used by the majority of businesses in your area . . . Look at gun shops, jewelry stores, pawn shops & high end industrial supply houses to name a few . . .

As to wireless systems, they are not dependable . . . regardless of how advance the technology is . . .

Motion detects in a building that does not maintain year around climate control, ie . . your home will create false alarms . . .unless you spring for the real high end stuff . . about $250.00 per a detector . .

All your system needs to be hard wired, all home runs . .

Example: Living room - all windows, any exterior doors & the motion detect should all be on the same zone. Not necessarily the same home run.

Anytime you have an alarm, you should be able to view your panel and determine the exact location and the exact type of "incident". Break-in, fire, water intrusion, etc . . .

Your monitoring station is very important. As is their rapport with the police. When you have an alarm no more than 3 minutes should elapse before receiving a "IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT" call . . .

The monitoring station should dispatch regardless of your conversation with them.... NO PASSWORD - COPS, FIRE, EMT are on the way . . .

Use a company that businesses use and demand the same level of service . . .

Yes, cell phone back-up is a very good feature. Also loss of land line treated as an alarm, not a service call generator . . .

Have your company supply you with at least one extra loop near where you have outdoor valuables. This will allow you to place a loop through lets say the trailer with your SKI DOOs on board.

You want signs provided by the company bearing your address. This lets the bad guys know you do have service, not just a sign.

Remember, think deterrence . . . you want traps, ie... alarm the shed with your lawn equipment . . Most amateurs go there for drug money first . . They also assume it won't be alarmed even if you have a sign . . .

Always test your system at least once a month . . let the neighbors hear it . . . trust me, the one little bad punk in your neighbor hood will hear it or hear about it too.

Should you want any detailed info into what to look for in a security system, feel free to PM me . . .

Steve

[Gary Lange]

When the guy said it is now or never I would have told him never and showed him the door. That one statement would tell me it was a shady deal and for me to get another system.

I had a woman at the house once selling Encyclopedia's she got in by deceiving my wife as to who she was. When I came down after getting ready for work I listened for a very short while and then told her no we wouldn't be interested. She looked at me and told me she was talking to my wife. I saw red and ran that woman out the door so fast she couldn't say a word more. I was a cop then and had a 9mm on my side so she moved faster then usual I think. My son is learning disable so these books would do him no good at all.

[Brad Sperr]

I would recommend buying and installing your own hardwire alarm system and finding a cheap dispatch service for monitoring. I bought a DSC 1832 system off of homesecuritystore.com and picked up additional contacts, motions, smoke alarms, etc. off ebay for cheap. You should also check out diyalarmforum.com for some great tutorials on installation and programming.

[Matt Meiser]

Brads advise is great, but I had bad luck with that vendor. I paid for overnight delivery and the part was DOA. They wouldn't replace it until I sent the replacement back at my cost and then sent the replacement ground from California. During the whole thing they were very rude about the whole thing to the point where I called my CC company and disputed the shipping charges.

Unfortunately the vendor I got everything else from went belly up a few years later. Haven't bought anything since, but the local company I'm working with said they have no problem selling me parts.

I have to check out that forum and see what's new in that arena.

[Scott Gibbons]

for what its worth, I did my own hybrid wired/wireless. All high end touch screen pads, motion sensors, cellular/Ethernet connectivity for less than $1,000.00. Monitoring is 9.95/mth. Out house is just under 3,000 sqft

[David G Baker]

Scott,
That's one heck of an out house. Couldn't resist, check your spelling.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
I believe when the out house reaches a certain size it becomes a latrine.

I could be wrong though.

Anyhow - my security system is a two part one.
One part has a wet nose & the other part has a magnum.

[phil harold]

when they show up at 9:00 PM i would have refused access and cancled the contract at that moment

[Bob Winkler]

I did my own wired and wireless system several years ago and got top quality equipment and service from these guys:

http://www.aesecurity.com/

Bob