if your in the west midlands and want an easy to use alarm system, i would
recommend the intellisence range, i have used these consistantly over many
years with no problems, my supplier here in Redditch has a 8zone kit with 4
pirs, 2 door contacts, remote keypad, sounder, dummy box, cable, battery,
and fused spur for around £120. it aint nothing fancy but can be programmed
for full set, part set and at home.

loz
"Sanj" wrote in message
...
I am planning to install myself but have not ruled the professional option
dependant on price. I live in the west midlands region and have a big 3
bed
semi, I would like to cover all 3 bedrooms, upstairs and downstairs
landing/hallway, and 3 rooms downstairs. An auto dialler would be
desirable
but not essential.

"Brownie" wrote in message
...

"Sanj" wrote in message
...
Hi

I am in the process of buying a burglar alarm for a 3 bedroom
semi-detached
house. Has anyone bought any good (wired) alarms recently I have a
budget
of £200-250

Advice needed....thanx

You don't say if you are doing it yourself or spending that to have it
installed. If it is the latter it is quite a tight budget, if it is the
former that is quite a generous amount. You will always get differing
opinions and experiences but (professionally) I'd advise hard wired
systems
(not radio linked sensors) with easy setting (for all the family not
just
techno bods) of zones or where you can store different configurations
i.e.
it is easy to set one way if you leave the house and another way if you
go
to bed at night. Wire it so you can use it overnight isolating
downstairs
and perhaps any vulnerable spare upstairs rooms if they have a flat roof
etc. It is also a good idea to buy a system with more than enough zones
in
case you add the garage, shed another outbuilding (many get break-ins
overnight). You may want or be able to add an autodialler so it can
ring
you on a mobile if it goes off, or you can get alarms monitored if it is
professionally installed. Some insurance companies give discounts for
alarms but look at the terms carefully - the saving is often only 20-30
quid
and you may be uninsured if you forget to set it or aren't on a
maintainance
contract.

Don't have too many PIR sensors, make sure the sensors aren't facing
directly at heat/movement sources such as cookers and sunny windows,
make
sure the sensors aren't too sensitive(you can usually adjust). When you
site sensors it is a good idea to spray and wipe with insect spray and
put
a
piece of cotton wool concealed just behind previously soaked in insect
spray.

Most of the work for an alarm is done just by a burglar seeing the box
on
the front of the house so the ones with flashing LEDs show it is real.
When
you get it, it is important it has credability and you respect your
neighbours. Make sure it doesn't keep going off and you properly shut
internal doors, don't have curtains flapping etc. otherwise people don't
take any notice. Many areas have by-laws saying alarms should only
activate
for around 5-20 minutes max. Make sure neighbours know where to get a
keyholder if you are away.

Test your alarm around once a month, the bell box batteries tend to last
only 2-3 years. Many people don't realise their (bell box and panel)
batteries have failed as they test on the mains and if switched off the
alarm dies in seconds.