Monitored Burglar System
I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house.
My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about $45.00 a year. Any recommendations for a good monitored system? Does any group or publication evaluate these systems? Any personal experiences (good or bad) with these systems? Thanks, Mike |
Mike wrote:
I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house. My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about $45.00 a year. Any recommendations for a good monitored system? Does any group or publication evaluate these systems? Any personal experiences (good or bad) with these systems? Thanks, Mike Get to know the neighborhood police officer. I'm not joking.... They will know which INSTALLERS cause the most false alarms. In one town ADT will have fewer false alarms. In another it will be Brinks. Another thing to look at is the control panel. Ask to see and get instructions on the model of the panel that will be INSTALLED. (Beware of "Bait and switch") You don't want to be confused when you're trying to turn of the alarm in a hurry. (Forgetting it's armed when you're tired and open the door to get the paper at 5am...) Also find out how it is to add/change "guest" codes for when you have someone house-sitting etc. Brad BTW: I've used ADT. The warning beep is the same tone as the keypress on mine, so it's confusing to some people. |
"Mike" wrote in message ... I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house. My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about $45.00 a year. Any recommendations for a good monitored system? Does any group or publication evaluate these systems? Any personal experiences (good or bad) with these systems? Thanks, Mike Buy your system and maybe your service separately. Package deals require contracts. In most parts of the US 15-18 per month is the service fee for a no contract service. Check out Clark Howard's website for useful information. Colbyt |
"Brad Bruce" wrote in message news:%QvVc.109$oA.85@trndny04... Get to know the neighborhood police officer. I'm not joking.... They will know which INSTALLERS cause the most false alarms. In one town ADT will have fewer false alarms. In another it will be Brinks. Another thing to look at is the control panel. Ask to see and get instructions on the model of the panel that will be INSTALLED. (Beware of "Bait and switch") You don't want to be confused when you're trying to turn of the alarm in a hurry. (Forgetting it's armed when you're tired and open the door to get the paper at 5am...) Also find out how it is to add/change "guest" codes for when you have someone house-sitting etc. Brad BTW: I've used ADT. The warning beep is the same tone as the keypress on mine, so it's confusing to some people. I just had a rather expensive motorcycle stolen from my garage. I am now also looking at monitored systems, do you know if they have zones? What I'd like is a system that will emit a loud siren if the garage security is breached but won't make the entire house go off at the same time. These scumbags obviously had time to work on the bike as it was locked up in there. |
Hi All:
I used to install residental systems. To answer all your questions, yes, the system can be armed to activate when your garage door is opened. You should set yourself up with a good company that offers free service while you have your system monitored with them. Most will include this in the monthly cost or may charge you $5.00 more per month. Its worth it, changing out a keypad alone may cost $100.00 depending on the system. Also, the big companies (ADT) don't need your business. Your system can be down for a week before they'll set up a service call for you. The little guy runs like hell when your system is down. I worked for a small company (4000 accounts) and we basically knew all our customers. When someone had a problem, we were there within 12 hours. I can't tell you how many accounts we stole from the big guys cause of this. Ademco is also a big name in security so if your offered this equiptment its usually pretty good. Good luck on your search!! |
I have ADT and have never had an issue with service..always fast and
friendly. "SEPrince1" wrote in message ... Hi All: I used to install residental systems. To answer all your questions, yes, the system can be armed to activate when your garage door is opened. You should set yourself up with a good company that offers free service while you have your system monitored with them. Most will include this in the monthly cost or may charge you $5.00 more per month. Its worth it, changing out a keypad alone may cost $100.00 depending on the system. Also, the big companies (ADT) don't need your business. Your system can be down for a week before they'll set up a service call for you. The little guy runs like hell when your system is down. I worked for a small company (4000 accounts) and we basically knew all our customers. When someone had a problem, we were there within 12 hours. I can't tell you how many accounts we stole from the big guys cause of this. Ademco is also a big name in security so if your offered this equiptment its usually pretty good. Good luck on your search!! |
"Jim Tiberio" wrote in message ...
"Brad Bruce" wrote in message news:%QvVc.109$oA.85@trndny04... Get to know the neighborhood police officer. I'm not joking.... They will know which INSTALLERS cause the most false alarms. In one town ADT will have fewer false alarms. In another it will be Brinks. Another thing to look at is the control panel. Ask to see and get instructions on the model of the panel that will be INSTALLED. (Beware of "Bait and switch") You don't want to be confused when you're trying to turn of the alarm in a hurry. (Forgetting it's armed when you're tired and open the door to get the paper at 5am...) Also find out how it is to add/change "guest" codes for when you have someone house-sitting etc. Brad BTW: I've used ADT. The warning beep is the same tone as the keypress on mine, so it's confusing to some people. I just had a rather expensive motorcycle stolen from my garage. I am now also looking at monitored systems, do you know if they have zones? What I'd like is a system that will emit a loud siren if the garage security is breached but won't make the entire house go off at the same time. These scumbags obviously had time to work on the bike as it was locked up in there. Any of the monitored systems have zones. You can have a zone for the garage. However, what I don't understand is why you would want the garage zone to not set off the alarm for the house when tripped. All the systems I'm familiar with have zones that can be armed or disarmed as you wish, but once a zone that's armed is tripped, it set off the alarm for the entire system and it gets reported to the alarm center. That seems very reasonable to me. |
SEPrince1 wrote:
Ademco is also a big name in security so if your offered this equiptment its usually pretty good. Ademco is owned by Honeywell nowadays. |
Brad Bruce wrote:
/snip/ Get to know the neighborhood police officer. I'm not joking.... They will know which INSTALLERS cause the most false alarms. In one town ADT will have fewer false alarms. In another it will be Brinks. Also make sure you ask the cops how MANY of each brand (ADT/Brinks/etc.) are installed. Obviously, the more systems are installed, the more false alarms there will be..... |
"Mike" wrote
I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house. My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about $45.00 a year. Any personal experiences (good or bad) with these systems? To benefit from the alarm discount on the insurance, very often the insurance company will deny any claim for theft from intruders if the alarm is not activated. So pop across the road to a neighbour for a few seconds (or possibly even just into the back garden) leaving the alarm off, and an opportunist thief reaches through an open window or walks in and out, and you aren't covered for the theft. Could cost you a lot more than $45. Owain |
In article ,
"Mike" wrote: I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house. My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about $45.00 a year. You could have a self monitored system. Mine costs just a pager and tells ME when anything happens. No false alarms, just raw data (like car in driveway, back door opened, movement in kitchen, etc) -- Free men own guns, slaves don't www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/ |
"Nick Hull" wrote in message ... | In article , | "Mike" wrote: | | I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house. | My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my | home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual | cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about | $45.00 | a year. | | You could have a self monitored system. Mine costs just a pager and | tells ME when anything happens. No false alarms, just raw data (like | car in driveway, back door opened, movement in kitchen, etc) | | -- | Free men own guns, slaves don't | www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/ The town I live in allows my alarm system dialer to phone the Police department with a recorded message and they will respond. I needed to apply for a free permit to do this and after 4 false alarms in a calendar year I would have to pay a fine for every subsequent one. I also have the dialer programmed to call both mine and my wife's cell phones. |
Check out alt.security.alarms
Bunch of pros hang out there. Good advice, but the NG can be a little rough at times. Bob "Mike" wrote in message ... I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house. My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about $45.00 a year. Any recommendations for a good monitored system? Does any group or publication evaluate these systems? Any personal experiences (good or bad) with these systems? Thanks, Mike |
We have ADT and they are OK. Personally, I would look into a local
place---ask to see their facility---and you will probably get better, more personal service. I've heard good stories about local people who know their customers and fire/police departments. Some things you want to consider: *Get two panels and/or remotes. You can have panels in two locations and remotes in standard locations. If they want to charge you a lot, find another vendor. At very least, get a panel/control center for each main floor of living. *The water and fire sensors are (really) the most useful. If your basement floods, the alarm goes off, etc. Also, some have temp sensors that can tell if your boiler if off (and you are on a cruise or something). *Find out if your town charges for false alarms. (Mine doesn't thank god.) For fire alarms, most send the department immediately, regardless if you call in. *Teach your family that if there's trouble, just walk up and smack the emergency buttons on the panels :). Then call 911. *Call them and disable the system ANY TIME you change batteries, etc. I guarantee you will set off the alarm occasionally. *Stock up on sensor batteries. Nothing worse then one dying at 10 p.m. Sat. night. *ADT will want to slap stickers all over your windows, etc. Don't let them. get the stickers from them and then you can control where and how they get installed. The previous owners of my house let the bozos install them upside down, etc.! "Brad Bruce" wrote in message news:%QvVc.109$oA.85@trndny04... Mike wrote: I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house. My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about $45.00 a year. Any recommendations for a good monitored system? Does any group or publication evaluate these systems? Any personal experiences (good or bad) with these systems? Thanks, Mike Get to know the neighborhood police officer. I'm not joking.... They will know which INSTALLERS cause the most false alarms. In one town ADT will have fewer false alarms. In another it will be Brinks. Another thing to look at is the control panel. Ask to see and get instructions on the model of the panel that will be INSTALLED. (Beware of "Bait and switch") You don't want to be confused when you're trying to turn of the alarm in a hurry. (Forgetting it's armed when you're tired and open the door to get the paper at 5am...) Also find out how it is to add/change "guest" codes for when you have someone house-sitting etc. Brad BTW: I've used ADT. The warning beep is the same tone as the keypress on mine, so it's confusing to some people. |
Good idea.
Mike "Brad Bruce" wrote in message news:%QvVc.109$oA.85@trndny04... Mike wrote: I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house. My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about $45.00 a year. Any recommendations for a good monitored system? Does any group or publication evaluate these systems? Any personal experiences (good or bad) with these systems? Thanks, Mike Get to know the neighborhood police officer. I'm not joking.... They will know which INSTALLERS cause the most false alarms. In one town ADT will have fewer false alarms. In another it will be Brinks. Another thing to look at is the control panel. Ask to see and get instructions on the model of the panel that will be INSTALLED. (Beware of "Bait and switch") You don't want to be confused when you're trying to turn of the alarm in a hurry. (Forgetting it's armed when you're tired and open the door to get the paper at 5am...) Also find out how it is to add/change "guest" codes for when you have someone house-sitting etc. Brad BTW: I've used ADT. The warning beep is the same tone as the keypress on mine, so it's confusing to some people. |
Good point.
Mike "Travis Jordan" wrote in message .. . Brad Bruce wrote: /snip/ Get to know the neighborhood police officer. I'm not joking.... They will know which INSTALLERS cause the most false alarms. In one town ADT will have fewer false alarms. In another it will be Brinks. Also make sure you ask the cops how MANY of each brand (ADT/Brinks/etc.) are installed. Obviously, the more systems are installed, the more false alarms there will be..... |
Very useful information.
What are zones? Mike BKS wrote in message ... We have ADT and they are OK. Personally, I would look into a local place---ask to see their facility---and you will probably get better, more personal service. I've heard good stories about local people who know their customers and fire/police departments. Some things you want to consider: *Get two panels and/or remotes. You can have panels in two locations and remotes in standard locations. If they want to charge you a lot, find another vendor. At very least, get a panel/control center for each main floor of living. *The water and fire sensors are (really) the most useful. If your basement floods, the alarm goes off, etc. Also, some have temp sensors that can tell if your boiler if off (and you are on a cruise or something). *Find out if your town charges for false alarms. (Mine doesn't thank god.) For fire alarms, most send the department immediately, regardless if you call in. *Teach your family that if there's trouble, just walk up and smack the emergency buttons on the panels :). Then call 911. *Call them and disable the system ANY TIME you change batteries, etc. I guarantee you will set off the alarm occasionally. *Stock up on sensor batteries. Nothing worse then one dying at 10 p.m. Sat. night. *ADT will want to slap stickers all over your windows, etc. Don't let them. get the stickers from them and then you can control where and how they get installed. The previous owners of my house let the bozos install them upside down, etc.! "Brad Bruce" wrote in message news:%QvVc.109$oA.85@trndny04... Mike wrote: I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house. My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about $45.00 a year. Any recommendations for a good monitored system? Does any group or publication evaluate these systems? Any personal experiences (good or bad) with these systems? Thanks, Mike Get to know the neighborhood police officer. I'm not joking.... They will know which INSTALLERS cause the most false alarms. In one town ADT will have fewer false alarms. In another it will be Brinks. Another thing to look at is the control panel. Ask to see and get instructions on the model of the panel that will be INSTALLED. (Beware of "Bait and switch") You don't want to be confused when you're trying to turn of the alarm in a hurry. (Forgetting it's armed when you're tired and open the door to get the paper at 5am...) Also find out how it is to add/change "guest" codes for when you have someone house-sitting etc. Brad BTW: I've used ADT. The warning beep is the same tone as the keypress on mine, so it's confusing to some people. |
Thius is a good thing.
A monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance by $80.00 a year not that irt's very expensive now. Mike "Colbyt" wrote in message ... "Mike" wrote in message ... I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house. My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about $45.00 a year. Any recommendations for a good monitored system? Does any group or publication evaluate these systems? Any personal experiences (good or bad) with these systems? Thanks, Mike Buy your system and maybe your service separately. Package deals require contracts. In most parts of the US 15-18 per month is the service fee for a no contract service. Check out Clark Howard's website for useful information. Colbyt |
Thanks,
Mike "SEPrince1" wrote in message ... Hi All: I used to install residental systems. To answer all your questions, yes, the system can be armed to activate when your garage door is opened. You should set yourself up with a good company that offers free service while you have your system monitored with them. Most will include this in the monthly cost or may charge you $5.00 more per month. Its worth it, changing out a keypad alone may cost $100.00 depending on the system. Also, the big companies (ADT) don't need your business. Your system can be down for a week before they'll set up a service call for you. The little guy runs like hell when your system is down. I worked for a small company (4000 accounts) and we basically knew all our customers. When someone had a problem, we were there within 12 hours. I can't tell you how many accounts we stole from the big guys cause of this. Ademco is also a big name in security so if your offered this equiptment its usually pretty good. Good luck on your search!! |
"Nick Hull" wrote in message ... In article , "Mike" wrote: I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house. My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about $45.00 a year. You could have a self monitored system. Mine costs just a pager and tells ME when anything happens. No false alarms, just raw data (like car in driveway, back door opened, movement in kitchen, etc) -- Free men own guns, slaves don't www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/ |
I'll check w/ the insurance company.
Mike "Nick Hull" wrote in message ... In article , "Mike" wrote: I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house. My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about $45.00 a year. You could have a self monitored system. Mine costs just a pager and tells ME when anything happens. No false alarms, just raw data (like car in driveway, back door opened, movement in kitchen, etc) -- Free men own guns, slaves don't www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/ |
Good advice .
Thanks. Mike "rck" wrote in message ink.net... Check out alt.security.alarms Bunch of pros hang out there. Good advice, but the NG can be a little rough at times. Bob "Mike" wrote in message ... I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house. My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about $45.00 a year. Any recommendations for a good monitored system? Does any group or publication evaluate these systems? Any personal experiences (good or bad) with these systems? Thanks, Mike |
I'm curious about this one...
We have a monitored system (GE Concord Express) and it has the ability to commandeer the phone line in order to dial out. If I hit the panic buttons, I assume it will call immediately. Will it bust in on my 911 call in order to do this? (Although, police are supposed to respond to a 911 hangup.). Jim Mike wrote: *Teach your family that if there's trouble, just walk up and smack the emergency buttons on the panels :). Then call 911. |
Yes it will. I had the fool from ADT call my 70 yr old father one time when
I was out of town to have him check why the alarm hadn't 'called home' to do the self-test. Without warning him what it would do, or how to stop it, they had him hit the panic button to trip the alarm. Of course with the siren blaring he couldn't understand the idiots instructions, and before he could get them clear the alarm cut them off and dialed in. He finally decided to punch in the entry code, which cleared the alarm and shut off the siren. I gave them an ear full when I got home. I've also removed my father from the backup call list. If they can't reach me they can't reach anyone in these situations. "Jim" wrote in message news:zq1Yc.2836$hq5.2466@trndny09... I'm curious about this one... We have a monitored system (GE Concord Express) and it has the ability to commandeer the phone line in order to dial out. If I hit the panic buttons, I assume it will call immediately. Will it bust in on my 911 call in order to do this? (Although, police are supposed to respond to a 911 hangup.). Jim Mike wrote: *Teach your family that if there's trouble, just walk up and smack the emergency buttons on the panels :). Then call 911. |
"George Wenzel" wrote in message ... | In article , | says... | If you want an effective monitored system make sure that is uses a dedicated | phone line which is always online to the monitoring station or a cellular link | etc. The autodialer systems that are frequently installed are disabled as | easily as cutting the phone lines. Of course that won't effect the audible alarm. | | Unless you've got a REALLY high-end home full of valuables, the chances | of the phone line being cut prior to a break-in are negligible. In any | event, if somebody wants to break in, they're going to be able to do it, | regardless of whether an alarm is present or not. | | Regards, | | George Wenzel | -- | George Wenzel, B.A. (Criminology) | E-mail: lid | E-mail address is munged. Instead of dot invalid, use dot net So in other words, why even bother to lock the doors? |
In article ,
George Wenzel wrote: Unless you've got a REALLY high-end home full of valuables, the chances of the phone line being cut prior to a break-in are negligible. In any event, if somebody wants to break in, they're going to be able to do it, regardless of whether an alarm is present or not. The trick is to have a FAKE phone line and a burglar alarm that will alarm when the fake phone line is cut. -- Free men own guns, slaves don't www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/ |
In article ,
George Wenzel wrote: In article La%Xc.1950$4m2.1050@trnddc01, says... Very useful information. What are zones? Zones, in the context of an alarm system, are individual sensors. A 'zone' could be a glass-break sensor on a particular window, a motion sensor in a room, a door-open sensor, a smoke alarm, or whatever. If the alarm gets triggered, the system will record which zones were tripped, allowing you to know exactly where the burglar went within your home. Most systems allow you to program groups of zones, so that you can, for example, arm only the perimeter sensors without arming interior motion sensors (useful at night when you're home). Zones also help your alarm monitoring company know whether they should call the police or fire department upon an alarm. Even better, my system has a 'zone' for each sensor, it reports exactly which sensor has been tripped and the order they are tripped in. -- Free men own guns, slaves don't www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/ |
In article ,
George Wenzel wrote: In article , says... The trick is to have a FAKE phone line and a burglar alarm that will alarm when the fake phone line is cut. I sincerely hope you're not that paranoid. If you are, I suggest building a fake house next to yours with lots of fake valuables to be a decoy, so that the burglar breaks into that one instead of yours. Not a matter of being paranoid, just having twists that a burglar would be hard to anticipate. -- Free men own guns, slaves don't www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/ |
|
When we built our last home, I ran the phoneline, where it came out of the
ground, thru a 1" black "gas" pipe, up from the concrete slab and into the wall of the garage. I had the installer put the Interface box inside the garage instead of on an outside wall. There was no sign of any phone components outside. Not a matter of being paranoid, just having twists that a burglar would be hard to anticipate. |
A break in the phone line is an automatic alarm - no questions asked.
As a jewelry store owner, know more about alarms than one should ever need to know. ADT is a known evil, but reliable. They look to make a dime anytime they can! __________________________ Totus Tuus Claudia Satori |
"Mike" wrote in message news:La%Xc.1950$4m2.1050@trnddc01... Very useful information. What are zones? Mike groups of alarms. bedrooms might be one zone, garage another, den/kitchen/dining room another, etc. BKS wrote in message ... We have ADT and they are OK. Personally, I would look into a local place---ask to see their facility---and you will probably get better, more personal service. I've heard good stories about local people who know their customers and fire/police departments. Some things you want to consider: *Get two panels and/or remotes. You can have panels in two locations and remotes in standard locations. If they want to charge you a lot, find another vendor. At very least, get a panel/control center for each main floor of living. *The water and fire sensors are (really) the most useful. If your basement floods, the alarm goes off, etc. Also, some have temp sensors that can tell if your boiler if off (and you are on a cruise or something). *Find out if your town charges for false alarms. (Mine doesn't thank god.) For fire alarms, most send the department immediately, regardless if you call in. *Teach your family that if there's trouble, just walk up and smack the emergency buttons on the panels :). Then call 911. *Call them and disable the system ANY TIME you change batteries, etc. I guarantee you will set off the alarm occasionally. *Stock up on sensor batteries. Nothing worse then one dying at 10 p.m. Sat. night. *ADT will want to slap stickers all over your windows, etc. Don't let them. get the stickers from them and then you can control where and how they get installed. The previous owners of my house let the bozos install them upside down, etc.! "Brad Bruce" wrote in message news:%QvVc.109$oA.85@trndny04... Mike wrote: I'm looking for a monitored burglar alarm system for my house. My insurance agent tells me a monitored system will reduce my home owners insurance policy by $80.00 a year. I estimate the annual cost of the system will be around $125.00 a year for a net cost of about $45.00 a year. Any recommendations for a good monitored system? Does any group or publication evaluate these systems? Any personal experiences (good or bad) with these systems? Thanks, Mike Get to know the neighborhood police officer. I'm not joking.... They will know which INSTALLERS cause the most false alarms. In one town ADT will have fewer false alarms. In another it will be Brinks. Another thing to look at is the control panel. Ask to see and get instructions on the model of the panel that will be INSTALLED. (Beware of "Bait and switch") You don't want to be confused when you're trying to turn of the alarm in a hurry. (Forgetting it's armed when you're tired and open the door to get the paper at 5am...) Also find out how it is to add/change "guest" codes for when you have someone house-sitting etc. Brad BTW: I've used ADT. The warning beep is the same tone as the keypress on mine, so it's confusing to some people. |
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