My security alarm is getting long in the tooth. its 18 years old and the
company is out of business. Two zones are broken and the battery won't
recharge. Time for an upgrade.

The system has 16 hardwired zones. Each zone has NO sensors across a wire
pair and a termination resistor at the end of the run. That way, a closed
circuit is an alarm, a resistance value is normal, and an open is a zone
fault. It sounds like today's alarms all work the same way.

I see three vendors, Ademco (Honeywell), DSC, and CADX (General Electric).
Which vendor makes the best system? My first requirement would be ease of
programming with a computer link and not have to buy a special programmer.
Second would be possible future upgrades, especially cameras.

Any suggestions on where to purchase?So far, the best I've found is
http://www.homesecuritystore.com/

Karl

P.S. It looks like I need to include a political comment to be part of this
group. I'm holding my nose and voting for McSame. The evil of two lessors.

Karl Townsend wrote:
My security alarm is getting long in the tooth. its 18 years old and the
company is out of business. Two zones are broken and the battery won't
recharge. Time for an upgrade.

The system has 16 hardwired zones. Each zone has NO sensors across a wire
pair and a termination resistor at the end of the run. That way, a closed
circuit is an alarm, a resistance value is normal, and an open is a zone
fault. It sounds like today's alarms all work the same way.

I see three vendors, Ademco (Honeywell), DSC, and CADX (General Electric).
Which vendor makes the best system? My first requirement would be ease of
programming with a computer link and not have to buy a special programmer.
Second would be possible future upgrades, especially cameras.

Any suggestions on where to purchase?So far, the best I've found is
http://www.homesecuritystore.com/

Take a look at SmartHome, if you haven't already.

P.S. It looks like I need to include a political comment to be part of this
group. I'm holding my nose and voting for McSame. The evil of two lessors.

You like to live on the edge here, don't you? G

"RB" wrote in message
...
Karl Townsend wrote:
My security alarm is getting long in the tooth. its 18 years old and the
company is out of business. Two zones are broken and the battery won't
recharge. Time for an upgrade.

The system has 16 hardwired zones. Each zone has NO sensors across a
wire pair and a termination resistor at the end of the run. That way, a
closed circuit is an alarm, a resistance value is normal, and an open is
a zone fault. It sounds like today's alarms all work the same way.

I see three vendors, Ademco (Honeywell), DSC, and CADX (General
Electric). Which vendor makes the best system? My first requirement would
be ease of programming with a computer link and not have to buy a special
programmer. Second would be possible future upgrades, especially cameras.

Any suggestions on where to purchase?So far, the best I've found is
http://www.homesecuritystore.com/

Take a look at SmartHome, if you haven't already.

P.S. It looks like I need to include a political comment to be part of
this group. I'm holding my nose and voting for McSame. The evil of two
lessors.

You like to live on the edge here, don't you? G

I wonder if Karl is doing the ADT thing for the equipment, or for the
monitoring svcs.

My idea was to kluge something up web/phone-wise, so that your *neighbors*
(and your own home) could be part of an *alert network* for your shop. I
wanted to do this in my home amongst neighbors, but of course never got
around to it. Pagers make this a no-brainer as well.

--
DT

On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:25:12 -0500, "Karl Townsend"
wrote:



I see three vendors, Ademco (Honeywell), DSC, and CADX (General Electric).
Which vendor makes the best system?

I have no current experience, but Ademco has been making security
stuff for decades.

This stuff is pretty straight forward; aside from "user features"
they're probably all pretty similar.

The tricky part of security stuff is the sensors: getting high
probability of detection with very low false alarm rate. Ademco
sensors were as good as any consumer/commercial grade sensors.

"Karl Townsend" wrote in message
anews.com...
My security alarm is getting long in the tooth. its 18 years old and the
company is out of business. Two zones are broken and the battery won't
recharge. Time for an upgrade.

The system has 16 hardwired zones. Each zone has NO sensors across a wire
pair and a termination resistor at the end of the run. That way, a closed
circuit is an alarm, a resistance value is normal, and an open is a zone
fault. It sounds like today's alarms all work the same way.

I see three vendors, Ademco (Honeywell), DSC, and CADX (General Electric).
Which vendor makes the best system? My first requirement would be ease of
programming with a computer link and not have to buy a special programmer.
Second would be possible future upgrades, especially cameras.

Any suggestions on where to purchase?So far, the best I've found is
http://www.homesecuritystore.com/

Karl

Napco is one of the more user friendly alarm systems popular here among
installers. They provide superior support to small installers. Ademco is all
about their established dealers.
http://www.napcosecurity.com/

DSC is not bad, but my alarm contractor is trained in both and likes Napco
for value and support.

"Karl Townsend" wrote in message
anews.com...
My security alarm is getting long in the tooth. its 18 years old and the
company is out of business. Two zones are broken and the battery won't
recharge. Time for an upgrade.

The system has 16 hardwired zones. Each zone has NO sensors across a wire
pair and a termination resistor at the end of the run. That way, a closed
circuit is an alarm, a resistance value is normal, and an open is a zone
fault. It sounds like today's alarms all work the same way.

I see three vendors, Ademco (Honeywell), DSC, and CADX (General Electric).
Which vendor makes the best system? My first requirement would be ease of
programming with a computer link and not have to buy a special programmer.
Second would be possible future upgrades, especially cameras.

Any suggestions on where to purchase?So far, the best I've found is
http://www.homesecuritystore.com/

Karl

P.S. It looks like I need to include a political comment to be part of
this group. I'm holding my nose and voting for McSame. The evil of two
lessors.


Since I'm the unmitigated expert on break-ins...

What exactly are you trying to prevent?
How often is the event(s) possible or likely?
How much will that event cost you?
How much do you want to spend on preventing it?
How much do you want to spend on monitoring the event and/or catching the
tangos?

An alarm system is secondary to physically securing the area. My place is
now almost break-in proof and it has video monitoring, IR and motion
sensors, perimeter switches on doors and windows, lots of signage and roving
armed guards. No events in about a year now.

If you let an alarm company decide a system on their own it won't be as good
as with your educated input.

On Sat, 18 Oct 2008 01:08:58 -0400, "Buerste" wrote:




Since I'm the unmitigated expert on break-ins...

What exactly are you trying to prevent?
How often is the event(s) possible or likely?
How much will that event cost you?
How much do you want to spend on preventing it?
How much do you want to spend on monitoring the event and/or catching the
tangos?

An alarm system is secondary to physically securing the area. My place is
now almost break-in proof and it has video monitoring, IR and motion
sensors, perimeter switches on doors and windows, lots of signage and roving
armed guards. No events in about a year now.

If you let an alarm company decide a system on their own it won't be as good
as with your educated input.

All true, letting the "unmitigated expert" bit go, though I suspect
that Dassel MN is rather different from inner city Cleveland OH.

You have accurately pegged a key issue, Tawm: what performance is
expected from a security system which must include means for defensive
response when detection happens.

In article ,
Don Foreman wrote:

The tricky part of security stuff is the sensors: getting high
probability of detection with very low false alarm rate. Ademco
sensors were as good as any consumer/commercial grade sensors.

I get around the sensor problem; my system reports the sensors directly
to my pager so I can judge wether the sensor is reliable or not. Some
of my sensors are close to 100% and some are experimental, and it causes
no confusion.

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

In article ,
"DrollTroll" wrote:

My idea was to kluge something up web/phone-wise, so that your *neighbors*
(and your own home) could be part of an *alert network* for your shop. I
wanted to do this in my home amongst neighbors, but of course never got
around to it. Pagers make this a no-brainer as well.

I.ve been using a pager based security system for 20 years and am happy
with it.

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

All true, letting the "unmitigated expert" bit go, though I suspect
that Dassel MN is rather different from inner city Cleveland OH.

You have accurately pegged a key issue, Tawm: what performance is
expected from a security system which must include means for defensive
response when detection happens.

My biggest issue is fire. I've got heat sensors throughout. I want my local
department to know before my neighbor calls saying fire is coming out the
roof. I get a break on my insurance by having an alarm system.

I've also got freeze sensors, another big issue. I want the panel to call me
on these zones, not the fire department.

Believe it or not, theft is at the bottom of my list. if you're a thief,
there's way better targets than my site. I have enough sensors to stop the
dumb ones. Its not cost effective to stop a serious dedicated pro. My place
is right behind Randy's and Walter's. You'd best be quick and quiet. We are
the best of friends and help watch each others stuff.

Again, I'm just wanting to replace the panel. I'm happy with the sensors
I've got. Are there no "unmitigated experts" on this?

Karl

"Karl Townsend" wrote in message
anews.com...

All true, letting the "unmitigated expert" bit go, though I suspect
that Dassel MN is rather different from inner city Cleveland OH.

You have accurately pegged a key issue, Tawm: what performance is
expected from a security system which must include means for defensive
response when detection happens.

My biggest issue is fire. I've got heat sensors throughout. I want my
local department to know before my neighbor calls saying fire is coming
out the roof. I get a break on my insurance by having an alarm system.

I've also got freeze sensors, another big issue. I want the panel to call
me on these zones, not the fire department.

Believe it or not, theft is at the bottom of my list. if you're a thief,
there's way better targets than my site. I have enough sensors to stop the
dumb ones. Its not cost effective to stop a serious dedicated pro. My
place is right behind Randy's and Walter's. You'd best be quick and quiet.
We are the best of friends and help watch each others stuff.

Again, I'm just wanting to replace the panel. I'm happy with the sensors
I've got. Are there no "unmitigated experts" on this?

Karl




I think you have the situation well in hand. We obviously have different
issues. I wasn't thinking, I have brain-lock. I wish I could help! If you
DO find yourself in the middle of a ghetto, call me.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:58:41 -0500, Don Foreman
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:25:12 -0500, "Karl Townsend"
wrote:



I see three vendors, Ademco (Honeywell), DSC, and CADX (General Electric).
Which vendor makes the best system?

I have no current experience, but Ademco has been making security
stuff for decades.

This stuff is pretty straight forward; aside from "user features"
they're probably all pretty similar.

The tricky part of security stuff is the sensors: getting high
probability of detection with very low false alarm rate. Ademco
sensors were as good as any consumer/commercial grade sensors.


I installed it all, for 16 yrs.

My favorite was DSC.

Sensor placement is 3/4 of the battle. Study up on Passive Infrared,
Hybrid PIR and Microwave etc etc


Gunner

Whenever a Liberal utters the term "Common Sense approach"....grab your
wallet, your ass, and your guns because the sombitch is about to do
something damned nasty to all three of them.

On Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:30:57 -0500, "Karl Townsend"
wrote:


All true, letting the "unmitigated expert" bit go, though I suspect
that Dassel MN is rather different from inner city Cleveland OH.

You have accurately pegged a key issue, Tawm: what performance is
expected from a security system which must include means for defensive
response when detection happens.

My biggest issue is fire. I've got heat sensors throughout. I want my local
department to know before my neighbor calls saying fire is coming out the
roof. I get a break on my insurance by having an alarm system.

I've also got freeze sensors, another big issue. I want the panel to call me
on these zones, not the fire department.

Believe it or not, theft is at the bottom of my list. if you're a thief,
there's way better targets than my site. I have enough sensors to stop the
dumb ones. Its not cost effective to stop a serious dedicated pro. My place
is right behind Randy's and Walter's. You'd best be quick and quiet. We are
the best of friends and help watch each others stuff.

Again, I'm just wanting to replace the panel. I'm happy with the sensors
I've got. Are there no "unmitigated experts" on this?

Karl


Ive recently bought panels from these people..and support has been
good, prices excellent

http://www.homesecuritystore.com/

Gunner

Whenever a Liberal utters the term "Common Sense approach"....grab your
wallet, your ass, and your guns because the sombitch is about to do
something damned nasty to all three of them.

On Sun, 19 Oct 2008 01:58:24 -0700, Gunner Asch
wrote:
On Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:30:57 -0500, "Karl Townsend"
wrote:

All true, letting the "unmitigated expert" bit go, though I suspect
that Dassel MN is rather different from inner city Cleveland OH.

You have accurately pegged a key issue, Tawm: what performance is
expected from a security system which must include means for defensive
response when detection happens.

My biggest issue is fire. I've got heat sensors throughout. I want my local
department to know before my neighbor calls saying fire is coming out the
roof. I get a break on my insurance by having an alarm system.

I've also got freeze sensors, another big issue. I want the panel to call me
on these zones, not the fire department.

That one is simple - your Central Station needs to be on the ball.
I'd rig up a "Vacation Switch" on the freeze sensors, and when you are
home it sets off a local alarm to wake you up. Or you can put a
5-minute delay relay so it WILL call the Central Station if there is
no response to the "silence" button.

But for those few times you go out of town for a few days, you
switch it to a 24-Hour circuit on the alarm, and it sends a different
zone code - which you told the Central Station about.

Sometimes you have to educate the monitoring center clerks rather
firmly as to why it's important they follow the instructions and call
you when they are supposed to, but they will learn. Had to do that
with my "Low Battery" code when I found a pole-axed dead panel trying
to leave the house - "Yes, we have been receiving the low battery code
for weeks, but a minute later it always cleared itself so we didn't
call..."

So much for the 'Battery Self Test on Disarm' feature, it finally
got so bad it died before coming out of test mode...

When they get that 'freeze sensor' code they are to call you, and if
there's no response start down a list of neighbors and friends till
they get to someone who can handle it for you. (Come over and start
the wind machines, or light the smudge pots, or turn on the
sprinklers, or all of the above.)

Believe it or not, theft is at the bottom of my list. if you're a thief,
there's way better targets than my site. I have enough sensors to stop the
dumb ones. Its not cost effective to stop a serious dedicated pro. My place
is right behind Randy's and Walter's. You'd best be quick and quiet. We are
the best of friends and help watch each others stuff.

Again, I'm just wanting to replace the panel. I'm happy with the sensors
I've got. Are there no "unmitigated experts" on this?

Call your local alarm company and ask what panel(s) they have the
remote programmers and other 'stuff' to support. The receivers can
handle almost any panel, but if you want them to do the programming
they have to have the right software and knowhow.

Me, I'd buy the alarm panel based on availability of the programming
package to the end user IF they don't charge a bloody fortune for it.
It's a whole lot easier working from a computer screen than from a
2-line 16-character display using Hex codes. Or worse my brothers'
house, with a 4-character display.

Ive recently bought panels from these people..and support has been
good, prices excellent

http://www.homesecuritystore.com/

Know anyone who still has Morse parts? They turned into Optex and
then got out of the panel business.

I really don't want to rip out a perfectly good MDC-16, but I need
to expand it to 24 or 32 channels for all separate zones (eliminates
false alarm charges when you can prove multiple zone violations - or
for finding the swinger) and split it for restricted access into just
the garage and office areas.

I have a spare keypad (somewhere...) but not the expansion board.

-- Bruce --