Home Alarm Systems - Need Input

[WD5JKO]

Ok, we've had a string of burglaries nearby, and the XYL says it's time to get an alarm system.

So I'm looking at the plethora of choices: Wired, Wireless, DIY, Professionally installed, Call options (email, cell phone, call center, etc.). Then being a Ham, I don't want a bunch of RFI generators installed in my home. I also don't want my HAM transmitter to trigger the alarm, or cause the control panel to latch-up.

So what do other hams do for home security?

Jim,
WD5JKO

[Jim, W5JO]

Smith and Wesson

[Mike/W8BAC]

Starting a new installation I would first rule out anything wireless. I would go with all sensors and I/O equipment hard wired to the system box with shielded cable. I use shielded twisted pair audio cable and shielded cat 5 cable. Run a GOOD ground to the box and ground the shields at the box only, don't tie the shield to the item at the far end of the run. If your using a local (in house) noise maker use a bell instead of an audio horn as the horn might talk back when on the air.

If your going to use a the Bell system to communicate and your hoseing your phone system now it's time to fix that so your rfi doesn't see the alarm system.

Don't skimp on motion detectors. Look for combination ultrasonic/inferred motion sensors. These require a warm body to move instead of a window curtain or moving air from a register.

Use magnetic switches at the doors. It's old school but,set up right, it works far better than anything wireless. More work? Yes, but no problems later.

Last, Hide the system box in a closet or unused small space. Lock the space if you can. Pick up some rfi snap on ferrite chokes and a bag of .01 caps for later use. Good Luck

Mike

After thinking about this for a time I thought it would be a good idea to add a few things.

I use mechanical (old school again) key switches for arming/disarming the system instead of DTMF type keypads. I guess I don't trust them. If you zone your system correctly you can have at home and away security without a keypad. Use tamper switches on any sensitive equipment and don't forget a tamper switch on the box and keypad.

The industry likes LED lights on motion detectors. They are a tool for setup ie aiming the sensor but a good sensor will have a led defeat jumper inside to be used after the system is finished.

Not alarm related but something to think about. Use deadbolt locks with a key on the inside and outside (warning: not for family's with children). When you are home leave your key in the inside lock for safety. When away all keys are pulled. If a crook uses a window for entry, he will look to a door for escape. If it is locked he is trapped and must use the same window. Better chances of being caught. Dead bolt the closet with the alarm and use a mag switch on it as well. This closet is a good place to store important stuff.

Your phone or cable system is at risk if you use one of them for communications. It's a do not pass go felony for tampering in the commission of a crime but who ever said a home invader was smart. Think about a closed circuit video system aimed at your most vulnerable areas that is keyed to turn on if the system is tripped. High quality motion sensor yard lights are a great way to make honest people stay honest.

[WA1GFZ]

My little hitty cat up to a 12 gauge
My dad had a little sign on his back door.
"This house protected by Mr Colt, Mr Smith and Mr Wesson"

[W2XR]

Starting a new installation I would first rule out anything wireless. I would go with all sensors and I/O equipment hard wired to the system box with shielded cable. I use shielded twisted pair audio cable and shielded cat 5 cable. Run a GOOD ground to the box and ground the shields at the box only, don't tie the shield to the item at the far end of the run. If your using a local (in house) noise maker use a bell instead of an audio horn as the horn might talk back when on the air.

If your going to use a the Bell system to communicate and your hoseing your phone system now it's time to fix that so your rfi doesn't see the alarm system.

Don't skimp on motion detectors. Look for combination ultrasonic/inferred motion sensors. These require a warm body to move instead of a window curtain or moving air from a register.

Use magnetic switches at the doors. It's old school but,set up right, it works far better than anything wireless. More work? Yes, but no problems later.

Last, Hide the system box in a closet or unused small space. Lock the space if you can. Pick up some rfi snap on ferrite chokes and a bag of .01 caps for later use. Good Luck

Mike

Mike,

We have a hard-wired ADT system. The system has proven to be very reliable and trouble-free over the numerous years it has been installed here at the W2XR QTH.

I had an issue originally with the audio horn talking back when I was on the air, and I solved the problem by lining the interior of the plastic housing with adhesive-backed aluminum foil. This fix killed the RFI completely.

I also had an issue with the fire alarm being false triggered when I put the rig on the air. As the ADT field service people knew nothing about RFI issues, etc., I finally was able to get through to someone within the ADT Engineering Department. I was advised that there are two different types of fire sensors used within the ADT-installed systems, and one of them is much more susceptable to RFI. I wish I could recall which type was finally installed (I think it used some kind of radioactive gas in a sealed bulb,  I can't swear to it), but it solved that RFI issue completely.

I have had no issue with the infrared proximity detectors being susceptable to RFI, and we have the magnetic door sensors installed as well. No issues either with the communications between the home QTH and the central monitoring office.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have specified shielded CAT-5E or shielded twisted pair for all of the wiring runs. We did'nt need this, fortunately, but the cost delta at the time of installation would be minimal and it would certainly reduce, if not eliminate, any possible RFI pick-up within these runs.

73,

Bruce

[flintstone mop]

Never had any problem with an ADT WIRED system. Asked the installers (and paid extra for) shielded wire. Low dipoles over house, ADT wires running in attic, NEVER tripped. Also had wireless system in another QTH. Antennas near house, not over roof. Still no faults. ADT system.
Tell the vendor what your situation is with Ham radio and RFI issues.

Fred

[k4kyv]

My little hitty cat up to a 12 gauge
My dad had a little sign on his back door.
"This house protected by Mr Colt, Mr Smith and Mr Wesson"

The most bizarre thing I ever heard on this subject was when I was discussing this over the air a couple of years ago.  The person I was talking to said that in his state (don't remember which one), it was against the law to attach an audio recorder to the security system, even on your own property!  He said video surveillance recorders were OK but that audio recorders were illegal.  That's why at where he worked the security system used video cameras but the recorders have no audio track.

Assuming a low BS factor, that story has to be the most extreme example of criminalising the victim while protecting the intruder that I have ever heard.

It'll be a cold day in hell when someone tries to prevent me from setting up an audio recorder in my own house.

[N2DTS]

Maybe it had nothing to do with recording the crooks audio, just everyone elses?
Like you are not home and spy on kids, wife, people that come over, etc?

I don't think you are allowed to record your own telephone converstaions, even in your own house, as you do not have permission of the other party, or maybe you have to let them know they are being recorded.

But its not like anyone is going to come over and bust you unless you use the info in court...

Brett

[WV Hoopie]

Burglaries in this neck of the woods happen just about one every week. Meth, unemployent, etc., have added to the mess in Orygun.

Most of the neighbors now have fences around the perimiter, mine is 6 feet high with locked gates. This keeps most of the smash and grabs out. The last rash of break-ins were with someone using bolt cutters on the locks.

This made me purchase a PowerMax Plus from homesecuritystore. It is wireless and a KW station does not bother it in the least, easy to install. It covers buildings in the backyard too boot, wireless. A feature on the newer ones, they can use cell phone technology to place calls in case of an alarm.

In Orygun: If one person in the conversation wants to record that conversation, it is Legal!!!! Yes, I've recorded phone conversations to share with the AG's office in Salem. Realy cuts down on some of the nuts that don't want to go along with the program.

If you hide the system in a closet (etc) plan on adding another phone extension, outlets for systems (wall warts).

Craig,

[KB2WIG]

  " Use deadbolt locks with a key on the inside and outside (warning: not for family's with children). When you are home leave your key in the inside lock for safety.
"

One may purchase dead bolt locks that have a lever on the inside; no need to worry about egress.    Just make sure they can't be reached from the outside if the glass is busted.




klc

"I was so impressed by the company, I bought a Remington."

[VE1IDX]

A few years ago I had a system installed here by ADT. It uses all wireless sensors, magnetic door switches, infra red motion detector, and smoke alarm. No issues at all with RFI either to the system of from it.

[WD5JKO]

Thanks guys for the comments thus far. Some questions though:

1.) How does your system connect to the monitoring service, and the pros & cons of that method? I recall a few years back when analog cell phone support ended, and a whole bunch of security systems went off line. So far I have a ma-bell phone line.

2.) The wireless stuff must have range limitations, and need periodic battery replacement. How far can you go, and how long do the batteries last? Looking at some systems 4-sale, I see those 12v batteries like in garage door openers (AAA diameter, but 2/3 the length), and some say Lithium cells. I know that a trip to the big box store for a bunch of these batteries will definitely ring-up the cash register. So is it $100 twice a year to replenish batteries?

Jim
WD5JKO

[Mike/W8BAC]

Hi Jim.

Your Ma Bell service will work just fine. Make sure the system dials using DTMF and not older rotary switch dialing. The rotary dial types are still out on the market.

I like the Nextalarm internet systems. If you use this type you can receive email instantly telling you of an event and send video to the monitoring service. Google Nextalarm. One of the pages tells you what types and models of alarms that you can purchase that will work with they're system.

I don't know much about wireless systems but if they used batteries I wouldn't be interested for another reason.

Mike

Late Note, That page on the Nextalarm site showing compatible alarms for internet surveillance is a bit hard to find even for me so here it is.

https://nextalarm.com/help/Wiki.jsp?page=ABNCompatibility

[W1RKW]

Ok, we've had a string of burglaries nearby, and the XYL says it's time to get an alarm system.

So I'm looking at the plethora of choices: Wired, Wireless, DIY, Professionally installed, Call options (email, cell phone, call center, etc.). Then being a Ham, I don't want a bunch of RFI generators installed in my home. I also don't want my HAM transmitter to trigger the alarm, or cause the control panel to latch-up.

So what do other hams do for home security?

Jim,
WD5JKO

Got a Concorde system here tied into ADT. No RF susceptance or acceptance. Will do wireless and hard wired.  I am strictly hard wired. No faults whatsoever.

If you have an alarm system installed, ensure that you have your phone line armored to prevent cutting of the phone line.

I armored my phone service entrance since it is at ground level (underground wiring).

[WV Hoopie]

Monitoring services are questionable in this area. If response does not arrive in 5 or 10 minutes it is too late. Sheriff's department will not send a deputy to a home alarm, the county can't afford the man power and doesn't have the money to keep the non violent in jail.

The neighbors now have their systems to call other neighbors first. Guns will get there pronto!

The Visonic does well wireless at distances of 70 feet, no problems. Batteries will be an issue but a warning can be sent if any of the sensors have a weak battery. With any alarm system, test it every week!

Dead bolt locks haven't slowed the meth-heads one bit. They use a wreaking bar between the door & frame. Even those long reenforcing plates have been pulled out screws and all. The house across the street has been hit twice in the last year or two, same side door. The first time there wasn't an alarm system, second time there was and a neighbor came running with a gun.

So far a tall fence around the yard with no access to the side or back of the house has been the best deterent.

Craig

[Mike/W8BAC]

Craig, That sounds like a rough neighborhood! I lived in some tough neighborhoods in Sacramento back in the 70's and early 80's. Had my place tipped over twice and learned to keep things safe and think like a crook. We didn't have meth than but we had plenty of crooks looking for a pushover.

I never had a six foot fence and I'm sure I don't know everything about alarms but I still take home security seriously. I'm in a nice neighborhood now but I don't take chances. Nothing worse than coming home to find someone broke in and stole everything you liked and smashed the rest.

Mike

[WV Hoopie]

Mike,

It's not a rough neighborhood. Crime pays in Lane County Oregon, bad guys & gals are back on the street in a couple of hours after being booked. So, why not do it again? All they have to do is watch a house and wait for the owner to leave. Easy pickings!

A guy can't even keep a trailer hitch on the back of his truck. The crooks use a bolt cutter and pawn the hitch for a quick buck. We can't leave anything in the front yard or driveway.

Enough clean needles are given away by one of the do gooder organizations; running the numbers one out of every ten people in the Eugene/Springfield area could be an intravenous drug user. Moms can't let their children play at parks because of dirty needles left there by the druggies.

I've seen enough!

Craig,

[VE1IDX]

Not sure of the distance the newer wireless systems will cover but within a normal size house it is no problem whatsoever. All my sensors take the 3 volt battery that looks like half of a AA cell. The key fobs we have take the coin cell type. All the battery types are Lithium cells. Batteries last over a year on everything and the control panel shows whenever a sensor has a low battery. We are on a battery maintenance plan with our system so once or twice a year we just call and they come and replace ALL the batteries at the same time. Monthly charges for up here with a full monitored  system with battery replacement runs about $37.00. Only problem is you can't use wireless in an unheated out building due to the cold affecting the batteries. Simple solution is to hard wire those places. I had to do that with my barn I added last year. It has one door switch and a motion detector hardwired while the house is all wireless.

[N2DTS]

Many systems have cell phone type service to dial out.
The wireless stuff is poised to explode, many places I work on are replacing dsl, dedicated fractional T1 lines, and even persistant dial with 3g wireless stuff.

One of the guys at work told me all the new build fios stuff has been cancelled, to be replaced with 4g wireless stuff.....

Brett

[Mike/W8BAC]

Clarification, I'm not totally against batteries in an alarm system. The system box in all (it think) wired alarm systems have batterys in them. I take that to extremes. I use two systems here. One as the main system and one as a redundant backup. Both came with gel cell batteries. Both batteries have been replaced to provide the system with a minimum of two weeks backup without commercial power. That requires a large battery for the electromechanical bell.

[W3SLK]

If you don't have kids a big old doberman or a nasty mastiff might make someone think twice about breeching you abode 

[W2XR]

Mike,

It's not a rough neighborhood. Crime pays in Lane County Oregon, bad guys & gals are back on the street in a couple of hours after being booked. So, why not do it again? All they have to do is watch a house and wait for the owner to leave. Easy pickings!

A guy can't even keep a trailer hitch on the back of his truck. The crooks use a bolt cutter and pawn the hitch for a quick buck. We can't leave anything in the front yard or driveway.

Enough clean needles are given away by one of the do gooder organizations; running the numbers one out of every ten people in the Eugene/Springfield area could be an intravenous drug user. Moms can't let their children play at parks because of dirty needles left there by the druggies.

I've seen enough!

Craig,

Craig,

I was always under the impression that the Eugene, OR area was something of mecca for long-distance runners and health enthusiasts. Or am I thinking of a different part of the state?

If it was Eugene, it's sad that runners and other outdoor-types (and anyone else, for that matter) have to put up with seeing dirty needles and other low-life artifacts in public venues. I always think of Oregon and Washington as being such clean, fresh air environments, at least compared to the Greater New York/New Jersey/Long Island area where I live.

73,

Bruce

[WV Hoopie]

Hi Bruce,

Same Eugene, Track Town! The Eugene/Springfield region has seen better days. Can't leave a bicycle unattended or it is stolen. Quite a few are stolen from UO students in Eugene. Some have lost 5 or more during their stay at UO.

The rivers are great for trout fishing and white water sports. Cars are broken into while left at the county boat launches. Mt Pisgah had to keep volunteers in the parking lots to keep vandals from breaking into cars.

The towns had a lot going for them, but the timber industries have left after taking most of the good forest. So many nice things have been ruined by the drug culture.

Craig,

[W4EWH]

Ok, we've had a string of burglaries nearby, and the XYL says it's time to get an alarm system.

It may be time to think about security, but an alarm system is only one part of that process.

FWIW, here are a few things to consider:

• What do you have that's worth protecting? How much is it worth?
• Does your homeowner's insurance policy cover all the valuable items in your home? Most don't, so you'd do well to research the coverage and add insurance for things like jewelry, antiques, gold, silver, coins, stamps, etc.
• An alarm system will not keep burglars out of your home. They may be stupid, but they're not idiots: they know that it will take at least three minutes for the police to get there, so they'll be gone in that time.
• If you have things that are worth protecting, which are high enough in value that insurance costs are significant, the insurance company will insist on a safe and an alarm system anyway, so you need to consider the relative value and cost of the insurance, the items to be protected, and the cost of the safe and installation.
  
  • Safes are rated by Underwriters Laboratories, in terms of the time a unit can withstand a given type of attack. For example, a safe rated at "3 TH/TL" can withstand a three-hour attack by an experienced burglar with a torch and tools.
  • Avoid "Fire" or "Media" safes: they're not designed to resist deliberate attack
  • There's a reason they're named the Underwriters Laboratories: their ratings are used to determine insurance costs! Do not buy a safe that doesn't have a UL rating: loses would almost certainly be excluded from your policy!

• Forget any notion of your neighbors riding over the hill like the Cavalry in an old Western: the most dangerous thing in the world is a civilian with a firearm, so please just sit down with the neighbors and form a Neighborhood Watch. You'll get much better and more effective security by keeping an eye out for each other than by depending on firearms.

With these things in mind, and adequate insurance in hand, you'll be ready to consider the costs and benefits of an alarm system.

So I'm looking at the plethora of choices: Wired, Wireless, DIY, Professionally installed, Call options (email, cell phone, call center, etc.). Then being a Ham, I don't want a bunch of RFI generators installed in my home. I also don't want my HAM transmitter to trigger the alarm, or cause the control panel to latch-up.

There are as many choices as there are salesmen eager to tell you all about how their flavor tastes better and whitens your teeth. As with any major purchase, you'll need to do research, talk to your friends and neighbors who already have systems, and (most importantly) match the alarm to the items it protects!

So, here's another list of things to think about:

• Beware of what Bruce Schneier calls "Security Theater": high-priced alarm "systems" sold to homeowners that give a false sense of protection and are easily bypassed.
  
  • DC loops to central stations are almost never used now, because they're trivial to defeat by simply putting a short circuit across the pair. However, the wiring inside your home is almost certain to be a closed-DC-loop design, and it's the work of a few seconds to put a paper clip across the magnet switch on a door or to short the wires connected to a motion detector. You need a layered system of defenses that prevents sabotage.
  • Most low-end alarm companies buy and install cheaply made control boxes from OEM's who often vanish before the warranty expires. The solution to any failure is to put in a brand new box and hand you the bill, so demand a written guarantee of replacement-without-cost for any failure within the first year or two. if you're buying an alarm system yourself, do extensive research on the manufacturer, the dealer, and the product's UL ratings.
  • Reputable alarm companies will always explain the risks of using "area" alarm devices, such as motion detectors: they can be bypassed with a wad of chewing gum smeared over the aperture, and are not considered reliable in commercial settings.
  • Ask your insurance carrier which alarm installers and monitoring services they approve: you don't want your insurance to be voided by using a non-approved company.

• Remember that alarm wires are low volage, and therefore installers are not required to follow standard electrical practice! In the alarm industry, it's routine to poke holes in the tops and bottoms of closets when running wires from attic to cellar, and some alarm companies will brazenly explain the practice by claiming that "Everyone does it that way" or by threatening to raise the installation fee if you don't let them put wires wherever they please. Be sure your installation contract specifies routing inside walls or in armored conduit, because exposed wires are easy to cut, and many thieves will break into a house twice: the first time, they cut the wires in a place that's hard to see (or hire someone who already has access to do it for them), and then after you disable the alarm and shoo the police away, they're back the next night. Worse yet, sophisticated burglars will short-circuit the wires, thus preventing your alarm from sounding at all: then, they only need to wait until the alarm auto-resets before they return.
• You almost certainly need more than one zone of protection. There's no polite way to say this, but it's a fact: most burglaries are carried out by "friends" of your children's friends. Kids don't have the experience to spot the losers and thieves that hang around (and sponge off) teenagers in the suburbs, and the criminals-in-training are geniuses at sleezing their way into any party and/or tailgating in with someone else you barely know. Once they're in your home, they'll be making a mental map of the weak spots in the security, and practicing their art by wheedling information out of your kids as to whether there's any silverplate in the house or if their parents have a "secret" stack of Krugerands or how much cash their dad keeps in his sock drawer. You need an alarm system that puts certain areas "off limits" even to your kids.
• Once a burglar is in your home, he'll strive to be out and away before the police can arrive: he'll ignore any audible alarm (just like your neighbors will) and he'll take all the phones off the hook, and if he's done a little time he might even know enough to open the demarcation box where your phone wires terminate and cut the phone line before he even risks tripping an alarm: the "Demarc" boxes are almost always on the outside of homes or in the common areas of appartments, and Ma Bell won't armor their "drop" wires for you. This is why you'll see a small, wall-mounted yagi antenna inside the tellers' cage at most banks: it's the radio backup to the wired alarm system. If you're paying for active monitoring, always include "Dispatch on failure" provisions in your contract so that a cut wire is equivalent to an alarm.
• Remember, above all, that an alarm buys you time, not security. The alarm's function is to summon aide which will, if you've planned carefully, arrive before the thief can breach your safe (or rip it out of the wall), and before he can make use of the intelligence he's bought on the location and type of any deception safes, and before he can remove or cut the wires to your computer and slip away with it. If you don't make use of the time an alarm can buy you, you are wasting money.

73,

Bill, W1AC, who wishes he hadn't learned so much of the above the hard way.

[KD3CN]

I agree with Mikey, one of these will not only alarm, but take corrective action on the situation.