security systems

[heehaw]

does anyone use a monitored security system, Brinks or ADT?
Brinks charges @ $30 a month and ADT charges @ $38.
is there any cheaper??
heehaw

 

[riptides]

I use ADT, quarterly payments. Good service. Even my Sherrifs office responds to the house now. That, let me tell you is an ADDED plus around here. Not because of the crime, but the rural nature of the community, and the lack of proper attention by my counties officials at planning for growth.

The resources goes with the mostest - motto.....

And I don;t have mostest of anything! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

-Mike Z.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I use a system from a local company, they only charge me $15.00 per month, billed every quarter. Mine includes 24 hour monitoring for fire and smoke in addition to the burglar alarm.

 

[fivestring]

Monitoring companies are a dime a dozen.
You should be able to find one for half of what an alarm company wants. Most of them are nationwide. Look up security monitoring or alarm monitoring.
BTW.... ADT is monitored in Clarkston, Ga. Is that a local call for you? For them?
Or.....
you can buy an automatic dialer and have your system call you at work; call your cell phone; call a neighbor. A whole lot cheaper!!!
Do not set it up to dial the police department; that is illegal in most localities.

 

[buckle97]

I have an ADT system for a home I own in a very rural area. Nobody lives in the house full time (my wife and I stay there on weekends) and I got the system for peace of mind mostly. I have been very satisfied with the service for almost three years now. Anytime there is a problem the sheriff's dept is sent out and they contact me. Never heard a complaint no matter how many times it has gone off.
I don't think the location of the monitoring company is anything to be concerned with. I very rarely have to call them (although they call me more frequently). When the alarm goes off, the system dials an 800 number for the monitoring company.
I am pretty sure I pay around $35 per month. It is billed quarterly and I may be locked in to a rate from three years ago when I first signed up.

Lawrence

 

[WVBill]

That's what I have for my wife's Quilt Shop. An X-10 system with an auto dialer. It dials four numbers in sequence (Home, my office, her cell, my cell) and keeps on trying until one of them answers (actual answer, not answering machine).

It costs nothing per month.

I would just like to see X-10 make smoke alarms and low temp alarms integrate with their security systems.

 

[fivestring]

About 8 months ago, there was another thread on this issue.
It does make a difference that the monitoring company is long distance from you. They can not just call 911.
They have to call a regular 10 digit number. Most police departments only have one line for incoming long distance calls. If it is a busy time (thunderstorms especially), they WILL get a busy signal at some point in time.
Every person on your contact list is a long distance call. How many attempts do you think they will make before they move on to the next customer?

<font color="red">"Never heard a complaint no matter how many times it has gone off." </font>

It bothers me to hear that from people.
If it has gone off more than once (false alarm), then there is a problem; either with the system or operator error. Either way, you are either wasting money on a bad system or wasting police department time answering more false alarms. Negligent alarm users have been sued for officer injuries and deaths from a location of repeated false alarms.
Because of those attitudes, more and more locations are enacting false alarm ordinances to fine folks for excessive false alarms.
98% of all alarm activations are false. That means there is a product out there that one pays at least $30 a month for that is a POS.
Would a person buy anything else with a 98% failure rate? I don't think so.
Of the 2% that are true alarms, people are caught less than 1% of the time.
I don't know how to attach a link to the other thread so maybe someone can do it for me. With my thanks, of course.

How do I know these things, one might ask????
I spent 10 years researching alarm systems, being trained on their use and installations, implementing a false alarm ordinance in a major city, assisting in getting false alarm ordinances passed in other jurisdictions.
Current research shows the trend of more and more locations that have decided not to answer alarm calls at all. That is the responsibilitry of the alarm companies.
They sell it, they install it and they monitor it. It's their baby.
Police departments and municipalities have no stake in the process.

 

[Bird]

Yep, Gary, I worked on that myself for a number of years and finally now I think most cities around here have ordinances requiring the owner of the property to have a permit for any alarm system that results in contacting the police in any way, and there are penalties for excessive numbers of false alarms. I think the general public has no idea that 98% (or more) of the alarms are false alarms, but that also means that alarm calls are very low priority calls for the police.

 

[heehaw]

i have worked in the electronics field for 30+ years...and i don't trust wireless systems, motion detectors, or any of that fancy stuff...if i don't use someone like Brinks or ADT; i plan on putting switches on all the doors, inside and out, that are hardwired to an alarm...that shouldn't have a problem falsing. when i leave, all doors, even inside doors will be shut..if someone breaks in, they can do what they want in that room, but open the door and the alarm is activated. the alarm may end up just being a loud siren that goes off for 5 minutes, it wouldn't do any good to call me, as i will be over 100 miles away, but the neighbors should hear it, even though the closest one is 100+ yards away.
heehaw

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( wouldn't do any good to call me, as i will be over 100 miles away, but the neighbors should hear it )</font>

And then who goes and turns it off? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I think an audible alarm is more likely to cause a burglar to run before taking much, if anything, but I also remember many times when lots of neighbors have called the police to complain about the noise when the owner could not be located to turn it off.