alarm system noobie question


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Old 08-24-03, 03:17 PM
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Question alarm system noobie question

hello,

I am going to install an alarm system for my house, but need
some questions answered. I want to install the system myself,
and not have it monitored, but rather have it call several
phone numbers and announce a message.

from reading the other people's questions, I have decided
the ITI concord or simon systems sound the best. However,
I'm not sure what I need to buy.

Here's what I need:

I have a small home, approx. 1200 square feet with 2 bedrooms.

I have two doors, front and back, 14 windows on the first
floor, and 3 on the second floor that should somehow be
covered. there is also a basement that should be convered.

there are 4 rooms on the first floor to be covered and 3
on the second floor (the ones with the windows).

I can install a hardwired system, but would rather do wireless
as I would imagine it'd be faster to install.

I guess I'll need the following. Please add to my list and tell
me what I'm forgetting...

1) a panel
2) a lcd keypad
3) transformer
4) battery
5) some sensors for windows (what do i need here?)
6) some sensors for doors (what do I need here?)
7) some motion sensor or sensors (what do i need for this?)
8) some siren or audible alarm(s) (again, what do I need?)

thanks for any help you can provide!
 
  #2  
Old 08-24-03, 08:31 PM
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Hello Trance, and welcome to the alarm forum.

It sounds like you've done some research and pretty much know what you want. As for the rest, and to answer some of your questions:

If you want to call more than one phone number, you need to use a "voice dialer" - and to do that, you should use a hardwire system, like the Concord Express (only because it will provide more outputs for you to connect to.) The nice thing about the Concord Express is that it also will give you the option of using wireless (16 wireless zones built right in.) If you want to wire in a few doors, that's easy to do too, 6 hardwire zones built in also.

As for the wireless door/window sensors - I would say use the 60-362-10-319.5 Crystal Sensors. The reason I say that, is that they offer more options with hardwire terminals built-in, and they also use Lithium batteries instead of Alkalines, so they last longer (5-7 years, instead of 3-5 years.)

Now, if you want to save some money on protecting the windows, you should use either a glass break in each room, or setup a "trap zone" with motion detectors. A trap zone is exactly that, just a central area in the house (like the foyer, hallway, living room) that you protect to keep anyone from moving through the house. Glass breaks have a coverage of 15-25' (depending on model) and will NOT work through walls - so that's why I say 1 per room. If you have 3 or more windows in a room, it's cheaper to use a glass break or motion detector than to put a sensor on every window.

Sirens can be either interior (about 95dB) or exterior (105dB to 115dB.) Sometimes it's easier to run a wire to the attic and just install an exterior type siren than to try to run a wire up a wall and install an interior siren. But, for the most part, interior sirens are plenty loud enough to scare away intruders, if they can be wired easily.

The next step from here is not so much to figure out which system you want, but where you want to place the components and if you can wire them or not. Go ahead and try to run some wires (just 22 guage/4 conductor wire - like phone wire) and if you find it's just too difficult to do, then use wireless. If you use a hardwire system, you will need to wire in the siren and keypad, no choice - that's one thing to keep in mind. With a self-contained system (like the Simon 3), the Control Panel, Keypad, and Siren are all built-in to one panel which just needs to be near a phone jack and an outlet (and pretty easily accessible.) If you really like the idea of the Concord Express, but don't think you can get the keypad wire run to where you want it, you could always use a wireless keypad or wireless keychain remotes also - then it doesn't matter where you place them (you'll still need a keypad somewhere though.)

Hope at least some of this helps. If you have any other questions, please let me know.
 
 

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