Spec me a home alarm system

UberTiger

UberTiger

UberTiger

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I'm looking into setting up an alarm system in a new build for a family member.

They have alarm cable all run through the house, and it would be nice to have a reliable wired setup seeing as all the cables have been run, but it seems many of the newer modern systems are all wireless.

It's a shame, as they're the ones with the better apps and integrations, but they have the downside of needing to replace batteries and be prone to jamming.


Systems that seem easy enough to buy and fit yourself seem to be Ring and Ajax systems.


Ring has the benefit of being rather cheap to buy into, but I also view it as a bit of a cheap brand. The doorbells are okay, but the cameras are a bit poor. However they do have the fact that their backend is Amazon, which bodes well for longevity, updates and overall reliability, plus the app is probably pretty decent compared to incumbents such as Texecom etc.

Ajax systems seem very slick, with a polished app and decent customisability, but sensors are pricey and I feel their outdoor siren is not ideal for a home environment. Ideally the alarm system should deter before attempted entry and there's no option for an always on light for the ajax outdoor siren as far as I can tell, even though you can plug it into the mains and and it does have LEDs for various status levels built in.

Their support tells me the siren firmware can't be updated for security reasons, so it's unlikely to ever be added unless there's a hardware revision.
Ring on the other hand has an excellent dusk till dawn light on their outdoor siren, but it also has the tacky blue ring branding on it (IMO).

They icon choices on the Ajax keypad seem poor to me too. They seem quite unintuitive, at least the Texecom keypad in the place I'm stay at the moment has a display that can show text and actual words on the buttons, which is much easier for someone less tech savvy to use.

Ajax does have a wired fibra system rolling out, but you need to be trained on it before they'll sell it to you, so it seems a bit more specialist, so I imagine between the hardware and extra install cost it might end up being a bit cost prohibitive for a home install purely for the sake of using the existing wiring.

I'd rather get a system that I can buy, install and configure myself so we don't have ongoing support or maintenance costs to a 3rd party company if we don't really require it.

Are there any other brands/systems that should be considered these days?
Anyone have particularly good or bad experience with either Ring or Ajax alarms?
Any other considerations that people have when installing a modern system?
 
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This is joke of Ajax. They sign up installers, train them and then sell the kit through any old outlet. Any current Ajax dealer will sell you Fibra. Plus the grey market is alive and well.

CCTV Direct in Leeds just require you to self-declare as ‘trade’ and they’ll sell you whatever you want.

Wireless Ajax is pretty much where the market is at the moment. It’s inexpensive for what it is, the easiest thing in the world to fit and configure and it just works reliably.

I‘m not aware of anyone currently jamming the Jeweller radio system Ajax use but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

I sell (and I’m trained to install) Ajax, Pyronix and Paxton. They’re all good in their own ways. Take a look at UniFi Protect as well, although I wouldn’t recommend it myself, it’s very nicely packaged.
 
Thanks for your input @WJA96

I did have this video recommended to me when I was watching ajax vids on youtube, seems it is possible to jam the signals. They block all the communication channels using a professional frequency inhibitor, which I imagine would work on any wireless system.


I doubt the property I'm thinking about would be subject to a sophisticated jamming attack, but then again maybe it's simpler than we think these days and it will only get easier? Sort of like how all these new wireless vehicle attacks are allowing for thieves to steal cars in seconds now.

arstechnica.com

There’s a new form of keyless car theft that works in under 2 minutes

As car owners grow hip to one form of theft, crooks are turning to new ones.
arstechnica.com arstechnica.com

Take a look at UniFi Protect as well
Click to expand...

That's just cameras isn't it? No sensors or actual 'alarm' system? I like Unifi, and will probably setup Unifi OS, but the cameras feel overpriced for the quality to me. Definitely good for plug and play, but I'll probably stick to Hik and Dahua 4k cams with Blue Iris for now.

Will take a look at Pyronix and Paxton too.
 
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I use a Ring system with a wide range of hardware, and am very happy with it.

We have internal and external cameras, the external siren box, motion and contact sensors, wired doorbell, and pay for the cloud subscription.

It may not be deemed as the most secure or sophisticated system, but so far in terms of reliability, features, ease of installation, and value, I'm very happy with it.
 
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I'm Happy with our Ring alarm system too. Mobile failover. and a decent app. Plenty of cameras surrounding the property and cheap to add extras. Backed up with some wired CCTV if i get a notification the system is offline I can double check
 
Sorry - I think I meant Access, not Protect. Unifi are moving into security more and more.

And as I understand it, if Jeweller is blocked or loses signal it sends an alert, so although you might not be able to stop them entering your property (not that an alarm does that anyway) you would certainly know something was up.


We sell a LOT of Ajax wireless gear primarily because it’s an easy up-sell with Dahua cameras as the two are very easy to integrate. It’s beyond simple to install. You literally just stick the sensors on doors and windows and scan the 2d barcodes into the app. Configure the hub with your router or insert a 4G SIM and thats basically that.
 
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Texecom kit is really good if you are at least half technically minded. They are widely used on commercial and domestic alike. With SmartCom it becomes app based control which is excellent.
+1 for Unifi Protect Cameras, an expensive option though and makes most sense if you also use their networking gear.

One thing to think about - when we were burgled the scumbags smashed up our garden lights to give themselves cover of darkness, this tripped the RCD in the consumer unit kocking out power to half of our house. Our cameras and disk were on a UPS so stayed recording but the router wasn't so we lost notifications from them and the alarm. The Texecom has its own backup battery of course but for signalling needs the router unless you get the SIM backup option.

They went to a massive effort to get in upstairs, so don't neglect PIRs upstairs would be my advice.
 
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Does anyone know if AJAX allow two modes or night arm?

One for perimeter, say you know you're in for the evening but still want to move around the house, but doors are armed.

Then another for bed time, where the downstairs motion sensors are also armed.
 
UberTiger said:
Does anyone know if AJAX allow two modes or night arm?

One for perimeter, say you know you're in for the evening but still want to move around the house, but doors are armed.

Then another for bed time, where the downstairs motion sensors are also armed.
Click to expand...

Yes, it has group mode and night mode so you can have part of the house covered at any time and then other parts covered only at night.

You can also set up things like a summer group at individual sensor level so you disable the window sensors when you go out but the curtain sensors would remain active etc.

I’m sure there will be edge use-cases where it won’t do what you want, but I’ve yet to find it.
 
I've been reading about so much more crime this last few months, locally here in London. Probably just hear about it more because of the likes of What'sApp and next door, but this one was particularly awful from last week. They had an alarm, but just forgot to set it that night.

On Friday night I experienced the most terrifying night of my life. My partner, Adam woke up to a thud in the master bedroom at midnight. He went in and an armed robber was clearing out my wardrobe. Adam got down on the floor and covered his head and said ‘my wife and son are sleeping in the other room. Take anything u want and please don’t harm us.’ The robber was around 6 ft, white Caucasian, wearing all black (face mask, cap, bomber jacket) he was calm, regulated and didn’t rush when my partner disturbed him. My partner said he was concealing something in his bomber jacket. The robber shouted ‘**** off’ twice and walked into the next room.

I wake up to the landing light on and walk into the bedroom and Adam is shaking in terror and whispers that there is an armed robber in the house and he’s been here for over half an hr. I can hear the guy moving downstairs!

My body goes into fight or flight and I have diarrhoea as quietly as I can in the bathroom, put on clothes and creep into my son’s room (he’s snoring away) at this point the robber doesn’t know I’m awake and Adam and I are too scared to call the police in case he can hear us on our phones, so I text my sister to see if she’s awake. Thank God she is!!! And she calls the Manchester police (she lives in Manchester) who then call in an armed police unit to get to our address.

The whole time I’m texting my sis from the side of my son’s bed, cold sweating and shaking staying in text conversation with her to stay calm and regulate my emotions. She’s also shaking and freaking out. I wait like this for 20 mins knelt down next to my sleeping son.

The armed police unit ‘trojan’ break down the front door and charge round our property (the robber has left) they are here from 1.45am to 5am taking statements and organising for the forensic team to come and fingerprint our bedroom and a police locksmith to change our locks and patch up the broken door. My son wakes up as 6 armed policeman sweep the house.

He said ‘Mommy what happened? Did a robber get into our house?’ one of the policemen is standing there (with a gun strapped onto his chest and a bullet proof vest) at the end of my son’s bed saying ‘what’s your name? How old are you? My son is 5 yrs old too!’ This bit is like something out of a movie.

They’ve taken all my jewellery (even costume) Adam’s watches and some small handbags. But we are all safe and unharmed.

The robber got in through a living room window that we rarely open and has been left unlocked and left through the front door (he even had the audacity to collect my house keys from the faraday box to unlock the mortise lock and open the door)

The worst thing is that it could have been completely preventable if we had checked security before bed and put on our ground floor alarm.

If this event had happened on Thursday night, I would have had to deal with it solo as my partner was away that night.

I am not trying to court attention, attract sympathy messages or create fear I am simply raising awareness. I wouldn’t want anyone else to ever go through this.

The forensics say house robberies are on the rise again.

We live in the centre of Barnes
Click to expand...
 
I install Ajax, it's really high quality and reliable. You could always use the relay module, feed a dummy bell box and setup a scenario so it only activates the relay when armed.
 
Got the Ajax system all setup. Overall pretty impressed.

Very smooth setup, although their icon choices for the different states frustrates me greatly and I had to add written labels to the key fob with post it notes and sellotape to ensure household members press the right icon and don't set it off by mistake. :rolleyes:

Just discovered and configured group mode, which is perfect for easy activating of a perimeter based night mode by default, then a secondary downstairs group once in bed.

Thankfully group mode adds written text labels to all the buttons on the control page in the app, unlike the control page without group mode which just has the silly unlabelled icons on a picture of the fob.

One thing I'm not sure about though, and it's not in the docs for group mode, there's an open padlock in the top right of the control page. When I tap it, it says ~7 hours left, then gives me a menu of buttons with:

Permanent access
1 hour
2 hours
4 hours
8 hours

Any idea what this means or does?
 
Figured it out, it’s because I initially used the Pro app to configure the system before adding another user. So now I have to request full admin access again, otherwise I lose it within 8 hours.

They could really do with improving the labelling on some of their features.

support.ajax.systems

How can PRO gain access to the system | Ajax Systems Support

Read article How can PRO gain access to the system on the official Ajax Support website | Need help? Write to us: ✉[email protected]
support.ajax.systems support.ajax.systems
 
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UberTiger said:
They had an alarm, but just forgot to set it that night.
Click to expand...

Waste time having an alarm system if it’s not going to be set.

Problem is, I had my windows open the other week and an alarm went off at 2am, woke most of the estate.

Alarm was integrated with local police so the police came out as well when it went off.

Just happens that the person living there went down stairs for a cuppa didn’t unset the alarm first. Set the alarm off twice!

Not good….
 
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GaryTheSnail said:
Waste time having an alarm system if it’s not going to be set.

Problem is, I had my windows open the other week and an alarm went off at 2am, woke most of the estate.

Alarm was integrated with local police so the police came out as well when it went off.

Just happens that the person living there went down stairs for a cuppa didn’t unset the alarm first. Set the alarm off twice!

Not good….
Click to expand...

Yeah, a friend of mine has the same. Problem with the police call out is if you get too many false alarms within a set period they'll stop coming. They had a guest over one time and did the same thing you described, used of ones of their two false alarm police call outs, which they were not happy about as they pay a lot for that service annually.
 
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UberTiger said:
Got the Ajax system all setup. Overall pretty impressed.

Very smooth setup, although their icon choices for the different states frustrates me greatly and I had to add written labels to the key fob with post it notes and sellotape to ensure household members press the right icon and don't set it off by mistake. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
We've just had a basic Ajax system installed and I'd agree with that comment. It doesn't help that the icons are the same colour as the background, in our case white on white. I'm not sure why the fob is so poorly designed when everything else is very well thought out.
 
Yeah, we have the black on black, it's just as bad. And the icons themselves are just weird. I get they're probably trying to design something universal and language independent, but the cognitive load for new users trying to figure out what circles and broken circles and broken circles inside circles is just nuts.

Figure something out with padlocks and moons or something if it must be icons.

Other UI issues is that the font size and contrast of unselected tabs in the app are too small and too low. Makes them hard to read for people for some people.

I also wish the Keypad could permanently display the arm mode without having to touch it to activate it. I realise that would use more power, but it would be great to be able to tell at a glance when walking through the house if it's armed or not. I'm used to an old school alarm with a proper LCD display that flashes what mode it's in permanently when armed, which is very useful to prevent accidentally opening the door when night mode is on. I can see a mistake happening where we set night mode one night, then open the front door without remembering to turn it off even though the keypad is literally right next to it.

Perhaps a PoE version could be made to get power to it to enable a proper LCD display or at least always on status lights. Of all the devices that can take chunky and easily replaceable batteries though, it's the keypad, so even without constant power, I'd prefer to replace the batteries every 6-12 months and have always on status lights when it's armed.
 
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We don't even have the keypad, I told you it was basic. :D I'm thinking of getting one on the landing purely as a reminder that we now have an alarm, and to unset it before going downstairs.:o
 
Yeah, I toyed with the idea of no keypad, but wasn’t sold on the idea of keeping a fob on our keychains that could arm and disarm with no code.

If one of us loses our keys I would worry whoever finds them could also disable the alarm! Figured getting into the habit of a keypad might be better.

So bought the kit with the keypad and a spare fob to keep as a hardware device upstairs to arm and disarm at night in case network or smartphone is offline. Will see how it goes! :)
 
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