Any house alarm experts in?

nichorob

nichorob

nichorob

Soldato
Joined
1 Apr 2003
Posts
5,244
Location
London
Evening all,

Looking to get an alarm installed in my house. Had 3 quotes so far and all of them have recommended a wireless alarm. I.e all the sensors have no wires and feedback wirelessly to the box.

I can't help thinking that this will be a less safe setup to a traditional wired setup and have a feeling that the installer is trying to cut corners via wireless? Or am I looking into it too much? Research online says that a mild storm could produce enough interference to knock out a wireless alarm setup rendering it useless.
 
I'm pretty sure they would run on the same sort of frequencies as WiFi networks and I don't ever remember my WiFi going down even in the middle of a pretty big thunder storm.
 
I fitted a self install wireless alarm that I got from Amazon. The system actively detects attempts at jamming and sounds the alarm. Also has tamper sensors on all the wireless units and a solar powered siren. Really is a good bit of kit. I don't really see the advantage in paying someone to install one. The self install ones are just as good if fitted properly.
 
see what protocol is being used for it, if its wifi then the devices need to be powered up, enocean is another wireless protocol but is more used for BMS and these have solar cells to power them up, you dont want devices that you need to keep putting batteries in either really
 
Dava said:
see what protocol is being used for it, if its wifi then the devices need to be powered up, enocean is another wireless protocol but is more used for BMS and these have solar cells to power them up, you dont want devices that you need to keep putting batteries in either really
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Mines takes batteries in the wireless units but they last for years and a warning appears on the main panel when they need changed. No great hassle tbh.
 
Hi OP,

I work for the technical department of a company that install wire free alarms, the system we use is manufactured by a company called Visonic.

They run on 868Mhz in the UK & have a host of features to make the wireless as reliable as possible. The powermax Range has Jamming detection & supervised sensors, these transmit every few minutes & if one fails to report in within a configurable time you are alerted.

If you want the badgers nadgers, take a look at the PowerMaster range, it supports the above and the following;

Full two-way communication between devices
Multi-channel, Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) technology that overcomes frequency blocking
TDMA synchronized communication technology eliminates message collisions
AES-128 encryption

A good quality well installed wireless alarm system is now every bit as good as a wired one !
 
The one I got was the Friedland Response SL5 Wirefree Telecommunicating Alarm System. It runs on 868MHZ. It is completely modular so you can add more bits to it as you go. Highly recommended and gets good reviews on Amazon.
 
Firestar_3x said:
Don't agree simply because a wireless system is designed and rated to only grade 2 max
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Perhaps i should have been more specific with my comment, Grade 2 is perfectly fine for a domestic property or lower end commercial. Also Visonic & other manufacturers are now starting to put out grade 3 products, but i digress..

@ nichorob You have probably been quoted for a PowerMax Complete system, if you don't know much about alarms you will probably be better off having it installed for you. Visonic make good alarms but they are not aimed for DIY installation but with that said if you are technically minded you may be able to pick it up as you go along.

What would you like to know about it ?
 
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I installed a wireless Responce system myself that I bought from Amazon over a year ago, installation was no problem, even on basic DIY knowledge.
Sensors mounted in rooms, window contacts and then the solar powered box on the exterior wall. been working a treat, even throughout the storms mentioned.
Now I didnt get any professional quotes beforehand but I doubt they would be cheaper than me doing it myself. Honestly it took about 4 hours, from opening the box to having the whole house connected and tested.
Its worth it just to sleep easier at night because if it goes off the whole street would hear it its so loud!
 
eggbert said:
Perhaps i should have been more specific with my comment, Grade 2 is perfectly fine for a domestic property or lower end commercial. Also Visonic & other manufacturers are now starting to put out grade 3 products, but i digress..
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I can agree with that, depends what you want to protect, but yes grade 2 is good enough for many.

We have just installed a grade 3 wired system, would like to extend to the garage but it's too much hassle to wire and don't want to compromise the system by putting in wireless.
 
I have a hatred of sensors so all my Visonic Powermax stuff are contacts, things that have to be pulled apart or pressed together.
The only thing I've had to do over the years is change the batteries in the contacts.
 
Firestar_3x said:
Don't agree simply because a wireless system is designed and rated to only grade 2 max.
Click to expand...
A grade 3 alarm system has to be fitted by an approved company otherwise it's not grade 3. Apart from a whole pile of checklist stuff, grade 3 hardware is very difficult to bypass.
But as eggbert said, grade 2 is fine for domestic, grade 3 is overkill. Personally I like overkill but I still can't recommend it for others.

Given what is likely to fail or false trigger on an alarm, wireless is OK. Having heard about the standard of installation of wired systems by some firms it may even be more reliable. Visonic make nice kit, although you haven't said what cheap tat the other firms quoted you for.

Personally I prefer wired, it's cheaper and less maintenance to DIY. If I was paying someone I'd go for something like a Visonic system as the installer is less likely to mess it up.
 
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