| The alarm control is the brain of your system. It is typically placed
in an area that is out of the way like a basement, attic, closet or
office. The motherboard and additional components such as radio
receivers, backup power supply and zone expanders are inside this metal
box, which is often locked. You will have little or no interface with
the alarm control. Your alarm technician will need to access this unit
to program it and wire it to general standards, or your custom
standards.
There are many manufacturers of alarm controls. Each manufacturer will
also produce several models within a particular product line. Alarm
companies purchase direct from the manufacturer or more often buy their
products through one of a few available alarm distributors in their
area. These distributors and manufacturers do not sell product to the
non- professional consumer. You can buy this equipment on line if you
have the ability to install it and service it yourself.
As a general rule the controls that are most dependable and have the
most programming options are more costly. I will teach you how to get
the best control you can find as this will greatly affect your ease of
use and your ability to have your alarm adjusted to fit your lifestyle.
In the interest of keeping this device as understandable as possible
for you, I will forgo the intense and hundreds of differences among
these units and I will break them into a few categories that should
make more sense to you.
BASIC
There are many basic units available to the alarm dealer. They will
often use these units knowing that the average consumer does not know
the difference, and they will stock them at very little expense. A less
qualified installer can also install these basic units, because there
are few or no programming and wiring options.
(HOT TIP!)
What you should be most concerned about when it comes to these basic
units is that we professionals refer to many of them as “ CROWBAR
SYSTEMS." These systems come as a control, keypad, siren, communicator
and backup power supply all built into one unit. If a burglar breaks
into your place and hears a siren coming from this unit, they are going
to take the proverbial crowbar and smash it off the wall. At this time
you would no longer have a control, keypad, siren, backup power supply
or communicator to call for help. A lot of good that would do for you!
Now that you are educated in the pitfalls of a self contained unit I
doubt that anyone will be able to sell you one, or even give you one
for that matter.
AVERAGE
The majority of systems that professional alarm companies install fall
into this category. They are dependable for the most part based on how
long the model has been on the market. Some of these manufacturers have
stuck with their dependable product lines for well over 20 years. Some
of the newer models have nice new features but when it comes to
mid-range units I have always avoided turning my clients into product
testers. These units are comprised of any number of separate components
that are wired together to make your complete system. This way if
someone knocks a siren or keypad or any other component off the wall
the alarm still does what it needs to do. The control panel in this
range typically comes with at least eight zones. Zones give you the
ability to use all or part of your system you will also be able to
pinpoint with some accuracy where a violation has taken place. An
example of using part of your system would be as follows:
*You are staying home and want only your perimeter devices on and your interior devices off.
* You are lounging in the back yard and want to go in and out of the
back door so you bypass that door and motion detector while protecting
the remainder of the house.
* You are leaving work for the evening and your employees are staying
late so you bypass the work area and arm the office so no one can enter
that area.
When choosing your alarm company avoid the dealer that has many brands
and models available to you in this range. That could mean that they
are buying whatever is on sale that week from the distributor. The
dealer that has used the same model for many years is more proficient
when it comes to installing, programming options and servicing of that
model.
HIGH END
If you know what you want in an alarm system and realize that these
high-end systems can be programmed to do exactly what you want them to
do for many different scenarios, you would settle for nothing less. All
of your presets can be activated usually with the touch of one button.
It is my experience that all of the many different features of these
type of controls are designed for ease of use by the end user (That’s
You!) and not the alarm dealer. They come with many zones so you have
complete control over every aspect of your protection. These units can
even be serviced remotely when changes are requested saving everyone
time and money.
It takes a more qualified professional to properly install, find out
what your requirements are, program the alarm to fit your lifestyle,
and then teach you how simple it is to operate. I would assume you are
like me and want the best-qualified installer you can find to work
inside your home.
(HOT TIP!)
Find the dealer that places the highest number of installs in your
area. Because of the volume they buy in, they will get the high-end
equipment for the same price the rest of the dealers pay for the
average equipment. They should always be willing to use the high-end
equipment without extra cost to you, because it sets them apart from
the others and due to the quality of equipment, they don’t carry the
expenses of maintaining a large service team.
WHO CAN YOU CALL?
BBB, Burglar Alarm Associations (both local and national), State
licensing authority or my favorite the promotions or sales manager of
your potential alarm dealer- and let them know you know the difference!
Lets look at a typical zone layout for a control panel so that you can understand the way it is wired and programmed works.
ZONE 1- (DELAY) This zone is where the doors from which you most often
enter and exit are. When you turn your alarm on, the exit delay will
start a timer (programmed to your specifications, if requested)
allowing you time to get out. Once the exit time has expired, (usually
about 30-60 seconds.) the alarm will be in the on or “armed" condition.
When you return to your home or business and enter through the delay
doors an entry timer begins. This timer is usually set at about 15-30
seconds. You do not want to have a long entry time as a burglar
entering through a delay zone has the same amount of time in your
protected area before the alarm goes off. During this time you would go
to the nearest keypad and enter your code to turn your alarm off.
(IN THE KNOW!)
The delay doors have a chime feature that can easily be turned on or
off. Most people elect to leave this feature on all the time, so that
they can hear a tone when the alarm is off and someone enters. The
high-end systems can be programmed to have a different tone for each
door. If you can spare a zone have your delay doors put on separate
zones as opposed to having them share one, and request that your
control be programmed for different tones.
ZONE 2- (INSTANT PERIMETER) This zone would be for other than delay
doors. The back yard door and the master bedroom to deck doors are good
examples of these types of doors. There is no delay timer on these
doors and when the alarm is on and entry is made the alarm will go off
instantly.
ZONE 3- (INTERIOR) This zone is for your motion detector on the main
floor. When you enter through a delay door the motion will delay also,
giving you the ability to get to the keypad to turn off or “disarm"
your system. If you do not enter through a delay door first and the
motion sees you it will go into an alarm condition instantly. When you
are staying home or arming your business system without leaving, you
can arm your system in the stay mode. This will bypass your interior
zone or zones allowing you to move around without restrictions while
still having your perimeter secured.
ZONE 4-(INTERIOR) This zone is for your basement motion detector. It will function the same as your main floor motion detector.
(HOT TIP!)
Most alarm technicians will put multiple motion detectors on a single
interior zone. I like to be sure these are separated, so that you have
the flexibility of deciding which stays on and which are bypassed, when
armed in the stay mode. This would be handy if you have an unfinished
basement with windows, and you have no need to access that area while
armed in the stay mode. This also gives you pinpoint indications of
which area has been or is being violated when the alarm sounds.
ZONE 5- (INSTANT) This zone is for basement or lower level door or window contacts.
ZONE 6- (INSTANT) This zone is for main or upper level window contacts.
ZONE 7- (INSTANT) This zone is for main floor glass break detectors.
ZONE 8- (FIRE) This zone is for smoke and heat detectors. Any zone that
is designated as a fire zone is on 24 hours a day even if the alarm is
not armed.
As you can see there is great flexibility in the way your alarm control
gets set up for you. In all my years in the business I have rarely seen
an alarm company discuss this with the customer. Typically they will
create a general setup standard and tell the client this is how this
works. Understanding that you should be involved in this process helps
you design a system that fits into your lifestyle instead of having to
adjust your lifestyle to your new alarm system.
This is yet another reason to be sure you are getting the most bang for your buck when selecting an alarm control.
(INSIDER INFO!)
The alarm installer most likely has the ability to program a lockout
code into your alarm control. This code prevents a different monitoring
or service company in the future from re-programming your system,
rendering it useless unless you do business with the installing dealer.
Insist on “NO LOCKOUT CODE" in writing from your installing dealer.
This way they have to earn your future business, leaving your freedom
of choice intact.
Hardwired Systems vs. Wireless - Hardwired systems are those that have
the devices wired directly to the control. Wireless systems send radio
signals to a receiver in the control, which processes the signals.
There is nothing more dependable than a pair of copper wires to send a
signal from point A to point B. I would recommend a hardwired system
over a wireless system in all instances where one can be installed.
However there are times when the only thing that can be installed in
your place is a wireless or “radio frequency" system.
If there is no basement or a finished one, and there is no accessible
attic to run wire through, you would have to go wireless to have your
system installed. In the wireless world there is a great range of
quality available. Wireless equipment is more costly than hardwired
equipment in general because each device has a radio transmitter built
into it or attached to it. If you need to go wireless make sure you are
getting the highest quality radios available. Some use common
frequencies like 900 megahertz and others use licensed frequencies to
transmit signals. The latter is the better one because there is little
that will interfere with the signal. Some of the things that could
interfere with the common frequencies are airplanes, CB radios, cell
towers etc.
A good way to look at the differences in the quality of wireless
equipment is to think of a wireless home telephone. The cheap $20.00
unit uses common frequencies. It works, but often has static and drops
out. Sometimes you hear a neighbor with the same phone frequency
talking. The range you can wander from the base is often less than
desirable. The $100.00 unit makes all the difference in the world and,
although you hated spending the extra money on the replacement, you
appreciate the quality gained.
I would rather not have an alarm system at all, before I would have one
that I don’t use because it is always going off for no apparent reason.
The high- end wireless equipment is extremely dependable and you must
be prepared to spend a little extra to assure you are at this end of
the quality spectrum.
(FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION!)
If you have an area such as a basement or accessible attic to run wires
in, and your alarm company wants to sell to you or give you a wireless
system, consider not doing business with them. They are most likely
going to use low quality, inexpensive wireless equipment and also save
on the cost of installation. A wireless system takes less time for
workers to install because they don’t need to take the time or to have
the skill to hide the wires.
Wireless equipment has several other shortcomings that are unavoidable no matter what the quality of equipment you get:
* The transmitters are large and having one on each of your doors is
not as aesthetically pleasing as the small hardwired devices.
* The transmitters have batteries in them that have to be changed periodically.
* Many wireless systems will not tell you if a transmitter is not working, so you have a false sense of security.
* Wireless devices are frequency and brand specific so they must match
the manufacturer of the control. Updating your control in the future
could thus render all your devices useless or restrict your choices in
control features.
Hardwired devices of any brand with a few exceptions can be wired
directly to any brand control. So if you are upgrading an existing
hardwired system you will most likely be able to use the old contacts,
motion detectors, smoke detectors, glass break detectors, etc.
One advantage of wireless equipment is that you can place devices
exactly where you want them in what would be a complicated hardwire
situation. There are great high quality systems at your disposal if a
wireless system is a necessity for your installation.
You can also add a wireless receiver to any hardwired control at any
time, so that you can transmit one or several devices to it. We call
this a hybrid system, since it is now both hardwired and wireless.
Reducing the amount of wireless devices on your system will reduce your
cost and increase your dependability. The same rule applies to a
wireless system since you can hardwire in any device that you can get a
wire to.
Be advised that even if you have a wireless system, there are still a
few things that must be hardwired to it, such as the keypad, power
transformer, sirens and phone line. This may restrict placement of the
control panel to an area that is wire accessible to all of these
devices. It is worth repeating. There is nothing more dependable than a
pair of copper wires to send a signal from point A to point B. If any
wire would happen to get cut, it would open the circuit causing an
alarm if the system is on.
COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES- As you can see there is, as with most things
in life a great range of quality available to you when choosing an
alarm system and its components. Taking the time needed to compare all
features of each component of your proposed alarm system will always be
to your advantage. Most any alarm consultant will jump to the high end
of available equipment, if their potential customer is asking for the
differences to be explained.
Matthew Francis (www.expertsknow.com) is a 22 year veteran of
the alarm industry Installer, sales consultant, licensed alarm company
owner, monitoring station designer, promotions and marketing director
with one of the worlds largest security dealers. He now works as a
consumer advocate, teaching consumers how to buy or get systems for
free (without being taken). He is committed to being unbiased. Visit
his web site for more info. http://www.expertsknow.com
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