Author Topic: House Alarms  (Read 2267 times)

Offline CraigDS

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House Alarms
« on: September 3, 2021, 11:23:02 am »
Just moved and new place has an old wired house alarm (movement sensors wired in most rooms) but looks like it’s not working and there are no window/door sensors.

Anyone installed their own alarm? Thinking I can prob get the wired sensors working again but would need wireless door/window sensors and a new main unit I’d guess.

Offline .adam

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #1 on: September 3, 2021, 04:46:30 pm »
Just moved and new place has an old wired house alarm (movement sensors wired in most rooms) but looks like it’s not working and there are no window/door sensors.

Anyone installed their own alarm? Thinking I can prob get the wired sensors working again but would need wireless door/window sensors and a new main unit I’d guess.

I was doing a bit of decorating a couple of months back and wanted to replace the old PIRs (sensors) with new ones as they were shitty old ones covered in paint.

It's not quite easy as you think. They have a fair few wires going into them, one of which is a tamper setting (to stop people from ripping them off the wall without triggering the alarm).

I had a go at removing one which triggered the tamper setting and the alarm went off. Not a problem I thought, I'll just enter the code to silence the alarm and attach the new PIR. Turns out the new sensor couldn't be activated until the tamper setting was properly sorted out and I couldn't figure out how to do it even after reading the manual and pressing a multitude of button combinations.

Ended up getting an alarm fella around to replace all the PIRs in the house and moving one as it was in an area of the kitchen where its range of vision was obscured.

I believe the tamper cables/settings are an older feature and are not included in new sensors but still, my experience is that it's a bit of a twat of a job.

Offline rob1966

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #2 on: September 3, 2021, 05:29:27 pm »
I can recommend this fella, he did some work on our alarm, new PIR's, moving the main control panel and he services my bro in laws alarm and did new PIR's and a new panel. He's in Bolton.

http://hsi-alarms.co.uk/
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Offline CraigDS

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #3 on: September 3, 2021, 07:34:54 pm »
Cheers guys.

Been reading online today and came to the conclusion it’s not worth messing with the existing PIRs myself so you’ve confirmed that. Not entirely sure it’ll be worth having them internally anyway as the dog is going to end up being 30kg+ and most PIRs seem to be able to pick up anything over 20kg (as a rule of thumb).

Priced up a Ring system based around a few PIRs in the few areas he won’t have access to at night (porch, garage and utility which has outdoor access and then one on the stairs), coupled with some contact sensors on doors/some bigger windows/garage and then 4 external flood lights with integrated CCTV. All connects online so can view/control things when out, or if missus is home alone and in bed and something trips she could check all cameras quickly or turn on lights / siren remotely.

Seems to come in at around a grand all in which I don’t think is too bad.

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #4 on: September 3, 2021, 07:37:45 pm »
the dog is going to end up being 30kg+ and most PIRs seem to be able to pick up anything over 20kg (as a rule of thumb).



much more effective than any alarm
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Offline CraigDS

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #5 on: September 3, 2021, 07:46:40 pm »
much more effective than any alarm

Not if they show any sort of love for him, at which point the daft shite would be on his back wanting his belly rubbed  ;D

Offline rob1966

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #6 on: September 3, 2021, 08:19:02 pm »
Cheers guys.

Been reading online today and came to the conclusion it’s not worth messing with the existing PIRs myself so you’ve confirmed that. Not entirely sure it’ll be worth having them internally anyway as the dog is going to end up being 30kg+ and most PIRs seem to be able to pick up anything over 20kg (as a rule of thumb).

Priced up a Ring system based around a few PIRs in the few areas he won’t have access to at night (porch, garage and utility which has outdoor access and then one on the stairs), coupled with some contact sensors on doors/some bigger windows/garage and then 4 external flood lights with integrated CCTV. All connects online so can view/control things when out, or if missus is home alone and in bed and something trips she could check all cameras quickly or turn on lights / siren remotely.

Seems to come in at around a grand all in which I don’t think is too bad.

You can disable zones, so you can have full coverage when out with the dog and then switch off the rooms he'll be in when he's in. Best speak to an alarm engineer and see what they reckon is best, PIR's, contacts or a mix. I prefer PIRs as its not unknown for the c*nts to remove the glass to get in. Get a high security front door too, ours was about £600.
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Offline richiedouglas

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #7 on: September 3, 2021, 09:23:51 pm »
I set up a ring alarm system a few months ago. I had an existing wireless alarm but i had to keep paying for it to be serviced and even for them to replace batteries.

It was so simple and the sensors just stick to the wall. Highly recommend. Im rubbish at diy normally.


Offline CraigDS

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #8 on: October 20, 2021, 07:31:46 pm »
Just set up the Ring alarm this evening. Have had a couple of their floodlight cams going for the last month but got the main base station & keypad and a load of PIRs, contact sensors and a few indoor cams delivered (to keep an eye on the dog when we're out) yesterday.

So simple to set up, literally a case of scanning a QR code on the sensor, giving it some details and then done. Going to have a mess around with the settings tonight and give it a go tomorrow during the day so I'm not waking up the neighbours at all hours in case it goes off  ;D

Would def recommend it though.

Offline killer-heels

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #9 on: October 21, 2021, 05:50:16 am »
Just set up the Ring alarm this evening. Have had a couple of their floodlight cams going for the last month but got the main base station & keypad and a load of PIRs, contact sensors and a few indoor cams delivered (to keep an eye on the dog when we're out) yesterday.

So simple to set up, literally a case of scanning a QR code on the sensor, giving it some details and then done. Going to have a mess around with the settings tonight and give it a go tomorrow during the day so I'm not waking up the neighbours at all hours in case it goes off  ;D

Would def recommend it though.

Have you got a link to this particular system?

Offline CraigDS

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #10 on: October 21, 2021, 08:37:43 am »
This is the initial bundle I bought, then got a handful more sensors and another indoor cam.

https://en-uk.ring.com/products/alarm-security-10-piece-kit-gen-2-indoor-cam

And these are the floodlight cams. I’ve got two of these currently but going to add another two which will provide coverage all around the outside of the house pretty much.

https://en-uk.ring.com/products/floodlight-cam-wired-pro


Offline killer-heels

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #11 on: October 21, 2021, 08:52:19 am »
This is the initial bundle I bought, then got a handful more sensors and another indoor cam.

https://en-uk.ring.com/products/alarm-security-10-piece-kit-gen-2-indoor-cam

And these are the floodlight cams. I’ve got two of these currently but going to add another two which will provide coverage all around the outside of the house pretty much.

https://en-uk.ring.com/products/floodlight-cam-wired-pro



Did you need a professional to install the indoor system?

Offline CraigDS

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #12 on: October 21, 2021, 08:59:00 am »
Nah, all dead easy. Took me a few hours to unpack and get it all in place and linked to the app. Then had a mess around getting the right settings for how I wanted it to work for about another hour. It’s all wireless and all the sensors are battery powered. Only the base station and keypad are plugged in.

Even the outdoor floodlights were simple to put up as I was replacing existing lights so the wiring was all there.

Offline killer-heels

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #13 on: October 21, 2021, 09:04:43 am »
Nah, all dead easy. Took me a few hours to unpack and get it all in place and linked to the app. Then had a mess around getting the right settings for how I wanted it to work for about another hour. It’s all wireless and all the sensors are battery powered. Only the base station and keypad are plugged in.

Even the outdoor floodlights were simple to put up as I was replacing existing lights so the wiring was all there.

Thanks. We are getting lots of incidents of thieves trying to get in and steal car keys where i live so been thinking about something to try to scare them off.

Any ideas of how long the batteries of the sensors last?

Offline CraigDS

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #14 on: October 21, 2021, 09:17:49 am »
2yrs I’ve read but no idea if that’s the case in reality. I can’t see them going too fast given they don’t do all that much.

I’ve got mine set up so there are 2 (soon to be 4) floodlight cams on the outside of the house. You can edit the motion tracking zones on these and get text alerts when someone enters a zone. You can view these live on your phone and turn on the light manually via the app or set off a siren / two way talk.

Then all my three external doors have contact sensors, as well as my garage door, then a couple of internal doors which lead off the porch / back utility into the house have them too. Both the porch and utility have indoor cams which act as motion sensors and then have another indoor cam which watches where the dog sleeps (this has the motion sensitivity dialled down so would sense a human but not him). Then there are a handful of motion detectors dotted around.

You can fully set everything if you’re going out, or adjust what you’d want setting when home. So I could set that to allow me to open the back door to let the dog out and turn off whichever internal motion sensors so I could move around without setting it off but if someone forced the front door or got in the porch it would still go off.

Offline killer-heels

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #15 on: October 21, 2021, 07:55:23 pm »
Thanks. Is the siren thing on the other packages just an alarm box that sits outside?

Offline CraigDS

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #16 on: October 21, 2021, 08:56:51 pm »
Thanks. Is the siren thing on the other packages just an alarm box that sits outside?

Yeah I think it's an additional siren you put on your house like a lot of standard alarms have. My house has one from a previous alarm to act as a deterrent, and all my floodlight cams act as sirens too, so I didn't bother going for that.

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #17 on: October 22, 2021, 06:47:25 am »
Yeah I think it's an additional siren you put on your house like a lot of standard alarms have. My house has one from a previous alarm to act as a deterrent, and all my floodlight cams act as sirens too, so I didn't bother going for that.

Does the actual box/base station inside the house aft as a siren?

Offline CraigDS

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #18 on: October 22, 2021, 09:34:34 am »
Does the actual box/base station inside the house aft as a siren?

Yeah and is fucking loud (made the mistake of testing it when I was sat next to it!)  ;D

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #19 on: October 22, 2021, 05:21:47 pm »
Yeah and is fucking loud (made the mistake of testing it when I was sat next to it!)  ;D

Thanks ill probably order that kit the second it comes back into stock.

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #20 on: October 22, 2021, 05:24:36 pm »
Yeah and is fucking loud (made the mistake of testing it when I was sat next to it!)  ;D

Yeah if you ever unscrew that main box and tinker with it it makes an incredible racket.

The battery in my central box went one Christmas morning. Was woken up at about 5am by a deafening noise. Thought Father Christmas had set it off. :D


Offline CraigDS

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #21 on: October 25, 2021, 07:51:33 pm »
This had its first test last night.

Woke up to an alert at about 12am to the front floodlight sensing motion. Looked out the window but couldn’t see anything but checked on the recording and some guy had walked down my drive but went sharpish when light came on.

Think he was on his way back from the pub and looking for somewhere to have a piss (I have a few pallets of roof tiles on my drive waiting for the roof to be done that he could have hidden behind) but thought better of it.

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #22 on: November 18, 2021, 09:44:21 am »
This is the initial bundle I bought, then got a handful more sensors and another indoor cam.

https://en-uk.ring.com/products/alarm-security-10-piece-kit-gen-2-indoor-cam

And these are the floodlight cams. I’ve got two of these currently but going to add another two which will provide coverage all around the outside of the house pretty much.

https://en-uk.ring.com/products/floodlight-cam-wired-pro



Just to add Ring as part of their Black Friday promotion have pretty much halved the price of all these so have just bought one. Thought I would update if anyone else was interested.

Offline CraigDS

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #23 on: November 18, 2021, 10:06:12 am »
About £40 less than I got it for - well worth it for anyone thinking of getting one.

Offline Graeme

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #24 on: November 18, 2021, 10:11:47 am »
Yeah thinking about getting one for a while. We already have the doorbell. Not too fussed on motion sensors because we have cats but would like to put door sensors on all of the external doors.

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #25 on: November 18, 2021, 12:06:30 pm »
Yeah thinking about getting one for a while. We already have the doorbell. Not too fussed on motion sensors because we have cats but would like to put door sensors on all of the external doors.

Yeah we’ve mainly put motion sensors in areas where our dog doesn’t go, however they have a really good pet detection system and I’ve tested it out with him and it’s not picked him up which is good. Although I guess if cars are climbing higher or may well pick them up.

I was hoping the floodlight cams would go on offer as although we’ve got 2 I wouldn’t mind a couple more  to add another to the back and one to the side.

Offline jonnypb

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #26 on: November 18, 2021, 01:06:08 pm »
Yeah we’ve mainly put motion sensors in areas where our dog doesn’t go, however they have a really good pet detection system and I’ve tested it out with him and it’s not picked him up which is good. Although I guess if cars are climbing higher or may well pick them up.

I was hoping the floodlight cams would go on offer as although we’ve got 2 I wouldn’t mind a couple more  to add another to the back and one to the side.

Floodlight cams often go on offer at Amazon, wouldn’t be surprised if they come up on a BF deal.

I’m interested in getting a new alarm system.  I’ve got an old existing wired alarm, but want something that I can control remotely. Last time we were away the alarm went off and it was a false alarm and the alarm kept going off, think it annoyed the neighbours slightly!!!!

Is it only the keypad and base station that need mains power? Also does the base unit emit a siren if the alarm goes off? I don’t think I’d bother with an external box as I’d leave the old one up.

Offline CraigDS

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #27 on: November 18, 2021, 01:32:52 pm »
The base station needs mains but has battery back up. The keypad can be totally wireless, it has an internal battery which is charged by a usb cable / plug combo which comes with it (they claim a 7 month charge).

As for sirens, the base station is really loud, and you can also link it to floodlight cams so their sirens go off too (possibly the spot cams too, can’t remember off the top of my head).

Yeah going to keep an eye on Amazon and hopefully grab a few!

Offline jonnypb

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #28 on: November 18, 2021, 02:55:11 pm »
The base station needs mains but has battery back up. The keypad can be totally wireless, it has an internal battery which is charged by a usb cable / plug combo which comes with it (they claim a 7 month charge).

As for sirens, the base station is really loud, and you can also link it to floodlight cams so their sirens go off too (possibly the spot cams too, can’t remember off the top of my head).

Yeah going to keep an eye on Amazon and hopefully grab a few!

Cheers  8)  I think I'll bite the bullet while they have this BF deal on.

Offline CraigDS

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #29 on: November 23, 2021, 11:35:11 am »
B&Q doing the battery spotlight cams for £129 (£50 off) so grabbed one for down the side of my house. Caught some scroat going down my drive towards my side gate on my front cam on Sun night but couldn't see what they did down there so added another cam!

Just waiting for the floodlight cams to go on offer somewhere so I can buy a pair of those and then I'll have all the outside covered better than Fort Knox  ;D

Offline CraigDS

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #30 on: November 25, 2021, 11:51:04 am »
Floodlight Cam Plus down to £140 on Ring website - £125 each of you buy two, £120 if you buy 3, £110 for 4.

Also on Amazon for £140 with 5 monthly payments but no further discounts if you buy more.

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #31 on: November 25, 2021, 07:38:18 pm »
Both just been delivered. Also got an Alexa Echo Show 5 (£8 a month for 5 months) and that's now set up to alert me to any motion on any camera and then automatically show live footage and sound from that camera. Will have it on the bedside table so it can alert me at night, that way I can run down there with my baseball bat (or more likely hit the siren button and scare the fuckers off).

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Re: House Alarms
« Reply #32 on: November 27, 2021, 12:45:07 pm »
AO doing the spotlight cam for £107 and floodlight cam for £116 using code BFRING10 Can also pickup the Ring alarm starter kit for £116