                 
                3 How to Buy an Alarm System  3 
                3  (c)1993 Allan B. Colombo   3 
                3                             3 
                3       By Al Colombo         3 
                 
 
                    File updated: 12/27/93 
 
 
     How do you know a good alarm system when you see one? 
This is one question that many homeowners ask when they go in 
search of an alarm system for their home.  How do you compare 
one company's alarm system against another when you don't 
know anything about alarm systems?  Probably the worst way to 
choose a system is to toss the dice and take a chance. 
Although this may work okay in Los Vegas, it doesn't work 
very well when buying an alarm system. 
 
     One way to buy an alarm system is to first study and 
research the various alarm systems that are currently on the 
market.  There are several ways to do this, but the best way 
is to have a number of alarm companies come into your home 
and evaluate your security needs.  They also will demonstrate 
the alarm system that they sell, giving you a first-hand look 
at some of the features of that particular system. 
 
     Another way to buy an alarm system is to attend crime 
prevention meetings where you can ask knowledgeable crime- 
prevention proponents questions about alarm systems.  You 
can also call your local law enforcement agency and ask a 
police officer or sheriff deputy what kind of alarm system 
that they recommend.  Although asking crime-prevention and 
law-enforcement "experts" questions will probably help you 
understand alarm systems better, it may not provide enough 
detailed information for a final decision. 
 
     A third avenue is to visit a local library where you can 
learn about alarm systems from technical books and 
various trade journals.  Formal training in the field of 
alarm systems is also available from the National Fire and 
Burglar Alarm Association, Washington, DC and select colleges 
and correspondence schools.  You can also obtain 
instructional books and other materials from a Radio Shack 
store in your area. 
 
 
Alarm Systems Detect, Not Stop 
 
     The best place to begin is at the beginning, so let's 
examine a few facts and myths concerning alarm systems. 
 
o ALARM SYSTEMS WILL STOP CRIMINALS FROM BREAKING IN: This is 
  false!  Alarm systems are made to detect criminals, not 
  stop them from entering homes.  At the same time, merely 
  having an alarm system is sometimes enough to discourage 
  unauthorized people (criminals) from breaking in. 
 
o I'D BUY AN ALARM, BUT I HAVE TOO MANY KEYS AS IT IS HANGING 
  FROM MY KEY RING:  Most alarm systems today do not require 
  the use of a key.  Instead, they use keypads that have 
  alphanumeric buttons and textual readouts. 
 
  Each user is given an authorization code that enables him 
  or her to enter their home without triggering their alarm 
  system.  This special code number must be entered into the 
  system via the keypad.  Typically, homeowners have a 
  predetermined period of time from the instant they open a 
  select entry door until the time the alarm goes into alarm. 
  Entering the right code number cancels the alarm. 
 
o I DON'T PARTICULARLY WANT A BELL HANGING ON THE OUTSIDE OF 
  MY HOUSE:  Professional alarm installers usually do not use 
  bells in residential applications today.  Instead, they use 
  siren speakers, many times mounting them inside an attic 
  pointed out a gable vent or on a roof top where they're not 
  so easily seen or tampered with. 
 
  Sirens do a better job of reporting unauthorized entries 
  because of the sound they make.  They especially attract 
  attention better in rural settings where the high-frequency 
  sounds they make carries further than that of bells and 
  buzzers. 
 
o ALARM MONITORING IS TOO EXPENSIVE:  Although monitoring 
  can cost, on the average, $240 a year, this feature 
  provides an enormous benefit by assuring that help is on 
  the way when your alarm system detects an intruder. 
  Monitoring hinges on a 24-hr. central stations where 
  operators work day and night to dispatch the police, fire 
  department and paramedics to homeowners in trouble. 
 
o ALARM SYSTEMS COST TOO MUCH:  Putting a price tag on your 
  home and its contents is one way of deciding whether to buy 
  an alarm system.  But, putting a price tag on the well- 
  being of your family members is impossible.  It's also 
  impossible to place a price tag on the peace of mind that 
  results when you have an alarm system. 
 
  For example, from my own personal experience, one of my 
  children--who literally grew up with an alarm system of one 
  kind or another in our home--use to express how they felt 
  like a prisoner in their own home.  One day, after spending 
  a night at a neighbor friends, she told me how 
  uncomfortable she was all night long in a house that did 
  not have any kind of protection, other than a lock on the 
  door.  After that she never complained about an alarm 
  system; I suppose because it made her sleep better knowing 
  it was there. 
 
o IF I HAD AN ALARM SYSTEM I JUST KNOW MY CHILDREN WOULD SET 
  IT OFF CONTINUALLY:  False!  Children historically learn 
  how to operate alarms faster than their parents!  In fact, 
  it's usually the children who keep reminding their parents 
  how to use it.  And then it's usually the kids that venture 
  beyond merely turning it on and off--teaching their parents 
  afterwards. 
 
 
Do-It-Yourself Alarm Systems 
 
     There are essentially two levels of alarm protection 
in the security market: "do-it-yourself" and "professional." 
 
     Do-it-yourself (DIY) systems are understandably simple 
to install so the average do-it-yourselfer (DIY) can install 
them.  This is because most do-it-yourselfers (DIYs) do not 
have the electronics background to install the sophisticated 
alarm systems used by professional alarm installers. 
Although these systems are usually inexpensive, beginning as 
low as $100, most of them are not usually as effective at 
protecting homes as professionally-installed systems are. 
 
     DIY systems, however, do fill a need in the protection 
of certain kinds of homes in certain situations.  For 
example, DIY alarm systems are ideal for homeowners who 
cannot afford to buy a professionally-installed system.  DIY 
alarm systems also are good for people who do not own their 
own home, as in the case of a tenant who rents an apartment. 
DIY systems also provide adequate protection when the risk of 
loss is significantly less than what it costs to have a full- 
sized, full featured alarm system installed by a 
professional. 
 
     For example, in the case of young newly-wed couple, 
they may not have enough expensive items in their 
apartment/home to warrant the cost of installing a 
professionally-installed alarm system.  A DIY system will 
provide adequate protection in their situation.  Another 
factor might be where they live.  For example, a DIY alarm 
system may also be adequate when they live in a rural 
environment or one without a history of violence or crime. 
 
     You can usually identify a DIY system by how it looks in 
a home.  Most DIY systems are designed to sit on a counter or 
a bookshelf.  Most of them are also "wireless," which means 
there are no wires to connect them with the remote sensors 
that make up a professional alarm system--other than a plug- 
in power cord and speaker wire.  The draw back to this 
approach, however, is obviously the ease at which criminals 
can circumvent them. 
 
     For example, most DIY alarm systems provide a delay when 
entering a home.  During this delay a small electronic device 
(called a piezoelectric or just piezo) sounds a low-level 
warning alarm, reminding the homeowner to disarm the alarm 
system.  Because the piezo is usually located in the DIY 
unit itself, a criminal only has to follow the sound to find 
the brains of the system.  To defeat it, all he usually has 
to do is unplug the power cord and cut the outside speaker 
wires. 
 
     Some DIY systems are designed to use wireless 
transmitters to convey open reports from each door and window 
switch.  Miniature transmitters also are built into interior 
motion detectors, smoke detectors, and other sensory devices. 
This nearly eliminates the need to install wire. 
 
     Some DIY systems come with motion detectors built into 
them.  Thus, the same cabinet that houses the brains of the 
system also acts as a motion detector, sometimes eliminating 
the need for additional interior sensors.  In other DIY 
systems, "hardwired" connections are also provided--just in 
case someone wants to install both hardwired and wireless 
devices. 
 
     There is also another type of wireless system on the 
market that requires no wires, no transmitters, no 
door/window switches and no interior motion detectors.  One 
version of this type of DIY system detects burglars by 
sensing sudden changes in atmospheric pressure inside the 
home when a window or door is opened or a glass pane is 
broken.  The technology that makes this happen is called 
"infrasonics." 
 
     Although infrasonic systems do work, this technology was 
abandoned by professional alarm manufacturers a few years 
ago for a variety of reasons.  One manufacturer confided that 
the technology involved was not stable enough for 
professional use.  There is at least one consumer-grade alarm 
system on the market today, however, that uses infrasonic 
technology.  I cannot attest to its reliability, but will 
suggest that perhaps in unmonitored, low-risk applications 
(those applications where an alarm system only rings at the 
protected premises and where the risk of monetary loss or the 
loss of life is low), infrasonics may provide adequate 
protection. 
 
     Another type of wireless DIY system detects the entry of 
unauthorized people (criminals) by listening for the sound of 
breaking glass and splintering wood.  These devices, again, 
are shelf-mounted and they plug into a 110 volt receptacle in 
the home--often with battery backup. 
 
     Professionally-installed wireless and hardwired alarm 
systems, on the other hand, are usually wall-mounted, which 
means the sensor, power, and telephone wires can be concealed 
inside the wall behind the alarm box or inside a metal 
conduit.  Getting to the circuit boards inside the box is 
made all the harder because most systems require the use of a 
key to open the box.  This makes it a lot harder for 
criminals to defeat them. 
 
 
Professional Security Systems 
 
     Professionally-installed alarm systems will accommodate 
either wireless, hardwired, or both technologies.  Wireless 
systems, for example, usually use sophisticated radio- 
controlled equipment that not only sense the presence of 
unauthorized people, but also send open-and-closed status 
(alarm) and low-battery (supervisory) signals to the main 
alarm unit on a transmitter-by-transmitter basis. 
 
     The technical advantages of this type of wireless system 
over that of a DIY system are obvious.  The most important 
difference, however, is the ability of this system to 
report alarms and supervisory signals to an alarm panel on a 
transmitter-by-transmitter basis, pin pointing where a 
criminal has entered.  Interior motion detectors equipped 
with radio transmitters also enable central station operators 
to follow criminals through a home, giving the police the 
assurance that someone is still inside, even though the doors 
and windows may appear to be secure. 
 
     Pin pointing the origin of an alarm is also essential 
when there are false alarms (nothing made by man is perfect, 
so ALL alarm systems will eventually generate a false alarm 
sometime).  A professional wireless system enables both the 
homeowner and professional alarm installer to quickly 
determine the source of a "troublesome" alarm, eliminating 
the problem before it begins to annoy the police.  This is 
also important because more and more communities are 
instituting fines against homeowners when their alarm system 
repeatedly causes false alarms.  Worse yet, in some cases, 
the police has placed false-alarming systems on low priority, 
sometimes eliminating police response altogether. 
 
     By contrast, most DIY systems cannot pin point the 
origin of "troublesome" false alarms.  In addition, they do 
not monitor the status of their batteries, sometimes allowing 
them to go dead without warning anyone of their low power 
condition.  Professional-grade wireless systems, on the other 
hand, provide a low-battery warning up to 6 weeks prior to 
a battery's failure. 
 
     Although wireless is gaining in popularity among 
professional alarm installers, the most common professional 
alarm system on the market today is the "hardwired" system. 
 
     Because these systems use wire to connect remote door 
and window switches, as well as motion detectors, smoke 
detectors (when used), and other sensors, there is less 
sophisticated electronic circuitries to malfunction.  In 
addition, larger systems can quickly identify false-alarm 
sources so the alarm installer can quickly solve a false- 
alarm problem. 
 
     Another sign of a professional system is an integral 
central-station connection.  These systems usually contain a 
device called a digital communicator that communicates with a 
special computerized receiver on the other end at the central 
station.  Although add-on digital communicators are 
available, these devices usually are inherent in the design 
of a professional alarm system.  In some cases, the 
manufacturer provides an add-on digital-communicator board 
that simply plugs into the main circuit board inside the 
alarm box. 
 
 
Conclusion 
 
     The first decision to make is whether to buy a DIY alarm 
or a professionally-installed security system.  Those who 
sell DIY systems often point out the difference in cost.  If 
you are an apartment tenant, you have very little to loose 
inside your home or apartment, then a low-cost DIY system 
will probably fulfill your needs.  On the other hand, if you 
own your own home and you intend to stay there and you have 
many fine things in your home, a professional-grade alarm 
system is probably the best way to go. 
 
     In some cases, it's not only a family's valuables at 
stake, but the welfare of family members that must be 
considered.  In this case, a professionally-installed system 
with several keypads inside the home (one in the master 
bedroom, for example) is a must because this type of system 
will quickly identify a criminal's point of entry, as well as 
his current location in the home.  This is important 
especially at night when the alarm system suddenly goes off. 
 
     The next decision is whether to pay for professional 
24-hr. central station monitoring.  One criteria for this 
decision is, of course, the money it will cost you to have 
your alarm system monitored.  It's also important to note 
that in situations like the one in the last paragraph, 
central-station monitoring assures you that help is on the 
way without you even making a phone call. 
 
     There are other ways to report alarms too.  One of them 
that's often used in DIY systems is called a "voice dialer." 
This technology came into existence in the 1960s in the form 
of a modified mechanical tape recorder that automatically 
dials out on the telephone lines to a police station, sheriff 
office, fire department, or ambulance service.  Today, voice 
dialers are electronic--storing voices digitally inside their 
circuits. 
 
     Although voice dialers do not require a monthly charge 
like 24-hr. central stations do, this technology is not as 
reliable at transmitting alarm signals because there is no 
way to positively verify that an emergency call has been 
received at the other end.  In addition, many police and fire 
departments have outlawed their use.  In the Chicago area, 
for example, stiff penalties are levied against homeowners 
who use them.  Thus, the bottom line is to check with the 
authorities in your community before you plug one of these 
devices into your telephone line and begin sending your own 
voice over the phone line. 
 
 
 
(c)1993 Allan B. Colombo 
 
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