Idea for Cheap Alarm System

Never program 911 in to anything, knucklehead. It is intended to establish a link between warm bodies, not machines. Enhanced 911 will give them an address where to send the fine. I hope your mickey-mouse set-up tries to call you with a smoke when you're in a movie theatre.

There are a number of wireless systems on the market that can do much of what you want. Some integrate cellular technology for reporting. Others (most) rely on wired phone lines. There are some isues you may want to consider though. If the system could be turned off by throwing a breaker it would be disabled during power outages. In some parts of the country power outages are a regular nuisance (not unlike someone else who posted to this thread). To overcome the problem alarm systems incorporate a backup battery. The system trickle charges the battery until it's needed.

One simple to install configuration you mght find useful incorporates a wireless sensor or sensors, a control panel (the system's brain) and wireless keyfobs to arm, disarm or send a panic signal. These are sometimes used in himes where new wiring might be complicated or cost prohibitive.

In addition to wireless systems, many existing homes can still be fitted with hard-wired alarms, even by homeowners. Most structures can be retrofit with a bit of patience and a modicum of tool skills so don't ignore that possibility entirely. In fact, the majority of alarms and home automation systems bought from our online store by homeowners wanting a do-it-yourself solution are wired. If the home has an unfinished basement or attic, most if not all of the sensors can be hard-wired without damaging the finish at all. There are simple "tricks of the trade" in getting a wire from point A to B. I routinely teach homeowners this stuff and have posted numerous articles on the subject to this and other newsgroups. Wiring an existing home isn't for everyone, of course. It's more a matter of choice -- do I want to commit a weekend or two to the process vs installing a quicker but more expensive wireless system?

As you may realise, it is illegal to program an alarm to auto-dial

911. There is actually a federal statute though I doubt anyone has ever been prosecuted for it. The local police would probably issue fines. At the very least they would order you to stop sending signals to 911. Instead, you can have a system dial your cell phone and/or several friends or neighbors. The drawback is you, your friends and your neighbors might not be able to respond effectively. If you are out of town or asleep you might not even receive the call.

For many people the best solution is still to use a central monitoring service. Costs vary from around $8 a month to upwards of $40 a month for essentially the same service so shop around if you ever decide to go that route. Beware of automatically renewing, multi-year contracts. You can easily get locked into these deals and then find it's almost impossible to change providers if the service quality stinks. There are a few companies like 911Alarm that offer UL listed monitoring on the cheap without long-term contracts. Like DIY providers (yours truly included) companies like 911Alarm compete with traditional alarm companies.

baloney, you can't compete with real alarm companies because you can't monitor alarm systems since Frank got you shut down in FL for monitoring without a license. Only legally licenced companies can monitor. you are neither legal or licensed. you're not legal because you're a felon and your not licenced because you can't get a license because you're not qualified and you're a felon.