Window Bugs

There's a picture of one installed here:

Actually I saw that picture as I have bought X10 stuff from them before. It did not show if that window was a fixed window or opens. Looks like the right solution is to attach it to the glass and not proximity.

Thanks Matt

LOOK HERE:

You put them right on the glass. They're only good for fixed pane glass, and a pulse stretcher is required at the panel (or program the zone for a fast loop response).

-G

I would recommend installing them in your trash can.

I guess I will use them on the fixed glass as "G" suggest in the previous post and use a different contact device for the windows that open.

Thanks all for the resp>

Actually, the above is correct. Those are about the most unreliable, false alarm prone detectors ever to grace the alarm industry. If they're the ones I think (similar to the image another poster suggested), they consist of a bent tube with a small globule of mercury in it and a pair of electrodes at one end. The sensor is supposed to detect impact by disturbing the mercury which briefly either opens or closes (depending on which way you turn the device) the circuit, triggering the alarm.

There are several weaknesses to these devices. For one, mercury has a hefty expansion coefficient which causes the globule to become larger or smaller during temperature changes. This can cause the detector to become over-sensitive (in the more common closed circuit mode) when the glass cools down and, conversely, insensitive when it warms up.

Another problem is that windows can vibrate during wind and even when large vehicles drive past. Because the window bugs are sensitive to vibration, non-alarm stimuli can trip them, especially when there's a temperature drop.

Also, the sensors are easily "adjusted" by turning them on their base. A single small screw holds the sensor head to the base. It's very easy to bump the detector, causing it to become over-sensitive or (perhaps worse) insensitive to an actual break.

Due to the high incidence of false alarms and the ease with which they can be tampered, these detectors have not been popular with installers for quite a few years. As the fellow using th alias, Nomen..." said, toss them in the trash.

Regards, Robert L Bass Bass Home Electronics The DIY Alarm & Home Automation Store

I would seriously not use them. I have seen and personelly witnessed the window bug brand detectors fail to properly operate. Loop set fast or pulse stretcher used. UL listed or not I will not use them and when i take over a system I advise there removal and replacement with a more reliable product. Use the Window Bugs at your own peril.

The orginal window bugs really don't work very well. If you wish to use those type of glassbreaks, try the Amseco GC20 or the Sentrol 5150. They work very well.

Jim Rojas

DITTO !!! What junk. I can't tell ya how many I have removed over the years that had NO mercury in the tubes.

Thanks all for the responses, I will trash them and look for another alternative. The city I live in requires us to have a permit before the monitoring company can call the police for dispatch to an alarm. Three falses, and your permit is suspended and a hefty renewal fee is applied, so you experts say their trash, there gone! So, any good suggestions? Each window that can be accessed from the ground, roof, or balcony has a wire to it. Each room has its own wiring and terminates at the panel. I need to cover each room and since the home is built, I am limited to where the wiring is unless I go wireless, and I hate to do that since the rooms are wired.

Thanks to all

Dan

Intellisense FG730 glassbreak detectors are good...they're acoustic so you don't have to put them on the window. Generally cover 25-30 area, depending on room acoustics and curtains, blinds etc. YOu should also have at least one motion detector as your third line of defense.

We have alarm permits here as well...every stinkin' town has something different and we operate in approx 10+ towns, 10 licenses, 10 different tax license, 10 different tax rates...pain in the butt every 19th of the month. Bureaucratic bullpoopy

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One must be afixed to each seperate pane of glass for which detection is required. For an opening pane you can use a curly cord or a takeoff. Curly cords have few false alarms, but look hokey. Take offs look better, but may have false alarms over time.

Magnetic contacts on the windows and aucoustic glassbreaks in the rooms with motion sensors as back up.

You could look at the DS1100 series glass breaks.

Eeewwww! js

What a remarkably incorrect description of how they function....listens for vibration my ass... We used to call them Joke Detectors way back when....

I didn't realize those were even still available. I guess the manufacturers sold them off to the internet resellers, because I don't any pros that would still use them with a clear conscience. Note to the original poster, don't use these unless you enjoy visits from your local PD on a regular basis.

Not sure how old they were, found them in a box in the house I bought. I still have not decided what to use in their place, but their history!. The windows are hardwired with only one pair, so a powered device is out unless I run a separate supply cable to an outlet. Many have made suggestions, but all are powered devices, so I need two pair wiring. This house has no basement or attic, so adding wires is not an option. I can add wireless, but I am trying to be cost effective (Cheap) and use existing equipment.

Dan