Advice on wireless alarm for apartment

Don't use Rat Shack equipment for anything. If he's going to install it himself, he/you should go on line to some of the DIY suppliers and see what they offer. Most of the people here are installers. We can give you some advice but you'll have to get the nitty gritty from whomever you buy your equipment from. There are a few good, relatively inexpensive systems that are fairly easy to install. But most are manufactured for professional installation. That's why, if you're planing on doing it yourself, you should contact some of the various suppliers to see which will offer you the best asstance.

Thanks Jim, He's a MS certified network engineer, so I'm sure that he can handle it. He said he's going to buy the GE Simon 3, after doing some internet research. Best, Rich

His MS certification won't help much, nor will GE. But the GE is a better choice than Radio Shaft

| > > Hi, | > > ? ? A friend of mine is looking for a decent alarm for his apartment. | | >

| > Don't use Rat Shack equipment for anything. If he's going to install | > it himself, he/you should go on line to some of the DIY suppliers and | > see what they offer. Most of the people here are installers. We can | > give you some advice but you'll have to get the nitty gritty from | > whomever you buy your equipment from. There are a few good, relatively | > inexpensive systems that are fairly easy to install. But most are | > manufactured for professional installation. That's why, if you're | > planing on doing it yourself, you should contact some of the various | > suppliers to see which will offer you the best asstance. | | Thanks Jim, | He's a MS certified network engineer, so I'm sure that he can | handle it. He said he's going to buy the GE Simon 3, after doing some | internet research. | Best, | Rich |

js

Wow such a smart person yet he picks one of the lowest end panel GE makes, lotta research there

Something other than an all-in-one system thats still wireless such as a Vista-10P or GE Concord

It may call him on his cell, but he'll have no idea what it's saying unless he understands alarmglish.

| > > Thanks Jim, | > > ? ?He's a MS certified network engineer, so I'm sure that he can | > > handle it. He said he's going to buy the GE Simon 3, after doing some | > > internet research. | > > Best, | > > Rich | >

| > Rich, I'm going by experience here, so don't take offense. I don't | > know if you have a techinical background or not but it's usually the | > hands on technical guy who can do this sort of thing with out much | > help. As much as you might think your engineer friend might know about | > networks and things of that nature, unfortunately they usually fall | > into the same category as electricians who've never installed an alarm | > system, but think they can because they know about wires and | > electrical circuits. | >

| > He's chosen one of the cheapest, least capable systems available. On | > the good side, he's probably chosen something that he's capable of | > installing, with some help. You see, most people who want to install | > their own systems think that the instructions are going to be written | > in detail from A to Z. They are not. | > They are written with the intention of the system being installed by | > people with experience in the technicalities and the knowledge of the | > jargon and nomenclature of the installation trade .... not to mention | > the peculiarities specific to each manufacturer. | >

| > Good luck. | | What would a better system for an apartment be? I mean, he has | insurance, and just wants a reasonbly-priced system that will notify | him via cell-phone if some kids are breaking in. What are your | suggestions? |

With the addition of a voice/pager dialer most systems can notify the homeowner of an alarm. Some units will notify as many as eight persons and can differentiate up to four conditions (e.g., burglary, fire, freeze, flood).

These are not as effective as central station monitoring but for people whose police departments are so far away (country homes) or so inept (Bridgeport, CT) that monitoring is of little value they can provide some measure of security.

I don't have exact figures but I'd estimate about 10 to 20% of my DIY clients use a voice/pager dialer.

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Thank you gentlemen, I appreciate your input. I'll pass this on to him. My apologies also for my less-than-warm remark to the wise-guy, I'm down with the flu, so it's hard to be patient when trying to help someone else out when you feel this lousy.

Rich

You're most welcome.

I must have missed that post. Less-than-warm is nothing compared to some threads. I doubt anyone will take offense.

Having gone through some pretty serious medical problems this past year, I understand how you might get a little testy. Hope you feel better soon.