gone independent, need sources

I was wondering the same thing, Jim. Perhaps the subject only came to mind after the drywall was finished. Other than that it doesn't make much sense. Then again, how much does make sense these days? :^)

Nate,

I have a huge assortment of hard-wired as well as wireless components in my online store. As a dealer of course you would order from the same places I do but feel free to browse my site for information on much of what's currently being used in the trade. If you're interested in anything in particular let me know and I'll give you the supplier's contact information.

I once had a builder tell the customer they prewired the house for a wireless system, it was rather funny

dont get the wrong idea. its not that im "not satisified"; i am simply seeking as many sources as possible as well as many informed opinions and preferences as possible.

would ADI that several have referenced be adilink.com or alarmdistributors.com? both call themselves ADI.

thank you, this is certainly prove useful.

-- Nathan In Montana

That all depends on how much they charged the guy for wireless wire. And whether it was "shielded" or not. :-)

OK, in that case, take a look at Napco's wireless. Their stuff lasts forever without much service. ITI's wireless has always enjoyed a strong reputation though with GE Security selling the whole kit and kaboodle to UTC, there's no way to know which, if any of their lines will still exist a year from now. Honeywell wireless is OK but service ate ADI leaves somewhat to be desired and prices are outrageous unless you buy *lots* from them. Getting started afressh, even if they know you from before, they'll charge you top dollar.

Tri-Ed gives good service and will try to beat most competitors' prices. Systems Depot has nice people but they make a lot of order processing errors. Northern Video will beat anyone and everyone's prices but they don't stock as much as dedicated security distributors do.

And whether he grounded the wireless rough-in boxes.

Yeah... most especially the plastic ones.

Speaking of which, does anyone know where I can buy plastic ground screws in bulk?

The ISC show is coming up...I would attend that if I were you, that would help to bring you up to date...a little.

I'd stay away from builders that want you to install wireless to begin with...I'd wire a new home not use wireless.

I still think it's a permit dodge

There are certain jobs that can be better done with a wireless sensor, but I will always hard-wire as much as possible. You can only guess the reasoning behind the wireless request, did you explain that it will still have wires? I used to do some installs of point to point wireless internet. I would ask these people were they wanted the wire run, and it never ceased to amaze me how many people looked at me like I was an idiot and said, " I thought this was wireless"

ADI is ADILINK. ALARMDISTRIBUTORS is someone else. Alarmax are decent people. Tri-ed, like every other distributor has had occasional problems but they do good work.

I'm not familiar with First Action and I have not dealt with Eastern Distribution.

I have seen an alarm company offer a cheap "prewire for wireless alarm" package to builders. It would be quick. Phone, power, siren, keypad., done.

They do not. I get treated poorly by them, and they make a fair number of mistakes.

The only reason I still have an account with them is price.

Have not experienced that, but I don't do that much business with them. That may change though.

And a lot of lines they just do not have.

I don't doubt you, Bob. Mayb it varies with the location. I've had good service locally from them. Clearly, you have not and I think you may have said so in an earlier thread.

Also, you have to ask for price breaks. They don't automatically move you to a better "column" when your buying reaches a given theshold.

I always liked their staff around Clearwater. They had a lot of turnover it seems though. There's a girl named Diane who is long gone now. She came from ADI and before that, who knows. We'd sometimes call in an urgent order close to close of the day and she'd call another branch from her cell phone on the way home from work, just to make sure the order got shipped.

They "handle" a lot but stock only a few major lines. With some lines (I think ARM is one of them) they build the DVRs to order and ship same day or next. That works fine if the client happens to want that brand. Their on-line order tracking system is in some ways better than ADI's. Tri-Ed could do better in that area but they've been improving at least.

Heh, heh, heh.... :^)

Happy new year, Eff.

thanks for all the information.