Newbie Door Contact Question

Yes, but you would not know which contact caused the alarm!

Yes, and yes.

Yes. The circuit is similar to old-fashioned Christmas lights. If they are wired in series, opening either contact will violate the zone. That's the simple answer.

As with most things, there's more to consider. If you have multiple sensors on one zone (sensing circuit) it can be more difficult tracking problems. An intermittent open circuit (alarm installers call this a "swinger") can be a real pain to track if there are a lot of sensors in series on one zone. The ideal technique is to place each sensor on a separate zone. Problems can be identified the instant they occur. System use and configuration is also more flexible. The down side is this approach requires more zones. The control panel may cost more. Zone expanders allow you to add 8 or more additional zones to the basic system. These can be added to many panels but they cost.

Most knowledgeable technicians will tell you that it's important to at least keep each motion and glass break detector on its own loop. Some of us are more cautious, preferring to place every sensor on a separate zone. The optimum configuration for most folks lies somewhere between the ideal of one sensor per zone and the least cost system which may have 4, 8 or more sensors in each loop.

Some of **us**are more cautious? Ummm....might lead one to believe you are an active technician.

The

A 6 zone panel with 8 or more devices per loop,(48 devices), I am sure the homeowner with that many openings could afford the appropiate panel. If they are simply wanting to cheap out, then they get what they pay for. With the price of panels today, a couple of hundred dollars, for a home of that magnitude, shouldn't be an issue.

It's all Tom's fault. He's been comparing Robert's company with ADT, and local Dealers. It's only natural that all this would tend to give Robert delusions of grandeur. Besides which, Robert's frequent misrepresentations about being "in the trade" are about as transparent as Paul's (who frequently states he "knows" alot about wireless security systems).

Shhhh!!!! Next thing you know, Robert will be saying that people with the bigger houses most often "DIY"...