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Some observations !

I am currently staying in a rented home in Panama City Beach, Florida and being as it is early in my vacation, I have not yet "decompressed". As such, I can't resist making some observations about the difference between the house construction here as compared to back home in Ontario ( I know, I shouldn't be thinking about business.....:))

First and most obvious, there are no basements and as such, standard installation practices would have to be quite different here. As near as I can see, the panel would have to be hidden in a ground floor closet, with all wiring going up into the attic (and I can only guess how hot that would be in the summer in Florida !!!!!!) If not, one would have to be very creative about hiding wiring behind baseboards. Wireless would seem to be an attractive option given the normal difficulty of wiring up through walls into the attic. Many homes have two or three stories with doors going out into balcanies, which would necessitate wireless components unless labour time is of little consequence (yeah, right !!)

I don't get the impression that break and enter is a big problem, at least in the fairly ritzy area I am in. People seem to leave valuables such as bicycles out in their yards over night with little fear of theft. The only homes with alarms are those privately owned, where the home owner is away from the premises for long periods of time. I see no small alarm companies present, with most alarms installed by ADT, and one other larger dealer here in town.

Construction is SO different that it makes me think how different installation practices must be from area to area in North America. It also makes me realize we should all be a bit more careful criticizing someone in a different area who has to deal with installation problems virtually unknown in other areas. To be quite honest, I'm not sure I would want to do many installations in homes of the type of construction I am living in. Wireless looks like a VERY attractive option!!

With that, I'll sign off and wish you all well.......75 degrees, warm deserted beaches, sunny weather here compared to zero degrees, two feet of snow at home, and 40 car pileups on the major snow covered highways.

Not too hard to take !!

RHC

Reply to
Robert Campbell
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I did an install in boca raton many years ago before the went to a state wide liscense and i found the construction very chalenging with the sb built home but i was there in winter so wiring thru the attic wasnt bad . enjoy the trip its 4 degrees up here

Reply to
Nick Markowitz

Welcome to Florida, Bob. Sorry I couldn't be there to greet you.

Most retrofit jobs in South Florida are wireless, Bob. You're right about the wiring on new construction homes. The master control panel is almost always either in the master bedroom closet or the laundry room closet. Wiring goes up through the attic and down to the sensors, etc. Heat isn't as much of a factor on pre-wire jobs but I'd hate to have to work in a closed Florida attic.

My home is in a gated community in Sarasota. People often leave bicycles out at night there, too. With access limited to residents and guests there is very little burglary though it does happen.

Outside those gates it's another matter. Burglary is every bit as much of a problem as it is in any small city in America. Like everyplace else there is a drug problem and where there are drugs there is crime.

We go away for several months at a time, but there is often someone else there while we're away. Several of our neighbors are snowbirds who fly South for the winter and head back up to Michigan, Ontario or whatever other God-forsaken place during the summer. Most homes in our neighborhood don't have alarms, even those owned by snowbirds. The few that do are mostly those crap systems the fast-buck outfits push via builders.

There are several large, in dependant outfits in our area, plus an ADT authorized dealer in Bradenton (next town north) that uses the illegal "free system" scam to attract new victims. There are also several small, in dependant dealers. Judging from sloppy work I've seen, at least two of them don't seem to have a clue and one is very good.

Enjoy your stay, Bob. It's a bit warmer here in Bahia -- 85-90ºF days with 2,500,000 Brasileiras on the beaches utilizing a sum total of six square yards of bikini fabric. :^)

Same here.

Reply to
Robert L Bass

ya silly bastad! Has anybody seen you without your shirt yet? get off this thing and report back on what's down at the beach.

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Reply to
mikey

Hehehe.....nice one Mikey! Its winter here for Floridians ! They don't go on the beaches until its as hot as hell ! The only ones on the beach now are Snowbirds and fishermen. Starting middle of March, the hordes of students come down for winter break. Then the fun begins.....

I guesss they ain't built tough like us Canucks( we have antifreeze for blood !) Down here they put on coats and whine if the temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.....yeah, yeah...I know...it sounds like I'm jealous. Truth is I am !!

No butt floss to gawk at yet unfortunately !! If I see any thats less than

60 years old, I'll take a picture and send it to you personally....:))))

RHC

Reply to
Robert Campbell

Most full time Floridians hide when Spring Break starts. All the kids do is litter the beaches and everyplace else with spent beer cans, etc., and make a lot of noise.

Snowbirds get a mixed reaction from Floridians. They're good for the economy but they clog the roads and most of them can't drive worth a jiminex. You always see a few of them driving South on the Tamiami Trail ... in the Northbound lanes!

For that you need to go to FT Lauderdale of South Beach in Miami. There's also Haulover Beach where you can get an "Aulover" tan, Beach but word is that's mostly gay.

Heh, heh, heh. One day a few years ago after my first trip to Brazil some friends from out of town came to Sarasota. They asked me to show them around and we went to (among other places) Siesta Key Beach. I remember thinking, "Gee I *used* to think American bikinis were sexy... until I saw what they wear in Rio". As I was thinking about that I noticed one truly beautiful young lady in a form fitting bikini and thought, "Well, OK. That one's nice". Just then the girl turned around, saw me and yelled, "Oi, tio Robert! Todo Bom?" That's Portuguese for "Hi, uncle Robert. Is everything OK?" Tio, or uncle, is a term of respect for someone older than oneself. She was a Brasileira I know from town. Soooo, if you really want to see beautiful errm, sand dunes... come to Brazil.

Reply to
Robert L Bass

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