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Jim are you telling us that you miss something?

its like me,after moving from downtown montreal to a suburb,i was not able to spleep cause it was too quiet...

maybe the constant noise of bAss is what you miss?

LOL

"Jim" a écrit dans le message de news: snipped-for-privacy@j27g2000cwj.googlegroups.com...

It's just that now that there's an opportunity to talk about something sensible and use this group for what it was really meant to be used for ..... nobody is saying anything.

Welp...I've confirmed that you can change the personality of an Honeywell ADT panel so it can be used with Compass...does that qualify?

I don't use Honeywell .....but lots' do.

Are you doing any nice jobs lately? What else do you do besides alarms?

I have been suffering through a big installation using Bosch BVIP X1600 modules and VIDOS. To save the customer money we agreed to having the customer providing a boom lift and operator. Having that sitting idle for four hours wasn't pleasant. It seems that the firmware in the X1600 got corrupt and the envirodome PTZ went south, both at the same time. Made us look pretty stupid in front of the customer trying to troubleshoot our way out of that mess. Now the customer can't decide on which giant plasma monitors they want to use for the wall monitor in VIDOS so that element is stalled. They are also crawfishing on the type of iSCSI they want on the edge recording. At least they have the NVR NAS up for us to use (sort of). They have legacy Samsung SCC-643 PTZ (the GVI crap) that we can't get to talk with BVIP X1600 even using common Pelco P or D formats. For good measure the Autotrack feature of the autodome doesn't seem to work right unless you use a BiPhase converter. It is a always such a pleasure to see profits tank from technical issues beyond your control. Three sites done and about 40 to go. What a thrill. Don't worry Jim, most of this gear Bass isn't allowed to sell so he can't chime in. Not that it matters much. If this luck keeps up I'll be flipping burgers somewhere. I think I am going to give my brain a rest and do some upgrades of some old Kantech Entrapass (DOS based) stuff to the new Windows Entrapass Corporate. I can get rid of a dozen or so Win98 machines and use Lantronix converters to put it on fast ethernet back to their head office. There are a few more very big jobs using Software House and AD we are trying to finish but can't keep ahead of the change orders. Any Legato experts out there? Why can't a customer let us finish first, THEN give us the change orders? I guess that's one way to avoid paying the final 10%.

"Jim" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@j27g2000cwj.googlegroups.com...

It looks like Fowler needs to drag RLB back in here

Change the chip?

Yah. Confirming that the chip contains only the firmware and not the operational program...didn't have to reprogram the system, and the 7845GSM worked perfectly except for the ECP wiring being opposite what you'd expect from Ademco...out from pnl actually goes to in on radio - once we realized that it was a snap.

oh yah...if anyone is gonna do this...I HIGHLY recommend the proper chip puller !! I didn't remember to bring one and had to make one out of thhn which ended up breaking off the corners of the mount...scarey.

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Most of my jobs are nice. I'm pretty selective on what I take on...if it aint gonna be fun/challenging and be profitable I leave it for the other guys.

Starting on a 6000 sqft livable with a 1200 sqft mother in law house and a

2000 sqft RV garage (all one job on same piece of property), this weekend. That one will go about 6K just on the alarm - the "other" guys proposed 3 systems at a total of 2500$...of course for starters their way would cost my client 75$ per month for monitoring, my way only 25.00...not to mention what they left out of a proper system - you really can do a house with 35 opening windows, 9 doors, + other stuff on a system with only 8 zones (well maybe they can/will, not me).

We do custom sound, structured wiring, central vac...all that other junk. But, I love doing the alarm stuff most of all.

Don't ask. Just watch the news reports on Carnaval from Brazil. Hopefully we'll see his mumified corpse being paraded on the tip of a pike pole up his ass, in the middle of the parade.

Sounds like we're about at the same phase of our careers. I do the nice stuff now. I'm into my third generation of customers and the work is always there and I can choose not to do it if I don't think it's going to be fun or challanging. I do 98% residential now, including LAN and structured wiring, telephone, CATV, home automation, ie, X10 lighting and thermostats, home theater / surround sound setup and/or installation, whole house audio.

Don't do vacuum, access control, intercom's ( except video) for various ligitimate reasons. Vacuum (aftermarket) is a two man job. Intercoms just plain suck and I don't want the headache. And access control requires the use of locksmiths or others for lock installation. I don't like depending on undependable people. I say what I'll do. And I do what I say. Unfortuntely, you can't depend on others to follow the same rules.

Just finishing up a 50 thousand sq ft office and warehouse building for one of my long time clients. I wouldn't go out now and look for commercial this large. But this guy's business has grown through the years and he wants me to stay with him. Nice system. Burg only. ( they've got sprikler and someone else who does that) Three partitions. Glass break detectors in most offices, ceiling mount PIR's in halls. Huge glass lobby entrance, rounded out to a half circle of glass wall up 18 feet high. Terazza floors. I thought it was too hard an area to put glass break detection and there was no way to mount a motion detector so that it wasn't looking at glass. The regular ceiling mount units had too big a circle of protected area when mounted that high, so .... I did a few calculations and mounted a regular dual tech unit on the ceiling looking down at the floor. The entry door has contacts and a curtain of protection from the motion detector, just wide enough, starting where the glass ends. I wasn't sure it was going to work, but it does great. You can't make it from the entry door to any of the office doors off the lobby without activing it.

Three partitions total, with the main lobby common to two of the partitions. Seven keypads, 12 Glass breaks, 12 motion detectors. 10 doors. 2 overhead doors.

The job was in progress for about a year as they just gradually moved in from their old location and improved the building as needed. Took a bit of planning and allowing for contingencies, since they didn't have a clear idea of how the layout of office and shop was eventually going to end up. A fun job and a challange for one person to accomplish with out any help. But the great part, is when you turn it on, and it does exactly what you planned it to do, that's a great reward. And I have to say, that if I were working with help, that it probably wouldn't have happend that way.

I know a guy that only works T&M. He'll give you a good estimate, and he'll sell you the hardware at cost. But, installation is all hourly. Profitable way to do business, if you can.

Eric

ROFLMAO

Yeah, that would be a great way to work but you know damn well, how many people would just pad the hell out of the bill. There's just too much temptation.

Occasionally, I'll get into a position where I can do time and material. Like if the structure is going to be changing while the job is in progress or sometimes if it's an unusual house or an old house and you don't have any idea what you're going to run into. ..... just on the off chance there's some kind of problem, I say T & M on that portion of the job. But most of the time, if you don't run into any problems, it usually turns out to be pretty much what I would have quoted anyway. I think that after a few years in the trade, if you don't have it down about how much it's costing you ..... you're probably out of business anyway.

Yep, I downsized a few years ago. Then sorta semi-retired in a sense...sold my building, trucks, let almost everyone go...then decided to just be a small family business again. Now it's fun again!

Just got rid of an annoying client though. Pissy little moaning boy-man client I've had for 17 years. He had me put in a 7845GSM Saturday at a price HE SET and at a monthly HE SET...fine with me it was reasonable. Saturday my brother and I got it up and working fine and it still is. BEFORE we installed it I told him his 4285 phone module (on VISTA 20P) would not work nor would any phone features work now that he is HAVING HIS PHONE LINE DISCONNECTED and will only report on the GSM. Fine he says. I had told him this before as well, but wanted to have a witness that I told him again. Fine, thats ok...I would just like you to reprogram my keyfobs for ARM -STAY (right now they're ARM -AWAY and DISARM. I told him it was easier to program that remotely and I would do it Monday.

On Monday he starts calling when am I going out there again to program the keyfobs ARM - STAY - INSTANT? ....INSTANT??? So I ask him how many keyfobs do you really have....4....hmmmm; that would be 12 zones eaten up by just the keyfobs plus the 7 points. UH OH!....it's only a 16 zone receiver. So I give him a price to install a 32 zone reciever (cheap) and he says...STAY-INSTANT....UH OH...can't do that from a keyfob! Sorry. So maybe you want to just re-think this or not do it ?

Long story short...he wants me to go out and remove the 7845GSM + reinstall the 4285 and give him his money back because it doesnt work...whoa wait thats a totally DIFFERENT radio has nothing to do with not being able to do what it the panel cant do. So he says just get it done...get it done? You want me to re-engineer the alarm panel for your needs? If the manufacturer says it can be done then it can't. I told him to have his new alarm company remove my equipment; my new rev 5.2 chip, 7845GSM, transformer and pack it up nice and return it to me and then I'll give him his 4285, old rev 2 chip and 400 clams back.

All documented in emails...cause he thinks hes gonna sue me. Sue me? You named the price, I installed the GSM, it works, and he paid me (I can prove it since it sends daily sigs) all the other junk is moot since we didn't contract to install or collect any money.

Oh yeah...this man-boy is an non practicing attorney!...yah one of those guys whose parents made him go to law school, but he's never practiced. Idiot boy...I know more about contract law then he ever will.

So he fires me...gotta love it. I feel like a free man after a 17 year bad marriage.

"Jim" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@p10g2000cwp.googlegroups.com... | On Feb 27, 9:45?am, "Crash Gordon" | wrote: | > Most of my jobs are nice. I'm pretty selective on what I take on...if it | > aint gonna be fun/challenging and be profitable I leave it for the other | > guys. | >

| > Starting on a 6000 sqft livable with a 1200 sqft mother in law house and a | > 2000 sqft RV garage (all one job on same piece of property), this weekend. | > That one will go about 6K just on the alarm - the "other" guys proposed

3 | > systems at a total of 2500$...of course for starters their way would cost my | > client 75$ per month for monitoring, my way only 25.00...not to mention what | > they left out of a proper system - you really can do a house with 35 opening | > windows, 9 doors, + other stuff on a system with only 8 zones (well maybe | > they can/will, not me). | >

| > We do custom sound, structured wiring, central vac...all that other junk. | > But, I love doing the alarm stuff most of all. | >

| Sounds like we're about at the same phase of our careers. I do the | nice stuff now. I'm into my third generation of customers and the work | is always there and I can choose not to do it if I don't think it's | going to be fun or challanging. | I do 98% residential now, including LAN and structured wiring, | telephone, CATV, home automation, ie, X10 lighting and thermostats, | home theater / surround sound setup and/or installation, whole house | audio. | | Don't do vacuum, access control, intercom's ( except video) for | various ligitimate reasons. Vacuum (aftermarket) is a two man job. | Intercoms just plain suck and I don't want the headache. And access | control requires the use of locksmiths or others for lock | installation. I don't like depending on undependable people. I say | what I'll do. And I do what I say. Unfortuntely, you can't depend on | others to follow the same rules. | | Just finishing up a 50 thousand sq ft office and warehouse building | for one of my long time clients. I wouldn't go out now and look for | commercial this large. But this guy's business has grown through the | years and he wants me to stay with him. Nice system. Burg only. | ( they've got sprikler and someone else who does that) Three | partitions. Glass break detectors in most offices, ceiling mount PIR's | in halls. Huge glass lobby entrance, rounded out to a half circle of | glass wall up 18 feet high. Terazza floors. I thought it was too hard | an area to put glass break detection and there was no way to mount a | motion detector so that it wasn't looking at glass. The regular | ceiling mount units had too big a circle of protected area when | mounted that high, so .... I did a few calculations and mounted a | regular dual tech unit on the ceiling looking down at the floor. The | entry door has contacts and a curtain of protection from the motion | detector, just wide enough, starting where the glass ends. I wasn't | sure it was going to work, but it does great. You can't make it from | the entry door to any of the office doors off the lobby without | activing it. | | Three partitions total, with the main lobby common to two of the | partitions. Seven keypads, 12 Glass breaks, 12 motion detectors. 10 | doors. 2 overhead doors. | | The job was in progress for about a year as they just gradually moved | in from their old location and improved the building as needed. Took a | bit of planning and allowing for contingencies, since they didn't have | a clear idea of how the layout of office and shop was eventually going | to end up. A fun job and a challange for one person to accomplish with | out any help. But the great part, is when you turn it on, and it does | exactly what you planned it to do, that's a great reward. And I have | to say, that if I were working with help, that it probably wouldn't | have happend that way. |

I KNOOOOOOOW watcha mean.!!!!!!!!!

About 5 / 6 years ago, I looked at all my accounts and determined what area I wanted to cover for service. There are some places around here that are within 20 miles but take two hours to get to and two hours to get back. I just can't charge them what it costs me to do a service charge. So, rather than continuing talking to myself as I'm sitting in traffic doing a losing service call, I set them free. About 20 accounts fell outside the ring. I called them and told them I'd be switching their accounts over to someone in there area. I simply gave the accounts to someone who lives in their areas. Then, I looked at all the laggards in paying. All those who a few times a year I had to call and negotiate whether they were going to pay me or not and/or set up a monthly payment plan, or who were continuously 3 or more months behind or those that I'd get a "you'll have to speak to my husband" who would tell me his wife pays the bills or ...... what ever their habitual problem was and I just dumped them. I sent them a certified ret receipt letter, that as of ___ days, monitoring service would be terminated. That was about 40 or so, accounts. Never got ONE call asking why. Which sorta says something, all in it self.

Now, as I go through the billing, if there's an occasional client that is late. I write a little note in red on the bill, to try and catch up with payments and .... it's done. Even with the number of accounts that I have, Accounts Rec is running smooth as silk. What a relief. No more aggravation, telephone calls, threatning letters of cancelation. Anyone who starts a bad habit gets a certified letter stating that they are habitually falling behind in payments. If it continues, they will be charged an increase in their monthly rates to cover the cost of additional billing and if it is not paid, their monitoring service will be dropped. On those, I've gotten a few irate calls about that one, but after they vent, the payments have been on time. No one cancelled. That sorta says something too.

Getting to old have to worry about whether someone is going to pay their freakin bill or not. Jeeeeze. Grow up and take responsibility for your life already! I'm not your mother.

Well?

Anyone else doing anything fun or challenging?

Any great old jobs you've done in the past?

How about some bloopers?

Some that have really gone south.........

Some funny ones?

I've got my funniest story that happened while I was installing a system, it just doesn't have anything to do with an installation.

We could always have Tom tell us the cereal box story again.

Come on guys ..... let's play in the sunshine for a bit. There's not too much time left here, to see what this place could be like.

Before ya know it ..... it's back to the dungeon.