Alarm diallers help

[MrMrMr111]

Anyone have a dialer that calls/texts if your alarm goes off?

Can you give some recommendations on any please.

What do they do exactly? Do they just call or text you if the alarm goes off? Can you then disable or silence the alarm if think it's a false alarm (e.g. if you had camera to check)

What are best, wired to your phone socket or ones that use mobile SIM cards?

It will just be to an existing, pretty standard wired alarm system.

Thanks

 

[secureiam]

what Alarm system is it for?

This will determine what options are available.

 

[Gim74]

I have the Advent Controls Alpha: it works very well and it is almost plug & play (on my Veritas R8 at least).

 

[MrMrMr111]

It's a scantronic system.

 

[Gim74]

Here you go:

http://blog.adventcontrols.co.uk

 

[MrMrMr111]

Thanks. Might sound daft but what exactly do they do? What functions in respect to the alarm can they do?

Obviously alert you, call, text? Can you mute, by call back etc?

Thanks

 

[Gim74]

They "just" call you and/or send an sms (to one or more phones). That's it...

 

[MrMrMr111]

They "just" call you and/or send an sms (to one or more phones). That's it...

Can you not silence them by a call back or something if you know it's false?

Is it only a one way thing then, it calls you, if no answer, next person that's it?

Thanks

 

[EightyTwo]

A speech dialler is like an answerphone that works backwards - when it's triggered it calls you. Depending on your dialler... it will have several inputs. Each input will trigger a different message to be sent to one or more phone numbers. When you hear the message, you will "acknowledge" the call (usually by pressing a number on your phone) and the dialler won't phone anyone else. Some diallers will allow you to call them and listen in (to the burglar) or trigger an output.

You can connect the bell output in the alarm to the dialler's trigger input. You could also connect the dialler's output to a spare zone on the alarm and program that up as a "keyswitch". This would allow you to set and unset the alarm by phoning it up. If you have a Scantronic i-ON30EXD, you can get a plug-on speech dialler that has this sort of functionality built in...

 

[Gim74]

Is it only a one way thing then, it calls you, if no answer, next person that's it?

Thanks

Exactly, but that was enough for me being out of home for most of the day. I also like the idea that I do know I am not getting false alarms, that is not the case but it was a big fear of mine when I installed it (I have non frienldy neighbours)...

 

[MrMrMr111]

So to stop out calling you, or going onto the next person in the list, do you press a button on your phone or say something, it then stops calling anyone?

So what do you do if it does call you? Contact a friend if your not nearby home?

What happens if your abroad, does it still call you ok? Suppose you'd had to put an international format in, would this format still be ok for UK calls though?

Thanks

 

[Gim74]

After the first person on the "list" answers it stops calling the others (it rings 10 times if I remember correctly). It also calls you if you are abroad, it cannot know where you are (you do not need an international format: your friends do not need to use a prefix when calling you abroad on your UK phone, it is the same principle).

SMS, if enabled, are sent anyway to all receivers.

If I get a call I contact my mother (she lives 10 minutes away) to go and give it a check, but it only happened once before. If it happened more frequently I would have installed an IP camera with iphone app to get a quick look.

 

[MrMrMr111]

I see thanks. I do have an IP camera and iPhone app already do this is exactly what I was thinking to have this as a check.

The question I have is I thought if you didn't "acknowledge" the alarm when you get a call, it goes to the next person, say I miss it or I'm in a meeting etc?

Also can you not silence it if you determine by say the IP camera everything is ok, or do you physically have to go and get someone to type the code in, or the alarm sounds for the 15/20 min that's allowed by law?

Thanks again

 

[Gim74]

If you are in a meeting, after 10 rings (if I am correct) it will call the next one. As soon as a person answers the call it stops calling the next people on the list.

As a backup I always have an SMS sent to me, so I know that something happened even if my phone was temporarily out of coverage.

You cannot silence the alarm via dialer, the dialer I use is a recipient and has no active connection to the alarm panel.

Here by law you are allowed to have max 1 minute of alarm sounder... so a false alarm will last 60 seconds anyway, no need to silence it via phone. I have 10 automatic re-arms, so if a burglar is really around it will ring again... and again... and again.

 

[Nintendofan]

Also can you not silence it if you determine by say the IP camera everything is ok, or do you physically have to go and get someone to type the code in, or the alarm sounds for the 15/20 min that's allowed by law?

EightyTwo has already answered this above.

A properly installed and maintained alarm should not false alarm anyway, if yours does and for whatever reason you don't want to find the cause then you could put the bell and SMS dialler on a confirmed alarm. Not sure how big your house is but could you really confirm everything is OK from 1 IP camera if the alarm does go off?