DIY fit of Burglar alarm.

[JDLDIY]

Basically should I consider this or not? My local leccy wholesaler sells the Texecom ones, any advice on brands would be greatly received, who's the leader in this field? It's tempting as for not much more than £100 I can buy the bits and install it myself. Is it fairly straightforward or not?

Thanks a lot for any input

JD

 

[andy]

fairly straightforward. its just a case of puttin wires in and connecting. remember to link any unused zones and if 2 or more door contacts or PIR's are used they must be linked in series, not parallel

 

[dingbat]

The Texecom Veritas panels are great (although the compact one is a bit of a squeeze to get all the cables in along with the battery) and all zones come with links intact - you just use the ones you need. If you use one detector per zone (as most people do) you won't have to worry about the series/parallel business.

One thing that you my want to consider is that most systems use the red and black pair for carrying power, but the Veritas instruction book says to use (I think) the green/white pair, while the instructions for the Odyssey bell box you'll no doubt use sticks to the more conventional red/black. (At the end of the day you can wire it up any way you like - they're only wires - but make sure you stick to what you decide.) Also, the layout of the instruction manual is not exactly brilliant but all the information is there.

Go for it, but have a good read of the instructions before you start drilling holes!!

 

[breezer]

you should have 1 detector / zone, and ideally one door / zone (bs 4737 allows up to 10 doors, but only one detector/ zone.

Why, because if it goes off its easier to determine which one went of, then why it went off

 

[securespark]

If you use one detector per zone (as most people do) you won't have to worry about the series/parallel business.

Until you come to the global tamper....

 

[mrdiyleicester]

RIGHT! I WOULD GO WITH EATHER THE CK800L OR THE SCANTRONIC 9448! I DO INSTALL THE VERITAS RANGE BUT I LIKE TO CALL MYSELF A PRO! ITS NOT VERY EAST TO PROGRAM FOR A DIYER! AS FOR A GLOBAL TAMPER, LINK IT OUT! WE ONLY HAVE THEM IN EUROPE AND THE ONLY POINT IS TO STOP THE PUBLIC PLAYING WITH THE SENSORS! GO HARD WIRED NOT WIRELESS
____________________________
Moderator

Please do not shout (capitals)

 

[breezer]

I LIKE TO CALL MYSELF A PRO!

but you also said

AS FOR A GLOBAL TAMPER, LINK IT OUT!

the two do not seem to go together

a"pro" will use tampers regardless of installation as it complies to BS 4737
so what happens when some poor sole puts a nail through the cable shorting tamper / circuit out? normally it would cause a "cant set" (tamper not broken only shorted to cct, cct shorted)
but in your case nothing would happen except the detector will still light up, but not work as it now has a short so the panel cant see it. but it wll only become aparent in your case after the break in and alarm didn't go off

 

[josey]

would anyone rate a wireless alarm, if so which ones

 

[breezer]

would anyone rate a wireless alarm,

yes, rubbish! see this

 

[alarm_guy]

would anyone rate a wireless alarm, if so which ones

There are one or two good systems out there, but you would'nt be able to get hold of one unless you're in the trade. Scantronic do a good wireless, as do Ademco Microtech, but I personally prefer a good wired system. Definately don't go for the wireless "Response" things from Homebase and the like. I would'nt trust one of those to hold a door open.

Fitting an alarm system certainly is'nt a case of throwing in some wires. You need to be wary of running alarm cables near mains cables and such. The basic Texecom panels are not bad. The global tamper can cause a few headaches if you've never done this before, and the programming can be frustrating as there is no LCD screen, just the zone LEDs to guide you. You can put more than one PIR's on one zone if you really have to, but make sure you use latching detectors so that you can see which was the first to alarm. This type of detector require an additional connection, so try to stick to one detector per zone.

 

[JDLDIY]

Fitting an alarm system certainly isn't a case of throwing in some wires. You need to be wary of running alarm cables near mains cables and such.

Do you mean from an interferrence point of view or insulation/safety reasons?

The basic Texecom panels are not bad

What do you prefer? I want whatever system I go for to be able to have the facility to be hooked up to the phone system/internet to alert the cops/security bods that the local scumbags are in! I'm not bothered if it doesn't do that out of the box, as long as there is the flexibility to add it on later.
Any tips on how to run cables? I don't want to be drilling more holes particularly. Presumably I can't run the cables with mains ones in trunking?
I guess I would like whatever system I go for to have neat looking PIR's and a nice small control panel I can put near the door. Never having owned an alarm system before I'm not really sure what else they have to offer in terms of features. Anything else I should consider?

JD

 

[oldspark]

Don't mean to but in but as far as I know you can't get a system hooked up to one of these alarm control centrers unless the installer is NACOSS approved. All modern alarm panels have the facility to hook up to a dialer but the approval bit kinda cuts out the diy guy
I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong.

 

[alarm_guy]

Fitting an alarm system certainly isn't a case of throwing in some wires. You need to be wary of running alarm cables near mains cables and such.

Do you mean from an interferrence point of view or insulation/safety reasons?

The basic Texecom panels are not bad

What do you prefer? I want whatever system I go for to be able to have the facility to be hooked up to the phone system/internet to alert the cops/security bods that the local scumbags are in! I'm not bothered if it doesn't do that out of the box, as long as there is the flexibility to add it on later.
Any tips on how to run cables? I don't want to be drilling more holes particularly. Presumably I can't run the cables with mains ones in trunking?
I guess I would like whatever system I go for to have neat looking PIR's and a nice small control panel I can put near the door. Never having owned an alarm system before I'm not really sure what else they have to offer in terms of features. Anything else I should consider?

JD

The fellow above this reply is correct. To get a police response, your system needs to be installed and commisioned by an approved installer (a member of the NSI, SSAIB etc) You can buy dialers, which are literally that. When your alarm is activation, the dialer phones up your friends/relatives (usually about 4 numbers on the basic ones) and plays a pre-recorded message. There are now units available that can send text and pager messages, with details of the alarm condition. You can add these units to most alarms although the manual for the Texecom Veritas does'nt make it clear if you can use a dialer with their panel. The ADE Optima G3 does have a communicator, and is not much more expensive than the Texecom. If I told you what panel I'd prefer, and then the price, you're jaw would drop Like I said, the Texecom panels are not bad at all really. Better than most, and ideal for most domestic situations. It's a toss between the Veritas or an ADE Optima, which has the dialer outputs. Whats your budget?

With regards to wiring, interference is what you need to avoid. Mains cables can induce voltages into the alarm cable, which cause problems at detectors and the panel. Aim to locate alarm cables at least 5 or 6 inches from a mainls cable, and only cross mains cables at 90 degrees. You are right in assuming that you should run the alarm and mains cable to the panel in seperate trunkings. The panel supply should be from a 3 amp fused spur off the lighting ring or ring main. Most modern detectors are slimline, quiet and unobtrusive, so they won't be a problem. Most systems now are available with "Remote Keypads". This means you have a central unit which all the wires are connected to, which goes in the loft, or in a cupboard, and in the hallway, you have a small RKP to activate and deativate the system. All Texecom, Scantronic and ADE panels have this option, and it's usually the best, if slightly more expensive. Most of these panels have some good features. The lower end Scantronics (the 9448 efor example) are a bit out of date now, feature wise. It really depends on your budget and how confident you think you'd be at installing

 

[breezer]

The panel supply should be from a 3 amp fused spur off the lighting ring or ring main.

sorry , NO it should not, the panels must be supplied from ther ring main ONLY.

As for the remainder of what you said, i agree with most of it (except panel choice) but we could argue that one till the cows come home.

JDLDIY I would aslo suggest that as has been mentioned installing an intruder alarm is not just a case of throwing in a few wires, it does actually take skill to do it. I have seen electricians try and install them and what a pigs ear they have made.
By all means install your own alarm, but really sit and think about things, where the detetcors are going, how the cables are going to get there etc, it really does take a lot of thought.

you may also want to consider getting it done by an alarm company, it may be worth your while asking for a couple of quotes just to see

 

[jenki]

sorry , NO it should not, the panels must be supplied from ther ring main ONLY

Can you not use a radial direct from the CU as well?? non RCD protected?