Yale HSA6400 First Time Installation

[SidneyUK]

Hi Everyone, first time post and I need some advice on installing a Yale HSA6400.

I had bought about 2 months ago a Yale HSA6200 Standard wireless alarm package and I was about to install it when we got one of our sheds broken into, actually on Sunday night. So I looked at the Yale website and saw how many more features this 6400 has. So I bought one!

The question is what is the best way to set up the system to get maximum coverage/protection. We have the following:

Front door leading to hallway and stairs up.
Front room with large double glazed bay window.
Large kitchen dinner, with back door and large double French windows, all double glazed. The back door is the one we use most often.
3 Upstairs bedrooms and bathroom
Converted loft.
Two outsides shed, one big, one small approximately 2 metres from side of the house.

I have the following Yale products:

1 HSA6400 panel
1 Siren Box
1 Dummy Box
3 PIRS
2 Door Contacts.
1 Remote Keypad Control.

Was thinking about buying a Panic Button for upstairs and 2 Keyfobs to arm/disarm the system. Do I need them?

We have 2 small children, who have started to go downstairs on a weekend on their own, they used to stay in their bedrooms until they heard us moving around, so need to be able to create zones

I was thinking:

Door sensor on main entrance - back door
PIR to cover french windows - or does this need to be another door sensor?
PIR in front room?
PIR in downstairs hall area - facing front door or not? Does the front door need a door sensor or can it be covered with the hall PIR?
Sheds either PIRs or door sensors? What is best?
Anything I have missed?

Sorry for all the questions but after the shed break in last weekend, my partner is very jumpy and I want her to feel really safe.

We basically rebuilt the house from brick so DIY has no fear to me. My degree is Electronics, so I am very competent on the actual install, just need advice from people with much more experience in these fields.

Any help is really appreciated.

Chris

 

[JohnD]

door sensors on all external doors, french windows etc. You can set these as a "home" alarm meaning the house is occupied and you can move around inside without setting it off. I like to have these doors set to chime when they are opened. If you have young children you can set other detectors to chime if you want to know when they are getting into your wine cellar, gun room or gold vault.

I reckon PIRs in all downstairs rooms where someone might get in through a window. Also rooms where the window is accessible by climbing onto a porch roof or gate, and one on the stairs or landing. PIRs should not point at doors with sensors on them or you may get both detectors signalling at the same time, with neither getting through.

Obviously you need proper locks and bolts on all doors and accessible windows.

I am convinced you should have the 6400 control panel in an upstairs room, out of sight and where an intruder cannot get to it and yank the wires out or smash it before it can set off the alarm and phone out. We had someone on here in the summer whose 6400 panel had been attacked in this way. The delay on the panel should be less than it takes someone to run to it from the door, if they have already found out where it is.

Rather than buy more keyfobs I would get a keypad that you can put, out of sight, somewhere near the main entrance door so that people can key in a PIN which the control panel will receive to disarm. If someone smashes the keypad the panel is not affected.

It is quite a good idea to have an additional siren inside the house (the 6400 can operate multiple sirens) in a place where it is out of sight and cannot easily be pulled down. I am told the noise is quite upsetting for an intruder.

BTW you can use detectors and sirens from the 3000 series (old model) as the 6400 is compatible with them, and they are often available cheaper, new or used, on fleabay. You have to read the 3000 instructions as they are not identical to the new parts. I found it was cheapest to buy a complete additional kit from Argos rather than a few extra detectors, and this included an additional siren. Argos has a Stock Clearance account on fleabay, you will find it if you search for Yale alarms, and they are new and guaranteed. Screwfix and Homebase also sometimes have them on offer.

You will find that the professional alarm installers will tell you that a hardwired alarm is much better, and I don't disagree. I fitted a Yale alarm on an empty house I am looking after, at home I have a Galaxy.

As the Yale is easily recognised as a DIY system, I sprayed the (rectangular) siren box white, and put on an alarm company sticker, to disguise it. You can also add a "confidence" flashing LED if you want.

I haven't got a strong view on how to treat sheds. I suppose you want at least a constant chime. Otherwise put them on "home"

I suppose you could put a Panic button on the wall out of sight behind the front door, in case someone barges in. Out of reach of children.

 

[SidneyUK]

Hi JohnD

Many thanks for the info, just what I was looking for.

Would you put PIRs in the sheds or just use door sensors?

So just to be sure, point the PIRS away from the windows and external doors?

We have no windows that can be accessed from climbing on any flat roofs etc, and I should be able to cover the hallway, no external windows, and the stairs with one PIR.

We have a large first floor hall window which over looks the shed, no chance of getting in it, and I was thinking of putting the panic button there in case we see anything. We have an alleyway that runs along this side of our house/garden.

All doors/windows are double locked with maximum security.

If I sent you a plan could you mark on what you suggest?

Many thanks

Chris

 

[JohnD]

sorry, haven't got time to mark up your plan

If the panic button is near the front door, you can probably get to it if someone barges in, you can also walk to it if you see something outside.

btw it is I think a very good idea to set the siren to 1-second honking for the first week or so, while you get used to it and make any adjustments. I try to train my neighbours that if my alarm goes off, it is real, not a practice or a false alarm. Or you can leave the siren inside the house where it will not annoy them until you are sure it is OK.

Sounds like you are at risk from the alleyway accessibilty. I would get some security lights with PIRs. I think you can get some that sound a buzzer, but not sure where I saw them. They will get more false alarms from animals.

A strong shed will be OK with a door sensor, but this will be no good if it is a weak shed and someone gets in through a window or pulling open cladding on the back.

BTW people often leave the windows in kitchens and toilets open for ventilation, so they might benefit from a PIR.

 

[SidneyUK]

OK John no worries.

I have added a image of what I suggest anyway for anyone else to comment before I start.

There is already a huge light over the sheds curtsey of the electricity board, we are next to a sub station! It is on all night, every night. So security lights would make any diference.

Anyone who has the time, and could offer advice, many thanks.

Chris

 

[SidneyUK]

Sorry forgot to attach the plan!

Chris

Untitled

• SidneyUK
• 5 Nov 2010
• 2

 

[yaleguy3]

Hi Sydney.

Your solution is reasonably ok except you have specified door contacts on your sheds. Sheds can mean anything from wooden larch lap to precast concrete.
even if the doors were secured could access be made through a window. Would a PIR be better. In which case you would need to fill any cracks with expanding foam to prevent birds and large winged insects. You would also need to dust down for spiders.
As for your children coming downstairs. Unfortunately unless you put window contacts on every window then you can't zone the home without creating a security problem.
I personally prefer to set the whole of downstairs active with usually the hall pir as an entry device so that coming downstairs triggers the panels countdown and reminds you to disarm the alarm.
I wasn't actually aware you could set individual devices to chime as John suggests. My belief from the hundreds of installations I have done is that you can only set the chime on or off for entry devices.

 

[JohnD]

you may be right about the chiming. I have only done it on doors too.

 

[SidneyUK]

Hi Guys, many thanks for the info:

Yaleguy - the shed are wooden but very robust and the doors are a nice tight fit. From other info received I am going to put just door sensors of these sheds as neither one has any windows. I can always at a later date but PIRS if we see it as a problem.

I will be putting door contacts on all the external doors, but that only leaves one window in the kitchen that can be opened. The bay window has only 2 very small half pane opening windows at the top, so that should be fine.

One major concern is to protect the shed and allow the children to move around the house easily, so I will be putting all these on one zone for night use. The children are step children and only live with us one week on week. I can't see how else I can do it, without limiting their movement.

Any ideas?

I have had professionally made several large CCTV and Alarm signs to hang on both sheds and the fence and the back fence.

Many thanks for all the advice, really is appreciated.

 

[Alarm]

Put a shock sensor on the windows where the children can walk about. Not ideal but then they can walk about and you have some protectoin as a contact may not trigger if the glass is removed.
You could also use shocks on the sheds too, thus avoiding possible false alarms with pirs.
As for chime, if it is a decent panel ( DIY or not) you can generally have any circuit/device programmed as chime. Can get on your nerves but it is possible.

 

[yaleguy3]

One major concern is to protect the shed and allow the children to move around the house easily, so I will be putting all these on one zone for night use. The children are step children and only live with us one week on week. I can't see how else I can do it, without limiting their movement.

Any ideas?

I missed that question. However although this thread is old here is a tip for all Yale alarm installers.

The way to protect your sheds at night while allowing movement around the house is to designate sensors you wish to be opted out of the setting as Home Arm sensors. When you programme the devices select the 'O' option for Omit. This means when you press the red arm button ALL your sensors will be activated protecting everywhere but if you arm the system using the ORANGE button instead all the sensors you designated with the 'O' parameter will not be active and therefore will not set off the alarm.
This means you can easliy still have the shed protected AND move around the home with perimiter protection afforded by the windo and door contacts but movement possible because you have selected internal pirs as 'Omit' devices. You can be more specific and only omit upstairs pirs in a typical install allowing movement upstairs ie the bathroom and bedroom at night while your dowstairs and sheds still remain protected.

 

[S21]

does this apply to all Yale alarms or is it model specific?