Burglar Alarm (MERGED)

Old_Git

I am looking a burglar alarm for a property I own but dont live in .
Any ideas where to look and how much they cost .

Honkycat

I used ABBACUS alarms (East Belfast) a few years ago and found them very good and keenly priced.

jclegs

I use PIP security and they have been excellent so far. Highly recommended

Andrew_G

Another recommendation for PIP. Got a passive Infra Red System (and external door contacts) in approx. 3 years ago and I'm very happy.

RTNI

Do you think you could install it yourself? I'm just beginning to install one in my house that I bought from a wholesalers in England - could be an option if you wanted to do it yourself and if you feel fairly confident about it?

Tallullah

Bumping this thread up as I am looking for an alarm system myself. Anyone got any further recommendations?

RTNI

I put in a scantronic 9651. Was quite straight forward. For me the hardest thing was running the cables through walls and from 1st floor to ground floor. Quite easy to use once set up.

shortone

I would recommend Ambassador Alarms, also in East Belfast. The tel no is 07808331447

dmxdave

Insurance companies usually demand a service contract and subscription to a monitoring station that can only be done by approved installers. If you just want a decent alarm at a good price that can also be connected to a dialler send me a PM as I can recommend someone.

wacko911

Even if you have a pro installed monitored system, dont tick the box on the insurance unless there is a large saving. Its usally about 5% (so £2.50 - £5 a year saving) but if the alarm fails or you forget to set it or the service contract lapses etc. then no insurance.

Pro system is gonna cost, usually for cheap kit poorly installed as the installer is lazy and couldnt be bothered hiding the cables as its a lot of work or worse they just install a wireless system. (Dont get me wrong im sure there are some really good installers out there but they are hard to find or cost)

The installer may lock you into a service contract so more $$$ and they wont give you the engineer code so when it comes to changing the lead acid batteries every 4 years which cost £7-17 they can charge you ten times that. They can also set a service timer so it will bleep till they come round and 'service it'.

Then if you opt for the monitored service, its jackpot time. A recurring yearly subscription so the very odd time it does go off they can make 1 phone call and tell you or ring the police who will ignore them? Oh and if it goes off too many times I'm sure they want more money for that. I'm pretty sure 90% of the cost for the monitored contract is comission.

If your loaded get a pro in.

If your good with wires and cheap get a DIY wired system with auto-dialer. Will ring/txt your mobile. A GSM (mobile) auto-dialer can be used if there is no fixed line. With a good alarm system it will tell you remotly which zone(s) have been triggered in real-time (so you can filter false alarms) and even silence the alarm and 'listen in' or talk to the house. (eg the police are coming get out scumbags or who is it, if you think its a false alarm)

If you want to waste £150, a cheap DIY wireless system from eBay or B&Q.

If you like the wireless install option (whole system in and tested in about 2 hours) and dont mind spending £20 a year replacing batteries, get a really GOOD wireless system. Not sure what to recommend as I prefer the added security/reliabilty of wires but the ESP infinite looks like a good place to start.