Do I need a professional to install a wireless burglar alarm?

ripplyuk

I'm always anxious about burglars but I live in a rented house so I was thinking of getting a wireless alarm, so that I could take it with me if I move house. I would be happy enough if it was just an alarm box and a panic button, rather than all the sensors etc because it all seems very complicated. I got a quote for installing one and he said I might as well get a full alarm system and it would be £650! I'm been looking at Yale alarms that are only around £200, but that doesn't include installation.

Are these wireless alarms easy to install yourself? I would definitely need someone to put the siren box outside on the wall, so would it be better to just hire someone for the whole lot?

Also, are they prone to going off on false alarms? That's the main reason I have kept putting off getting one. The thought of it going off at night is terrifying, and I don't want to be terrified for no reason.

ratrace

we have had a wireless yale alarm for a couple of years they are pretty good installing is quite straight forward if you are handy with a drill i had to get my brother to do it while secured the ladder oh he did it free for me and as an exchange i serviced his car for him

hes a teacher but likes diy and is handy with drill i watched him do it and its not difficult the price you have been quoted is ridiculous way to high

id just get someone like a mate to help me

we are going to be putting up cctv cameras soon so that will be interesting

try to skill swap when or wherever you can

also our alarm is conneted to the phone line so our Mobile rings telling us to head home as the alarm has been triggered - it was the daam cat that triggered it last time but never goes off on its own

hope this helps

ratrace

This is the one we have

http://www.screwfix.com/p/yale-hsa6400-wireless-4-room-alarm-kit/54473

ripplyuk

Thanks for that ratrace, that's a really good price at the minute . I don't have a clue what all the terms mean like 'part arming'. It all sounds so technical. But hopefully the instruction manual is good! I can get someone local or a handyman to put the outside box up. I thought it might need a load of programming or something.

I love the way it will ring me if the alarm goes off. I'm wondering if there is any way to turn it off remotely, or do you have to get home quick and type in the code? Also, would something like a mouse set it off? I live in the country and we do get the odd little visitor.

ratrace

Your welcome
Mouse hhmm that's a tricky one not really sure as we have a cat so mice rarely make an appearance

You have to place the pir sensors correctly on the wall inside the rooms and hallways you want to protect also the door contacts need to be placed ideally on all external doors and entry points

Depending on the size of your house and the number of entry point you have you may have to buy additional pir sensors and door contacts to cover all the points

The manual is very useful and fairly straight forward to follow

disarming via the phone not sure about that, if there is a real robbery you would like to be back asap and waiting for the police to attend

the alarm is more of a deterrent really to prevent something happining in the first place

id love to have a German Sheppard dog but as time is limited it would not be fair on the dog to neglect it

elver_man

These Yale are great, I have one myself and have fitted two in the last 6 weeks for my customers. My brother also has a Yale alarm as do my parents. None of us have had any problems with them so I would recommend. As for fitting its a piece of cake if you can use a screwdriver, drill and don't mind going up the ladder to fit the siren box.


Not a bad price either.

SailorSam

They're a doddle to fix yourself.
I've fixed a few and used these people who do i wide range of security stuff.

http://www.responseelectronics.com/

ripplyuk

I've just been reading an instruction manual for the Yale. Or rather, trying to decipher it. There's all these different settings for each door sensor and pir, like burglar, home omit, away entry, 24 hour. I'm already confused! Perhaps I should buy it myself and get a local handyman to install it. Or maybe it's easier in reality than on paper!

It is a good price so either way I'd save money on the £650 I was quoted previously.

I assume it needs to be plugged in to the phone socket? I'll have to find some sort of connector for it because I only have the two sockets for the landline and broadband.

ratrace

ripplyuk wrote: »

I've just been reading an instruction manual for the Yale. Or rather, trying to decipher it. There's all these different settings for each door sensor and pir, like burglar, home omit, away entry, 24 hour. I'm already confused! Perhaps I should buy it myself and get a local handyman to install it. Or maybe it's easier in reality than on paper!

It is a good price so either way I'd save money on the £650 I was quoted previously.

I assume it needs to be plugged in to the phone socket? I'll have to find some sort of connector for it because I only have the two sockets for the landline and broadband.

Mind boggling :rotfl:

Dont worry about all them settings, they are just settings you choose on how you want the alarm to work for eg: once you activate the alarm by pressing the lock button then you have (you choose how many) seconds it will take you to exit the house and lock the door i have mine sett to 60secs thats plenty to get out and lock the door

its similar when you arrive home you can choose to trigger the alarm staring away as soon as you open the door or you can sett it to come on after 30secs in that time it give you some secs to turn it off by pressing the code and not triggering it

its quite difficult explain on here i can do demo with my eyes closed

overall its a piece of cake really

SailorSam

Have a look at some of the videos on YouTube.

27col

Quick answer. No.
As long as you can read instructions.