Burglar Alarm Broke - Some Questions

WeegyAVLover

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Okay so my in-laws burglar alarm has stopped working. We got an electrician out to have a look at it and he also confirmed its humpedness.

Its a wired system that has a couple of sensors.

Questions:
1) Can you just buy a new alarm unit and reuse the old sensors?
2) If answer to 1 is no, can you reuse the old wiring for the sensors?

Thanks in advance.
Col
 
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You may find it cheaper to just get a new alarm system, that replace the alarm unit. The basic wireless alarm systems are very cheap these days and no messing about with wires etc.
 
1) Can you just buy a new alarm unit and reuse the old sensors? Yes
2) If answer to 1 is no, can you reuse the old wiring for the sensors? Yes
 
Our alarm was knackered, looked like something had exploded in the back up battery part. We had a new one fitted for a couple of hundred quid. If you have all the wires in place already then may as well use them.
 
My brother has just fitted a Yale wireless burglar alarm in his new house. He's very happy with it.
He's completely non-techy and doesn't believe in reading instruction manuals, so I'm assuming it was a complete doddle to fit.

:)
 
My brother has just fitted a Yale wireless burglar alarm in his new house. He's very happy with it.
He's completely non-techy and doesn't believe in reading instruction manuals, so I'm assuming it was a complete doddle to fit.

:)
Always wondered about these.

Do these use your broadband? Basically what i'm getting at is, if your broadband goes down does it affect your alarm?

or is it wireless in the fact that the system itself is wireless.
 
My brother has just fitted a Yale wireless burglar alarm in his new house. He's very happy with it.
He's completely non-techy and doesn't believe in reading instruction manuals, so I'm assuming it was a complete doddle to fit.

:)

You should try breaking in to see if it works! ;)
 
Always wondered about these.

Do these use your broadband? Basically what i'm getting at is, if your broadband goes down does it affect your alarm?

or is it wireless in the fact that the system itself is wireless.

I'm guessing it doesn't as he would definitely have been on the phone to me to get it working if it required an internet connection.

:)
 
Always wondered about these.

Do these use your broadband? Basically what i'm getting at is, if your broadband goes down does it affect your alarm?

or is it wireless in the fact that the system itself is wireless.

No, it's not connected in any way to your broadband. The unit uses its own independent signal to connect between control panel, alarm box and sensors. The control panel is mains powered, but also has batteries as back up in the event of a power outage.

I fitted one last year, great bit of kit.
 
They operate on a completely separate (lower) end of the wireless spectrum too so are better at penetrating the walls in properties. Some of them operate on a mesh networking basis too.

I need to replace our wired one at some point so I'm looking for a wired one with separate keypad / control boxes that can also message my phone (SMS or App). Any recommendations?
 
They operate on a completely separate (lower) end of the wireless spectrum too so are better at penetrating the walls in properties. Some of them operate on a mesh networking basis too.

I need to replace our wired one at some point so I'm looking for a wired one with separate keypad / control boxes that can also message my phone (SMS or App). Any recommendations?
Yale.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yale-wirefree-Premium-Alarm-HSA6400/dp/B002D38J8C

It will phone rather than text. It can phone 3 phone numbers on a cycle and play a message that you record yourself.

You can add PIRs, Keyfobs, Door alarms etc. I read that someone had added a PIR to the inside of his van that he parks on his drive.
 
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Yale.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yale-wirefree-Premium-Alarm-HSA6400/dp/B002D38J8C

It will phone rather than text. It can phone 3 phone numbers on a cycle and play a message that you record yourself.

You can add PIRs, Keyfobs, Door alarms etc. I read that someone had added a PIR to the inside of his van that he parks on his drive.

Got that exact one which I fitted a good 3 or 4 years a go, works really well and very easy to install.

The batteries in the sensors (AAA in the sensors and D in the outdoor alarm box) last ages and only need replacing every 18 months or so.

Had very few false alarms but it tells you which sensor was triggered.
 
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My mate says the wireless versions aren't much good as they can be blocked with a gadget. Any truth to this?
 
My mate says the wireless versions aren't much good as they can be blocked with a gadget. Any truth to this?
I suspect they are as secure as the technology will allow and the price you pay. If the wireless connection security is rubbish then they would be vulnerable. My personal preference would be wired but I suppose those have been hacked into and disabled for years as well.

Consumer alarms are for most people simply a deterrent. If you own collections of any value I suggest you would be getting a professional level system installed - or at least have a monitored alarm anyway and those companies fit the alarm systems they are happy to support.
 
A lot of burglary is opportunistic rather than scoping out your house for days. Also a lot of burglary's are over in a few seconds, they are in grab high value electronics and back out so some don't even care the alarm is going off. I say this as a few friends have been broken into and that happened with them. Also in my area a few years ago a gang were targeting the area, they pounced on people leaving open windows or unlocked doors. So while Alarms can be jammed, like Ouoftheknow says they act as more of a deterrent than anything else.
 

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