I am interested in folks who have a home alarm - their experience.

Which is better, wireless or hardwire?

Your company, love 'em or hate 'em and care to name 'em?

Does anyone have an outside camera? I am interested in 1 for the front that would record. I have no idea about that.

tia for your input....

dl

We just installed a home alarm system a couple of months ago.
We had been thinking about it, and just decided now was the time to do it. I see a lot of people that I do not know walking in my neighborhood lately, and everyone in my neighborhood works to pay their mortgage, so nobody is around much during the day.

We went with a wireless since our house is 30 plus years old. We also got the smoke detectors included and have them wired to the system, replacing the battery operated ones we had.

We did our homework and went with a local company; a retired man and his son. He did not charge for installation, he said he will make his money back on the monthly service. We did get a nice discount for paying a year in advance, so he does not have the expense of billing us. At the end of the contract the equipment is ours and we can renew, or go with another company of our chosing. Big companies own the equipment and you have to wait for them to come get it out if you go with another company after your contract is up.

We have three cats, so we did not go with the motion detectors. One item we did get for ourselves is an electronic key bob. The main pad to set and deactivate the unit is on the main floor (bilevel house) and we are getting too old to come in and run up the stairs in 30 seconds to turn off the alarm!!! So we can set or disalarm the unit from the door with the key bob. That is perfect for us.

The service contract is as little or as much as you want. My son has all the bells and whistles and can monitor everything from his computer/cell phone constantly. My daughter in law came home from work a little early one day and decided to lay down for a little nap. My son was monitoring, and saw she came home early and was teasing her. She said geez, I cannot even "sneak home for a nap!" We all chuckled about that! We did not need, or would use all that, we got the middle of the road service; we can go online to check everything if we desire.

I am finding that I am sleeping better at night also. I always thought I was "hearing something" out in the hall or at the door!
It was a nice addition for us.

Loved ADT, never had any problems with them. Hate Guardian, lots of problems even after they fixed the sensor.

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I've never lied to you. I've always told you some version the of truth.

We have ADT and like them so far. We pre-paid for 3 years (the minimum time you can sign up for) and we got a substantial discount. We used a local company for installation (Alert Security, Inc) and had free installation and some free upgrades. We got a discount for getting two systems (my parents got one installed as well). We got wired on what we could (unfinished basement so most of the house was able to be wired) and wireless on the rest. We paid for the maintenance program (forgot how much that was) so that any service calls/repairs are only $25 (without it they can run hundreds and I think the whole plan was less than what one repair without it would have been). We've had to use the maintenance program once because our front door showed up as a "fault" when it was shut. It was handled quickly and efficiently. Repairs aren't handled through ADT but though the company who installs. I have no issue with ADT. We have only had our alarm go off once and it was because our interior garage door blew open due to wind after I pulled my car out of the garage. They called me quickly and I was able to check the door before having them call the police.

I do not have a camera or motion detectors. We have all doors and windows done. I have kids and a hubby who gets up in the middle of the night so I didn't feel a need for motion detectors. I like that the panel makes a little noise when each door and/or window opens and it lets you know which one it is. This way, we know if someone goes out the basement door to go outside (nice to know with kids). We also think it will come in handy when they are older because we will know exactly when they get home and/or leave the house because #1: we'll hear the system or #2: the time is recorded. It's nice to know they can't "sneak" in or out in the future

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

We don't have one. . .all the burglers actually live in our neighborhood and go to the nice ones to actually rob people.

BUT my Mom and my brother have the same systems. They were put in by a local company. They do have motion detectors, but you can set the alarm to "stay", where the motion detectors are not on, but the doors and windows are. When you leave the house you can set it to "away" and then the motion detectors are on. They are not monitored, but there is a panic button on the keypads that will call the police if you hit it. I like their systems and would consider going with that if we ever get one.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

Before you get a home alarm call your local police dept. Some do NOT respond to alarms in private residences due to the high cost of false alarms. The Eugene, OR PD will NOT respond to private alarms. If this is the case in your community you may still want the alarm but be aware of this policy.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

Thank you all for your responses. My work locations have them, and that company was the most expensive when I did call for a ballpark amount on the phone before I decide if I want them to come out.

anna, the police respond here, you get 3 false alarms, then the fee is on a sliding scale, I do know this from work.

I am not chicken little, I've just been thinking the reports are that robberies are up due to the economy and I live at the dedd end of a dedd end street with the back area very private. We don't have a lot, but what we have is ours and we worked hard to get it.

Again, thanks

dl

You know, for some reason this reminded me of a recent break in here in my n'hood. It was at noon, and the burglar just broke the door in, and barged in. Homeowner was home at the time. Thankfully the HO was not harmed, the burglar scuffled with him, and then ran off. I would NEVER have expected that in my n'hood, least of all in the middle of the day. People are brazen when it comes to this, I guess???

We have a video camera system that has night settings (so you can see at night). Gosh, we haven't used it in a few years..... your post got me to thinking about hooking it up.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

My BIL is a police officer and says alarms are a HUGE waste of money.
Burglers know all kinds of ways around alarms or they will just do a smash and grab and be gone long before the police get there. There are so many false alarms that most people pretty much ignore alarms anyway. How many times have you heard one going off and went about your business as usual because it was 'probably a false alarm'?

Get yourself a sign that says you have an alarm and put it in your yard. It will cost you a few dollars on-line or at the hardware store and will do just as well to deter burglery to your home.

I'm not saying don't get an alarm, just think it through before you spend the money.

Sarah, I guess in some areas your BIL might be right. I know in *my* neighborhood, if an alarm goes off, it brings out the neighbors and it's a good thing because we've been able to help each other that way. Like I said, beyond deterring burglers, I use ours to help keep track on the kids both now, and in the future. A "sneaking out deterrent" if you will. Like my dad always says, a lock just is there to keep the honest people out. Same thing with an alarm. If someone really wants to break in, they will. I like that the police will be called if it does go off. My fear would be that someone breaks in while we are out of town and then my door/window/whatever is wide open/broken during the duration of our trip and we come home to a rain/snow soaked house with animals running around. We have families of foxes, geese, skunks and even some elf around here. I would just want to know if someone broke in. I KNOW that it really won't prevent a break-in when it comes down to it. It will only deter those who may not want to mess with an alarm and looking for an "easier" target. I do agree that the signs can do you just as good in some cases. I know we were given extra window stickers and signs and we gave a couple to a friend who did just as you recommended.

I will say that if you get one, you need to get the back up device which costs extra. Otherwise, the burgler/whomever can cut your phone lines and no one is called. that or your power goes out and the alarm goes out with it. Ours has a backup if power goes out of the phone lines are cut

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003