Home Security System? (1 Viewer)

mbg

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I posted this on EE board with limited results. Someone suggested I post here, as well.

Anyone know anything about a wireless home security system? I had a system in my last house which was pre-wired while it was built. I loved it, but now live in an older home. There is no access to wire in a system, so it looks like I must install wireless.

I have had some of the usual suspects over for estimates, but the advertised "free system" ends up being over $800, plus $34/month service.

I want to do it myself because the pros seem to be tremendeously overpriced. I can't find a system I think looks to be of good quality. Anyone know of a good system, or a message board where people discuss this as a topic?

Thanks,

mbg
 
I'd take half that money and increase your insurance coverage, take the other half and pay down some debt. The return for the investment of a home security system is very low. I've had one before, and didn't think it was worth continuing.
 
My parents had an old Black & Decker wireless alarm system, but I think it's been discontinued.. It definitely worked well.. :shrug:
 
I'd take half that money and increase your insurance coverage, take the other half and pay down some debt. The return for the investment of a home security system is very low. I've had one before, and didn't think it was worth continuing.

I think that it depends on where you live. I live in an upper-middle class neighborhood that is within walking distance from public housing and a mile from a major highway.

mbg may be in a similar situation.

Our neighborhood gets hit all of the time. Every year somebody walks in on a robbery and ends up on the wrong side of a gun. Also consider that I work swing shift (this leaves the wife alone at night) and I work in an International Port so I am not able to carry when I go to work so I come home unarmed.

Last year the family down the street got hit. They walked in on two guys. The crooks beat the homeowner and his autistic son unconscious, took all of their valuables, loaded their stuff up into their new car, and drove away. An alarm system would have warned them to not enter the house. I'm sure that the homeowner would have traded $800 cash and $29 per month for that to have not happened.

For us the alarm is more of a warning system rather than a theft deterrent. If somebody steals a bunch of stuff when nobody is home I would be unhappy, but not devastated, but we need a warning if somebody is in the house.

We are, usually, sufficiently armed to handle it from there.
 
Eeyore, you hit the nail on the head. I'm in a middle class subdivision in Katy, texas. No reason to think that I'm a target, but not wortht the risk.

I can replace anything stolen, but good insurance won't keep me or my family from getting shot.

Thanks for the input everyone. i will keep looking. I was just hoping to find someone who has a quality system installed.

mbg
 
I think that it depends on where you live. I live in an upper-middle class neighborhood that is within walking distance from public housing and a mile from a major highway.

mbg may be in a similar situation.

Our neighborhood gets hit all of the time. Every year somebody walks in on a robbery and ends up on the wrong side of a gun. Also consider that I work swing shift (this leaves the wife alone at night) and I work in an International Port so I am not able to carry when I go to work so I come home unarmed.

Last year the family down the street got hit. They walked in on two guys. The crooks beat the homeowner and his autistic son unconscious, took all of their valuables, loaded their stuff up into their new car, and drove away. An alarm system would have warned them to not enter the house. I'm sure that the homeowner would have traded $800 cash and $29 per month for that to have not happened.

For us the alarm is more of a warning system rather than a theft deterrent. If somebody steals a bunch of stuff when nobody is home I would be unhappy, but not devastated, but we need a warning if somebody is in the house.

We are, usually, sufficiently armed to handle it from there.


well if thats the case, i can see where you'd get more value out of it then i did.

The system i had was thru Mototronics i believe the company name was. Al lthe sensors were wireless and never had a problem with them, its was the people who setup the account at the monitoring service got the password wrong and it took a act of congress to get it straightend out.
 

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