Re: Home Security ?

["Marcus Warrington" <marcusw@xxxxxxx>]

Steve,

Thanks for the response :)

How easy is comfort to install ?

Is everything like PIR's and Keypads just connected via Cat5 in a simple
star configuration ?

Is it possible to have the alarms triggered on state changes rather than
open circuits. What I mean is that in our old house every internal door
had contact switches on them which meant that every door had to be shut
in order for the Alarm to be armed. What would be better is if the system
simply looked for the state of a door changing i.e. one that is currently
shut is opened or one that is currently open is shut. Another method would
be an IR beam across every door way rather than a contact on the door
itself

Does it have any form of web interface ? Ideally I'd love to be able to
have a colour touch screen running a web page to set/report status. Failing
that a simple pronto interface would suffice.

Like the idea of the system deactivating if someone gets up in the night.
I assume it could turn on the lights as well in this situation, as long as
the lights were X10 or C-Bus of course.

Are there any PIR that are sensitive for room occupancy ? I assume that
if there are then they would probably not be suitable for an Alarm system,
triggering too many false alarms ? If so then is it possible to have both
an occupancy PIR and an ALARM PIR in the same room and have COMFORT trigger
the lights on one but the ALARM on the other ?

Thanks

Marcus

>> Just got back from a business trip to Southern Ireland to find
that we
were
>> burgled during the night. SWMBO and the kids were asleep upstairs
at the
>> time
Sorry to hear that, anyway lets see how I can help.
>> From looking over past posts it seems COMFORT is the proffered
>> system of most people. At the moment I have no X10 stuff and am
just
flood
>> wiring with Cat5 to each room . I'm also toying with the idea of
C-Bus
>> lighting, but the cost is pretty steep. The cost of COMFORT is
also
pretty
>> steep compared to a standard Alarm system so what advantages does
it
give me
>> in the real world.. is it worth the extra money ?

Well I don't have any experience of any system other than Comfort but can
tell you what it does do.

Allows you to set the sensors so that they are either active or inactive in
Away, Home and Night Modes.  We set our alarm to night mode in the evening
when we go to bed and it alarm the whole of downstairs then have it switch
the security off if some walks down the stairs i.e. triggers the landing
then hall PIR with 5 seconds of each other.  Comfort can also be used to
control CBUS with the right serial module attached.  It terms of other
function it does X10, timers, outputs for powering anything 12v (obviously
limited current directly though but ideal for relays to large devices).
Many other function that as well.  Is it worth it well, I think so but you
could do it cheaper with less options if you like probably.  Worth looking
at Scott's system as well http://www.intamac.com

>> I have a Samsung PBX that I bought of eBay a year or so ago
although
>> I've not
>> actually installed it yet. I've read that COMFORT can phone your
mobile
>> automatically on trigger events, can it happily co-exist with a
PBX
>> (analogue).

Yes my alarm phones me when an event occurs whether that be an alarm or a
power cut.  You can dial in and control the alarm via a pin number and use
the keys to control the menu system. You can get it to try one number and
then if no reply another one.  No experience of PBX though, someone else
may be able to help there.

>> Since we've just had new PVC windows installed and I don't want to
stick
>> unsightly magnetic contacts on them I'm thinking that infrared
beams
>>across
>> the doorways and windows is probably my best bet. I'll also add a
PIR in
>> each
>> room (I guess I can also use these for room occupancy at a later
date).
>> What do I need to do to install these. Is it enough to just run a
length
>> of
>> Cat5 to each position or should I be using shielded cable ? Also
should
>>I berunning power cables as well ?

Room occapancy with alarm PIR is fine in areas of large movement like halls
and kitchens but they aren't sensitive to pick up someone moving slightly
on the sofa.  In term of cable PIR's are fine being power and having the
trigger wires on Cat5e.  IR beam will depend on the current required IIRC
Cat5e is rated at about 300mA at 12v.  Comfort recommend shielded alarm
cable for the doorphone and keypads though, although some people have used
Cat5 for that as well.



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