Re: Wireless - Simon 3 or Visonic Powermax Plus

["Bossman" <securitydealer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Coming to this one late, but a good real world example. Less than a
month ago, a prospective customer, who had just suffered a terrible
break in, losing almost everything, phoned me stating that she wanted a
Simon 3 installed...today. Her son and daughter both had one, and that
was the system she insisted on. Her home could have easily been
hardwired, but she wanted the system that her kids had, because they
had recommended that she get what they had, the Simon 3. She also
wanted the panel located just off her kitchen, about 10 feet from the
back door. I explained that it was a very bad location, and told her
why, citing all the dangers and issues that others have already raised
here. However,  she insisted I put it near the back door, probably
because that's where her son told her to put it. I pleaded with her to
allow me to locate the panel in a more remote part of the home, disable
the siren, and use a remote siren and remote touchpad. She didn't want
to pay for the remote touchpad, and wanted the siren on the panel to
sound, just like her son and daughter's panel. Unable to convince her
of the arguments others on this board have made concerning the dangers
of self-contained panels, I gave into the poor woman and installed her
alarm system.

Exactly two weeks later, she had another break in, through the back
door that was 10 feet from the main panel. The door was on instant, and
the panel had no dialer delay. The panel was ripped off the wall, and
both the AC wires and the phone wires were broken. The panel was tossed
down on the floor. I have no way of knowing how long the intruders
waited before attacking the panel. Nothing was taken, and the police
were there in less than 5 minutes (for Dallas, that's a miracle in
itself).

When I went out to service the system, I again tried to convince her
that the panel needed to be moved, almost insisting on it. But she
absolutely refused to allow me to move it. It had worked perfectly for
her, and she wanted nothing changed.

Moral to the story...while I agree with all the theoretical arguments,
I think the risks are greatly exagerated. It's much easier to cut a
phone line, at your leisure before coming in, than rushing in and
trying to beat a dialer. Wireless systems have their applications, and
when properly installed work just as well as hardwired systems.

Bossman