Re: Your Favorite Install Tool?

[Sylvain Robitaille <syl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Crash Gordon wrote:

> Typically PIRS are at 8' fff.

That's consistent with what I was intending to do, likely in the corner
of an L-shaped hallway joining kitchen/dining/living rooms with
bedrooms.  Another motion sensor will likely be placed in the basement,
(though that one won't get to 8'), and perhaps a third in the stairwell
joining upstairs and downstairs.

> I always position them looking into the house ...

My concern there is that I'd like to make the installation as
inconspicuous as possible.  I hope no one here will be offended by
this remark, but I find alarm components rather unsightly.

(Have I just gotten kicked out of the newsgroup? ;-)

>| What I don't know is where to put the magnetic switches for doors and
>| windows.  ...
>
> Mostly dictated by building construction and where you can get a wire
> TO.

Ok, so if I apply a little common sense I'm not likely to put sensors
anywhere that I'll later wish I hadn't.  I'll consider your order of
preference.  Thanks.

> Hinge side (not like to false but a pain in the butt to get the magnet
> distance correct so the switch will open when the door opens)

I imagine it's also more difficult to service, offering another tradeoff
from the "not likely to false trigger" characteristic.

> I prefer small surface mount contacts on windows in most cases...due to
> lightning and other service reasons.

Lightning?

> In residences I don't like recessed window contacts.

Fair enough, but I take it that I should go ahead with these for doors.
They appear (from what I've seen of installations in friends' homes) to
be what is typically used.

> Protect your phone line.

Ugh!  Unfortunately the phone line coming into the house is easily
reached by a 6' tall person standing on the deck at the rear of the house.
We had the phone company look at it (we'd requested that they move it)
when we bought the house.  Our claim was that it presented a hazard
(based on the report about it given by our building inspector).  The phone
company disagreed, and we've since contemplated paying them to move it,
but haven't done so yet.

It would be interesting (for future reference, really) to find an alarm
system that dials first, and sounds the local alarm later.  Or does such
a system already exist?

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Sylvain Robitaille                              syl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Systems and Network analyst                       Concordia University
Instructional & Information Technology        Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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