Re: Some cautions for "Newbies"

["Jim" <alarminex@xxxxxxx>]

Everywhere Man wrote:
> Nomen Nescio wrote:
> > Everywhere Man said:
> >
> > >12- Do you refuse business when the customer wants something that you
> > >know is an absolute sham? (kind of like cell back-up in NYC).
> >
> > Care to explain why cell backup in NYC is a sham? <
>
> Getting a signal in some parts of this area is next to impossible. I
> used to shudder when Monitronics would send me a service call for the
> installation of those. It's sold on the premise that if a crook cuts
> the line the cell backup will still report, but there are extremely few
> overhead telco lines in Manhattan that the odds of a crook cutting the
> line are slim to none and Slim just left town. The crook would need to
> dig up the street just to find the main feed.
> Getting a signal in Westchester is horrible! Queens? Brooklyn? Long
> Island? Ask Jim. I'm sure he stretched his arm more than once trying to
> reach for the drill once he finally found signal strength of 3 bars.
> The client would be best served if they properly protected their phone
> line by moving the demarc. Joe Crook isn't scaling telephone poles in
> Westchester to break into a house. Joe will find a home without an
> alarm and break into that instead. Selling fear is, and always will be,
> bullshit.
> ADT for example requires the client sign a disclaimer with the
> understanding that it's unreliable (or however they word it, but it
> sends the same message).
> It's my opinion that cell backup here, given the high percentage of
> times you can't find a signal, is worthless. Now with the changes
> coming in 2008 regarding the towers it has become even less appealing
> to offer.
> What's it like in your area?

I'm not in as much of an Urban area as Tom, but I always sell "remote
long range backup system". purposely not being specific. I show up at
the job with both a radio and a cell device. I try cell first. If it's
weak or doesn't work. Usually CRN radio will. I can use a yaggi antenna
with the CRN in worse cases.