Allegro vs. Lynx for a small student apartment

["Bill" <lost.beach@xxxxxxxxx>]

I'm preparing to move into a new apartment, and the time has come to
choose a burglar alarm system.

Alarms have been a bit of a hobby of mine for quite a few years, so
while I'm going into this with far less knowledge than most of the
regular posters here who have years of professional experience behind
them, I'd like to think of myself as one who possesses enough knowledge
to design and install a limited system for a small apartment.

As a student, I lack the resources to contract this out to someone, so
I really have no choice but to go the DIY route.

The building is of historical significance, and the lease does not
permit hardwire systems so my initial inclination to pursue a Vista
hardwire or hybrid system is going to have to be set aside.

My current options as I see them are:

- GE Allegro
- Ademco Lynx
- GE Simon
- Powermax

The DSC Envoy seems to have earned a place of infamy among both
professionals and DIY-ers alike, so I have kept it off the list (no one
even seems to sell it to DIY-ers anymore anyway).

The apartment itself has an open floorplan. The unit sits on the ground
floor of a building, with the bedroom and living room side by side
facing the street with two windows in each room. Directly behind these
two rooms (no hallway between them) lay the kitchen/entry (two doors,
one leading to the hallway, one leading elsewhere in the building) with
a bathroom off to one side. The bathroom and kitchen also contain one
window apiece that lead to a miniscule, fairly inaccessible courtyard.

It's not quite a "standard" layout by any means.

The openness of the floorplan and the wireless-only rule make system
survivability a major concern of mine. The sheer number of windows and
doors (6 and 2, respectively) is driving the budget for wireless
sensors through the roof any way I look at it. Buying a separate keypad
and a separate siren on top of that without any decent place to hide
the all-in-one control is proving to be expensive and borderline
futile.

I've personally used (but not installed) an Allegro before, and it's
included separate DTIM is attractive when compared to spending an
additional $100-ish to add one to an off-the-shelf Simon 3.

The Lynx, while a true "Squawk In A Box" at least offers the ability
for a separate keypad, something the Allegro does not, as far as I
know. Unlike the Simon 3 keypad (Wireless TouchTalk 2 Way RF Touchpad -
60-924-3), the 5828V is capable of providing entry beeps, which along
with bypassing the internal siren on the Lynx itself seems to offer a
decent level of protection when taking into account the inherent
limitations of the unit.

The Powermax has no ability to split the dialer and control panel, but
as with the Lynx, it offers the user the option of a keypad. I'm not
sure if the external keypad provides real-time audible system status
upon a fault condition while armed.

I find myself leaning towards the Allegro or the Lynx. I had a solid
trouble-free year with the Allegro that I used previously, but I'm
concerned that the control/keypad would be obliterated too quickly
after an intruder knocked down the delay door, and before the DTIM
could receive the go-ahead signal.

The Lynx seems to be well-thought of when you accept what it is and the
situations it is best suited for (ie: not a 20 minute, 3 sensor,
trunk-slamming solution to a 3,000 sqft home), but in a small, open
floorplan unit, the gigantic control panel might be a bit difficult to
hide, even with the 5828V put in as a distraction.

I'm trying to maximize my protection while minimizing my costs (as I
understandably have limited resources). I'm trying to decide wether
spending the extra money on the Lynx + accessories is really worth it
when compared to the Allegro which has a leg up on survivability from
the get-go (yet will guide an intruder to the keypad).

I would really appreciate any opinions or suggestions that anyone could
offer.

Thanks,

- Bill