Thanks for all the replies folks, a few more questions...

["David" <this@xxxxxxxxxx>]

"tourman" <rh.campbell@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:1162652516.175132.150490@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 1- The first decision you have to make is not who you want to deal
> with, but how you want to buy your system....low up front price, high
> monthly rates with a long term contract on  one extreme, and full but
> fair market price up front and low ongoing monthly, sometimes with no
> long term committment at the other extreme.

In general I prefer to keep contracts on the short side... a year in length,
ocassionally I'll go monthly until I develop a warm fuzzy.  With alarms,
are monitoring contracts usually unrelated to hardware warranty/support
length or are they tied together?

> 3- Generally speaking, it's best to avoid wireless equipment if it is
> possible to install hardwired gear. In this writer's opinion, wireless
> should only be used as a last resort if it isn't possible to
> economically run wires. Wireless will require more maintenance
> over the years.

I'd prefer hardwired, but we'll see.  The main, seemingly impossible
position to wire without damaging the walls (which we don't want for
now... could change things down the road prior to a repainting) would
be the main entrance.  So maybe we'll just end up with one wireless
keypad until the next remodeling (shrug).

This being a dense neighborhood I would expect there to be a fair
amount of gear operating in the 900 MHz, 2.4GHz, and 5GHz bands.
Are wireless alarm components pretty robust and interference free?

> 6- Ensure up front that you don't buy equipment which is proprietary
> ie: can only be used to report back to one particular company. At some
> point in the future, you may decide to shop elsewhere for your
> monitoring services, and this will allow you to do so. And if you
> decide to sell your home, an alarm system with no legal or proprietary
> encumberances will add some additional albeit minor value to the home.

Yes, avoiding lock-in and maximizing the control I'd have over the system
are high-priorities.  I don't have the time to become very knowledgeable
on the different systems, and I don't want to micromanage the alarm
company and every component they pick and how they install it, but if
there is anything anyone could share that could help me to differentiate
a "good equipment" proposal from a "poor equipment" proposal I'd
welcome it.

Thanks again.