Re: another newbie, what to do with this Brinks alarm system?

["RobertM" <Reply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think most people misunderstand the purpose of an alarm system. The sole
purpose is to give the homeowner enough warning so he can grab his shotgun
and send the mothers into the next county when they break in. To be legal I
must let them enter the house and be facing me and I must feel threatened.
That's a given because no thief breaks in to wish the homeowner a pleasant
evening. No fair shooting a thief in the back unless one is good at body
disposal and cleanup.

Bob

"J. @netscape.net>" <jsloud2001<removeme> wrote in message
news:upjnk2do56kass64lq0f8ja2dodarkkui5@xxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> A burglar alarm does not guarantee a family's safety.  That's a
> terrible perception that depends on the public's misinformed ideas
> about how residential burglar alarm systems work and the effectiveness
> of police agencies that usually despise the alarm companies who waste
> police resources with a 90% false alarm rate.  Your not protecting
> your family with a $30 a month burglar alarm system.  All you're doing
> is giving yourself a false sense of security.  Almost all residential
> alarm signals are false alarms.  The vast majority of alarm company
> generated police dispatches are for false alarms.  Alarm calls receive
> the lowest police dispatch priority.  Some jurisdictions have stopped
> responding to alarm signals at all.  Others charge a permitting fee
> and a steep false alarm penalty.   You can debate the reasons for this
> and who's fault it is, but the fact remains, this industry depends on
> a misguided public perception of mysterious, circling 1's and 0's that
> protect families with magical powers and instantaneous response from
> concerned law enforcement.  This is what is shown on television
> commercials and what the alarm salesmen tell the unsuspecting public.
>
> The good news is that there is pressure on the industry to fix this.
> There are emerging technologies such as video analytics that could
> replace traditional security systems with much more reliable
> technology.  The false alarm penalties and third party alarm response
> laws will force the trunkslammers and zero down marketers to rethink
> their strategies.  My guess is that we'll see the most radical shift
> that we've ever experiences in this industry within the next 5 to 10
> years.  With IT companies like IBM and Cisco wanted part of the
> security integration market, it's just a matter of time before someone
> comes alaong and does it better that what we have right now.  It's
> already started in the high end goverment/ industrial markets.
>
> J.
>
> On 3 Nov 2006 15:06:36 -0800, "Everywhere Man" <alarminstall@xxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> .
>>All of the Brinks negatives aside look at what this guy is saying. He
>>lives in a nice neighborhood, so the house wasn't cheap, he's having a
>>hard time justifying $27 a month for family safety, and he's making the
>>world aware of this on his $1000.00 computer which accesses the
>>internet for probably $25 a month.
>>Talk about having fucked up priorities.
>>
>>
>>Crash Gordon wrote:
>>> Basically you throw out the alarm panel and the keypads and buy
>>> something
>>> else you can install your self. Everything else should be reusable
>>> although
>>> you might have to look for buried resistors if they put them at the end
>>> of
>>> the line and remove them.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> <todd@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:843b90jvbk.fsf@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> |
>>> | Hello,
>>> |
>>> | I'm new here as well, and have looked for a FAQ for the group and came
>>> | up empty, and I hope my question isn't too basic!
>>> |
>>> | I've recently moved into a home that has a Brinks alarm system
>>> | installed, looks to have been installed in 2004.  We opted not to
>>> | continue the rather pricey monthly monitoring service given the
>>> | neighborhood, and the proportion of time we spend at home.  (The prior
>>> | owners I'm told were working out of the country and had it installed
>>> | due to their absence).
>>> |
>>> | Anyway, we have all this hardware, wired door and window sensors,
>>> | other sensors labeled as "PIR" devices (passive infrared if my
>>> | research is to believed?) inside the control box that I assume are the
>>> | motion detectors I see up on the walls of various locations in the
>>> | house.  I'm thinking there's got to be a way to put all these goodies
>>> | to use with a do it yourself sort of setup that maybe could leverage
>>> | an internet or phone connection to call my cell phone in case of
>>> | trouble.
>>> |
>>> | The main box of the alarm has a circuit board that's about 8x4" with
>>> | no real identifying marks on it.  I would have to assume I'd have to
>>> | get a new controller board for the DIY system and then just re-use all
>>> | the existing sensors?
>>> |
>>> | Anyone with experience doing the same?
>>> |
>>> | Thanks for any insight or advice, or a pointer to some good jumpstart
>>> | resources for reading/research.
>>> |
>>> | Best Regards,
>>> | Todd
>