Re: Can an alarm with PGM outputs, and/or other outputs, be wired to an X10 sensor?

[anonymous <nospam@xxxxxxxxxx>]

> Uhhhh, magnetic contacts and motion detectors that you'd add on to the
> baisic system don't cost that much more than any  X!0 components.

I don't know what the prices of these might be if I went with the alarms
that were paid for by $20-$35 monthly fees on 3-year terms. The (all
things considered) cheapest professionally installed and monitored
system in my area that I found when I phoned around was a hardwired
system about $350-$400 up front, and then $10/month for no-commitment
monitoring. Parts and labor determined the initial cost. If I add
sensors to six more windows from all over the house on four floors
(split-level), then I'd have to pay the installer to hardwire the whole
house (spanning four floors of a four-level split), which cannot be
cheap; or if I upgraded to a wireless alarm system so as to avoid all
this labor cost, then I'd have to pay an extra $100-$150 (I forget the
exact prices) up-front just to have the more expensive wireless basic
package, before adding in the price of the sensors. In this context,
going with a hybrid of basic hardwired professional alarm plus X10
set-up add-on is much more economical.

>  I just don't understand these people. JEEEEEEEZE
>
> They're willing to spend any amount money to save a few bucks spent on
> a tried and tested way of doing security.

You lost me here. I mentioned possibly getting a phase coupler or noise
blocker down the road, to make all parts of the house wiring reliably
usable for X10; these can frequently be gotten cheaply at Ebay. Most of
the components are wireless, and I don't need to automate the lights
throughout the whole house, so in my case I don't anticipate a need to
spend lots more money on X10 for a while. If my TV makes electrical
noise on the house wiring, I can unplug it when I'm not using it.

> Like X10 ...... if it has
> anywhere near 60% reliability at times, I'd be surprised. And many
> times it has 0%. And the point is .....ya never know when it's going
> to work or not.

Reportedly, some never have any problems with it, and some, in order to
get their whole house automated, have to go through every electrical
thing in their house to find out what's causing electrical noise in
their house wiring, and install a phase coupler or signal booster and
noise blockers. Some houses are small enough for the wireless devices to
have no problems with range, and other houses need a repeater or two to
get full reliable coverage. The bottom line is said to be that with
reading, patience and perseverence, even the toughest houses can be
brought up to 95% reliability. These reports seem credible to me. If
someone has a home wiring environment that causes issues with X10
technology, then until the troubleshooting is done, you're probably
right with the suggested figure of 60%.

> So you're going to have a security system that you'll have access to
> with a computer ..... that's going to do all kinds of fancy reporting
> to you, that may or may not get though to you .....   and it's going
> to be with a secuity system that may or may not work.  Cool man!
> That's puting things in proper priority.

No need for this tone of voice, I think.

> Wouldn't ya think that reliability is an important aspect of security?
>
> NAHHHHH who would think that?
>
> Jeeeeeeeeeze
>

Take care. I recognize your best intentions and thank you for them.
Thanks again too for pointing out the PowerFlash.