[no subject]

> and often follow no logical order...

There's a logical order to most manuals but some folks don't see it.

> I've been in this racket a few years now and it still takes me
> several reads to finally get it...

That is no indication of what a person of average intelligence could
do.

>>> And I kinda knew I was cutting corners a bit and I might be in
>>> for another painful lesson. Personally, I always come out the
>>> other side with an appreciation. And My motto, why pay three
>>> times as much, when I can try to do it right three times. :)

>> Also true and frankly, you'll often get a better system by doing
>> it yourself than what some "professionals" will offer...

> You forgot to mention you might need some basic skills first.

Basic skills are indeed needed.  For example, one needs to be able to
use a screw driver, wire cutters and a drill.  You need a basic
multi-meter (about $20 at RatShak).  A cheap soldering iron helps,
too, though many installers prefer to use crimp connectors which are
faster than solder and tape.

>> Some of these guys do try to provide a quality alarm but many
>> couldn't care less about anything but getting the job done as fast
>> as possible.  That's one of the reasons police departments are
>> flooded with false alarm signals all over the country.

> Can't argue with that.

>>> But for what it's worth, I know people with professionally
>>> installed wireless systems from ADT and Protection one. They too
get false alarms and I know they get two hour response from a fire
alarm. I've seen it.
>>
>> ADT and P1 aren't the only culprits.  Most alarm companies farm
>> out their monitoring business to large, national central stations.
>> Service quality and speed varies from mediocre to awful.

> Mediocre to awful? You mean no national central gives good to
> excellent service? I don't think that's fair to good honest central
> station owners that are working hard to give our customers what we
> dealers pay them to do.

Agreed.  I was being too harsh.  Some do give decent to excellent
service.  Unfortunately for the homeowner, it's impossible to know
before signing a multi-year contract whether the service is going to
be excellent, horrid or somewhere in between.

>> The worst part is the markup.  The central station charges alarm
>> dealers between $2 and $7 a month for "basic" residential
>> monitoring.  The alarm company resells the service for anywhere
>> from $20 to $40 a month and the cost bears no relationship to the
>> price.  They charge whatever they can get away with.

> I heard that you're the one who charges whatever you can get away
> with.

On most items our markup is between 20% and 30% over cost.  On very
small items we mark up more (as do most other companies) because it
costs just as much to process a $10 order as a $10,000 order.

>> Once you're signed on for monitoring services, watch out.  Most
>> have at least a three year agreement.  Some insist on five years.
>> If you move or cancel they'll threaten and harass you, go after
>> you in court, wreck your credit, whatever it takes to keep that
>> monthly check coming in.

> Not everyone does that.

True, but the problem is so pervasive that ths industry gets a much
deserved black eye for it.

>>> In my case, I want the certificate for the insurance discount and
>>> eventually I don't want real monitoring, just something I can
>>> rely on to alert about 4 friends and family.
>>
>> In many cases that's all you need.  Why pay some rip-off alarm
>> company $40 a month to do what your neighbor can do for free,
>> especially when the neighbor will do it faster and more reliably?
>
> Yeah like that guy in Texas who blew away the perps too. Make sure
> your neighbors are home by their phones 24 hrs a day watching your
> place. :)

I didn't see the news reports on that -- only read third-hand
comments here.  Nevertheless, in many instances neighbors may be able
to respond faster than police.  Even in large cities police response
to alarms is so slow that it's all but useless.  In some rural areas
you may as well send a post card with a picture of a policeman on it.

>>> I cut my own hair, the first time I did it I had to wear a
>>> baseball cap for two weeks for fear of being misidentified as a
>>> skinhead.  :).  Today, the haircuts I give myself I do in 10
>>> minutes and are the best ones I've ever had.
>>
>> I probably aught to cut mine, too, but there's so little up there
>> it's not worth bothering.
>
> Why don't you coat your noggin with 3M cement and do a headstand on
> your local barbershop floor? It's cheaper than the Hair Club for
> Men and its all natural.   :)

Hmm.  DIY hair implants?  You could start a new website.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

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Bass Home Electronics
4883 Fallcrest Circle
Sarasota · Florida · 34233
http://www.bassburglaralarms.com
Sales & Tech Support 941-925-8650
Customer Service 941-232-0791
Fax 941-870-3252
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