Unbelievable !

[Jim <alarminex@xxxxxxx>]

I just got called in to take over an old installation at a residence.

Old Napco 825 control panel which means the whole house is on four zones   =
with about 20 openings. The owner had a problem with the original installer=
 after many years because he couldn't stop the false alarms that were occur=
ing on the system. So I'm checking out the system to do the estimate .....l=
ooking at the wiring in the basement .... doesn't look too bad. Mostly twis=
ted pair as was common 25 years ago. Ball contacts on the doors. Not a good=
 thing .... but kinda acceptable... but the windows !!!!!  =20

The old installer had installed roller ball switches on the sides of the do=
uble hung windows. Drilled through the metal track and weather strip ..... =
cut out the weather strip to accomodate the flange on the roller ball and c=
hisiled some of the wood away underneath the weatherstrip, so that the sash=
 wouldn't hit the switch flange when moving the sashes up and down. He did =
this on both the tops and bottom sashes. I can't imagine how long it took t=
o do this on every  window.

The owner just wants me to replace the roller balls with the reasoning that=
 the original ones ( which were mechanical contacts) lasted 25 years, the n=
ew one's should last longer.=20

Even though the owners "logic" is sound .... for some reason I just don't f=
eel comfortable with being associated with doing this .... imagining that t=
he next installer 25 years from now will be thinking .... what kind of A-ho=
le would do this?

I still haven't decided on how to "fix" this. If I take the rollerballs out=
, I can just drill a hole through the edge of the moulding and run the wire=
 through the edge of the window and install a surface mount contact with th=
e splice residing in the old switch hole. And that'll only work on the bott=
om sash. On the top sash, I'd have to install a recessed magnet so the two =
sashes could pass one another with out knocking off the magnet. Another par=
t of the problem is ..... I'll have two big gaping 3/4 inch holes on each w=
indow to fill. And ...... With what? And I'm afraid that with the absence o=
f the roller ball, the weather is going to come in through where the switch=
es used to be. To me ..... the windows were ruined by the alarm installer.=
=20

It's amazing that the old switched have survived the exposure to the weathe=
r all these years.=20

Any suggestions?????