I’ve been asked many times over the years, “Why can’t I install my security system?” I’d answer, “yes you can, but it does take some knowlege of electronics, electrical wiring and computers in most cases.” I got asked that question again just yesterday so I went digging into and looking at some of the security systems available to the general public.

Security companies buy there componets from a wholesaler. These wholesale distributors do not sell to the public because most states require a state license to install security systems. More manufacturers are now offering their products directly to the public via the internet. My opinion is that you might spend more money having a professional install your system, but it’s the best option you have. What kind of a price tag would you put on protecting your family or business? So you must ask yourself, is it worth taking the chance on a “self installed” security system.

Be that as it may, YES you can install your own system. I did have a lot of fun looking up systems and companies on the internet. Let me state, I DO NOT reccomend the average person to install their own system.

There is a website called, “the Home Security Store.com” that gives a good place for the do it yourselfer. They give a lot of options in many catagories. Here again, I am not endorsing them but they do give you several different companies to get information from.

Before trying to decide what system you are about to install first determine what you want it to do. Some of the questions are:

* Do you want the system monitored by a professional “central staion.”
* Check out the central stations that might monitor your system. Is it UL Aproved? Is it one person
or are there many persons on duty 24/7? Can they recieve signals from the security system you are
to install. Some security systems will only call their particular monitoring station.
* Do you want video survielence? If so is it important to have “night vision.”?
* Do you want to be able to access your system remotely anywhere?
* Do you want a DVR (ditital video recorder) that saves and records all hapenings to be reviwed at
a later date?
* Is the system going to blend in with the decor of where it is to be installed?
* Do you need to get permission from a landlord or historic society before you can install it?
* Do you need to get a permit from a city or management group? Some cities require a permit and
can fine you heavily if the police or fire department are dispatched to your home and you do not
have your system registered with them.
* Is the system user friendly? If a system is hard to operate most likely you will never use it.
* Is there weather or temperature conditions to be met? Some components have to be housed in
weather housings to operate under certain conditions.
* What distances will the devices transmit their siganals to what ever reciver it is programed into?
* What height must a device be installed at? Too high of a ceiling or too far of a distance may mean
the device will not cover the area you want to secure.

Before installing your own system contact your local Police department. They will be glad to give all the information you will need.

Basically there are 4 components to an alarm system; the key pad, master control center and the various connected devices. I’m going to focus in on the key pad this talk.

The key pad got it’s name because the earlier alarm systems were turned on or off by a key. Now most systems are controlled by a “digital” key pad, but the name stuck, “keypad.”

Now that I’ve said that, there are different keypads that don’t even look like a keypad. Yes, they still have some systems controlled by a key, but most have buttons on them from 1 to 10. This is to let you “type in” your special code to tell the master control panel what you want the system to do. Some systems may have a “touch screen”. This looks like a computer monitor that has the various things on it that you want ths system to do. You touch the screen on the icon you want and it controls the system.

There may be several codes programmed into your system. Each person authorized to enter the building can be assigned there own code. The system will have a memory logging in the time and date the person either entered of left the building. You also may have a temporary code put in for a worker for the time he/she is needed to enter the building. This is taken out after the work is completed. Some people have their maid with her own code.

You also can program a special code for only certain times of the day. The master control panel will not let access on any other time periods.

A system also may have several “panels”. This I means you can have special codes for different areas of the building limiting a person only to the areas they are supposed to have access to. A good example of this is to have a jewelry draw, safe or file cabinet, silver closet with it’s own access code.

Key pads also have other information on them. They can tell you what doors or windows are not closed. What areas have been violated. The condition of the system. If there is something wrong with the system it will tell you the problem.

If you enter your home and go to turn your system off and it’s indicating you had an alarm while you wre gone, leave the home immediately. The person may still be in your home. Call the police. Let them search your home. Believe me, they would rather make this call than a homicide investigation call.

All this can be tied into an automated system that can be controll by a computer from anywhere in the world!!! Yes, you can even control your system anywhere. You can have a “spy in the sky” from anywhere if you have video included in the system. THINK ABOUT IT !!!!!!!

To have or not to have; that is the question. My personal opinion is to have the loudest siren/sounder you can have with your security system.

The idea of a loud sounder is two fold: 1. let the criminal know he has been detected and 2. let your neighbors know someone may have broken into your home or business.

Some people tell me, “I want a silent alarm so I can catch the burglar.” The fact is that even with an alarm system, the chances of catching the criminal is slim to none. They are not in your home long enough to be caught. They want to jump and grab and be gone in less than five minutes. A loud siren is likely to deter them.

So why have an alarm system? Because you want to limit the time they have in your home and if a burglar sees you have an alarm system he may very well bypass your home. He doesn’t want the hassel of the system or the chances he may be detected and caught.

Almost all of the burglars that were interviewed in prison said if the home had an alarm system they would bypass that home.

Another device I recommend are strobe lights. Imagine if you violated my home and this loud noise is going off and this bright strobe light is flashing, what would you do? Most likely you would get out of dodge in a hurry. Here again, this bright flashing light directs the police to your home easily even in the darkest of nights.

Some communities have noise ordinances them. So before you install a siren, check your local police or city hall to see what ordinances they have in your community.

Remember that a steady sounding siren means a break-in and short bursts of the siren mean fire.

Write down anything you see to tell the police when they get there. Vehicle descriptions, license plate numbers, description of the person fleeing the home, time the alarm went off, etc. Do not put yourself in danger. Let the police do their job.

THINK ABOUT IT!!!!

The third level of protection is interior sensors. If some how a burglar were to enter your premises without setting your alarm off you should have interior devices. These may be PIR’s (passive infra-red detectors), video surveilance cameras, infra-red beams, or pressure mat sensors.

PIR’s are sometimes called motion detectors. They send out an infrar-red beam and when that beam is interupted it sets off the alarm. They are really better than ultra-sound motion sensors beacause they are passive which means they will not interfear with other devices. Ultra-sound devices can “talk to each other” thereby setting off a possible alarm or interfearing with each other.

You can have several different PIR’s depending on the location and what it is to detect. Some are 90, 180, or 360 degree coverage. Some can be set so that it will not pick up certain pets. They act on heat so it will not detect anything over a certain size or weight.

Infra-red beam detectors send out a beam and when the beam is broken it sounds the alarm. They have their limitations as to where they can be placed or used.

Video cameras can be used both inside and outside of the building. They also can have a motion sensor in them and can record a video record on a video recorder when the motion detector sensors something. They can also be set to run at certain times only or continously. There are two types of video recorders, VCR or DVR. The VCR records the information on a video tape while the DVR records the information digitally. DVR’s are usually more expensive, but they can record longer periods of time.

Before installing a security system have your sales associate explain all of these options with you.
THINK ABOUT IT!!!!!!!

It is important to have all exterior openings protected by some detection device. Both the first floor as well as the basement and second stories.

Windows and doors should have “contacts” on them. There are two types, hard-wired or wireless. As it a sounds a hard-wired contact is connected to the master control panel by a wire. The wireless contact sends a signal to the master control panel by radio waves. They cause the system to go into alarm if they are violated. When the alarm sounds it makes a loud noise which most of the time scares the robber away and alerts your neighbors and your monitoring center of a possible intrusion into your home. The center will then contact your home and if they get no response or the wrong pass word they contact the police.

Basement windows can be secured by “Barglar Bars”. It is a bar stretched across the window and if it gets dislogged it will cause an alarm. Don’t forget these windows.

Casement windows sometimes are best protected by “glass-break detectors. The best kind are the ones it takes three (3) signals to activate before it sets off the alarm. When a window is broken there are three phases that occur. First the vibration of the breaking window, then the breaking window puts off a certain frequency that is detected, and some glass-breaks also have a motion sensor built into them as well. Having a multiple action glassbreak helps to keep the false alarms to a minimum.

Don’t be a penny wise and a pound foolish when getting an alarm system installed. Don’t cut corners because the device you omit might be the exact spot of entry into your home. Think as if you were the burglar and how YOU would gain entry into your home.

When thinking about having a security system installed there are 6 aspects to consider. I will be listing each and discussing the values of each in the next few weeks.

Basically they are: (1) yard signs & window/door decals, (2) perimeter window & door contacts, (3) interior protection devices, (4) fire protection,(5) carbon monoxide detectors, (6) special partitions.

The yard signs & window decals are very important. It lets a would be thief know you are protected by an alarm system. A burglar does not want to encounter an alarm system because first it limits the time he has to steal from you and there is a good possibility he will get caught.

Would you break into a house with an alarm system when your neighbor does not have one??? Which one would you burglarize??? Place your signs & decals on all sides of the house so your home cannot be approached by someone and not know you have an alarm system.

Some criminals watch the newspaper for certain events; weddings, funerals, births, retirements etc.

Here’s an example: John Doe and Mary Smith will be Wed at St. Mary’s church January 15 at 6:00 pm and will be honeymooning on a cruise in the Caribbean for two weeks following the reception. This means that all the nice wedding presents, still in their boxes, will be waiting for a burglar.

Unfortunately, many burglaries have taken place while you are attending a loved ones funeral. Leave someone at home during this time.

If you are planning an extended vacation or such, share your story in the newspapers after you come home. It will make a better story anyway. Don’t put information in the newspapers that will invite a burglar to your home.

The four things burglars hate are: Light, Noise, Exposure and Time.

Records show that most burglaries are done during the hours of 10am to 2:30 pm. Why? Dad’s at work and mom’s out doing her errands while the kids are at school. He’ll be home around 5:30 pm but mom wants to be home when the kids get home from school. This time of day he has all the natural light he needs.

Noise .A security system should have the loudess siren on it. Even if you do not have the system monitored, which is not good, he knows he’s been detected and will flee the home. This also why he would rather kick in a door than break a window. Windows make a distinct noise when they break alerting your neighbors. Doors just a low thud noise. Put good locks and dead-bolts on all doors.

Exposure. Does your home have high shrubberies, dense trees, stockade fencing or something that will give a burglar a place where he can’t be seen? Trim the shrubs so they are no taller than waist high.

Time is the burglars most worst enemies. Most burglars are in your home only three to ten minutes. They have a system of where to go to grab what they want and leave as fast as they can. Don’t leave items out to cut down on the time it takes to steal from you.

Start looking at your home inside and out as a burglar would do.

It’s that time of year again when it starts to get dark early. Do you leave an outside light on at a front or side door all day?

A lot of people do so when they get get home from work , the door they use to come into the home is lit.
This is a beacon to a burglar. Leaving this light on is a pretty good indication that the home owner is gone for the day and will not be home until after dark. Not only is this a good indication but it gives him a time frame of how much time he has to steal from you.

The solution is to replace your outside lights with automatic dusk to dawn lights. They have some very decorative lights for all styles of homes. Using this type of lighting, there will be no lights on during the day, but plenty of lights at night.

It always amazed me of how many people would put in a security system and not arm the second floor windows. Most of these homes had the Master Bedroom on the second floor. That’s the most treasured room in the home because that’s where most of the “stuff” a burglar wants is in the master bedroom. Jewelry, cash, passports, blanks checks, guns, etc.

Many ladders are left outside giving the burglar access to the second floor. It might not be your ladder, it could be your neighbors.

Even if you don’t have an alarm system it’s still wise to lock ALL windows & doors in your home. A burglar that sees a window cracked open on the second story will go to great lengths to come into your home through it. Word for today, “Lock It.”