House Alarms - HELP!

KoolKid

I dont think there is one covering all that

Finneganjp

Yes there is. FAS do it but its in 3 seperate modules. Il see if i can find it for you.

tdavfc

Guys sorry for barging in... I just moved into a secondhand house recently and it has an alarm installed. Have the code but no other information for it. How can I tell what make and model the alarm is so I can find more info on it... Thanks...

northdublin

it should say the name or model on the keypad, if not it could be on the main panel. is the keypad built into the main panel of are they separate. a lot of ppl think that the keypad inside the door is the whole alarm when infact its just a control surface for a bigger box which could be hidden elsewhere in the house, usually in the hotpress.

tdavfc

northdublin wrote:

it should say the name or model on the keypad, if not it could be on the main panel. is the keypad built into the main panel of are they separate. a lot of ppl think that the keypad inside the door is the whole alarm when infact its just a control surface for a bigger box which could be hidden elsewhere in the house, usually in the hotpress.

Cheers NorthDublin... Yes I remember seeing a large white box up in the attic and wondered what it was. I will have a look when I go home to see does it mention the Model. Thanks...

bauderline

Note, if you open the box to look for details inside you will likely set the alarm off, just warning you in advance !

KoolKid

If you post the model I can get a manual for you.

spinaltap

Hi all , I have an aritech alarm and recently had to change some contacts as we got new windows.
Last week when I turned on the shower the alarm went off, its the same as the lights upstairs and downstairs, it does not happen every time, but usually in the middle of the night just to wake the house up, does anyone have any suggestions , do you think it could be the change of contacts or the new motion sensor or something shorting, many thanks in adnace.

KoolKid

Look at the zone that it shows as activating the alarm.
Was the alarm set at the time?
If so it is probobly a faulty sensor or contact.

spinaltap

Hi , Yes the alarm is on when it goes off and I will check the panel the next time it is activated, many thanks for your reply, something I didnt think of.:D

tdavfc

koolkid wrote:

If you post the model I can get a manual for you.

Thanks for the responses... Koolkid is there such a brand of house alarm called Verifier as this name is on the control Panel and the Box in the Attic.. If it is how could I find the model number out???

Jnealon

The verifier is made by europlex. It's a pretty good panel. If you need a manual send me a pm

boa-constrictor

A few observations;

I did the FAS alarm installation course - its very good and you will save yourself alot more than the €150 course fee.

Not giving the engineer code to the customer is a scam and you wouldn't have a leg to stand on if a customer decided to pursue you for it. Its anti-competitive and the competition authority would shut you down overnight if they wanted to.

An insurance company cannot refuse to pay a claim because you can't prove the alarm was installed by a certified installer. When I purchased my last house I had no way of knowing who installed the alarm (as would be the case in plenty of secondhand houses). I queried this with the insurance company and they said as long as the alarm was of an approved type it was fine - I got that in writing to cover myself.

You are better off fitting a digital communicator and monitoring the alarm yourself. I worked nights for a security company in Dublin when I was in college and the patrol drivers always took the longest route to the location because they didn't want to be first in the door and have to face an intruder. If my wife hits the pa button either me or a very mean friend of mine will be coming through the door in seconds - a husband high on adrenaline is a bigger deterrent than rent a cop with no special training.

spinaltap

Hi I see that you trained in fas and was woindeing was it a part time or full time course you did and what branch was it in. many thanks, looking for a change and thought this type of work would suit, how are u gettin on now, r u workin away in this industry, cheers:D

boa-constrictor

Hi there

I did a course in Finglas Fas Centre. It was one evening a week for 2 or 3 hours. Can't remember how many weeks it lasted - probably around 5 or 6.

I only did it cos I enjoy DIY - mainly electrical. I work in financial services. The course was very good though and me and the friend I did it with installed a couple of alarms afterwards. I wouldn't advise going into that line of work at the moment as house completions are falling and you can be sure that there are enough alarm installers out there to fit all the new alarms that will be needed in the next few years.

Having said that I think there could be an opening for it if combined with a monitoring service/mobile patrol as crime is on the increase and the boys in blue are all too busy doing their own nixers. The private security industry could be a serious growth area in the next few years. I prefer to monitor my own alarm but some people still like to go the monitored route. I love the new Eircom Phonewatch ad which says if your alarm goes off in the middle of the night they get someone to call to check out the house. I think somehow that in reality you might just have to creep downstairs yourself and check it out.

batman2000

Can I add, if you install security systems, do you need to be registered by some security industry regulator?

Finneganjp

http://www.psa.gov.ie/psa/psa.nsf/home?Openform
The industry is now regulated so you do have to be registered.
However, you are entitled to install your own alarm and if you wish to install an alarm for someone else you can as long as its not for profit and they buy the alarm equipment.

KoolKid

This loophole has yet to be tested in the courts, along with the one with the bouncers claiming to be Health & Safety officers.

northdublin

boa-constrictor wrote:

Hi there

I did a course in Finglas Fas Centre. It was one evening a week for 2 or 3 hours. Can't remember how many weeks it lasted - probably around 5 or 6.

I only did it cos I enjoy DIY - mainly electrical. I work in financial services. The course was very good though and me and the friend I did it with installed a couple of alarms afterwards. I wouldn't advise going into that line of work at the moment as house completions are falling and you can be sure that there are enough alarm installers out there to fit all the new alarms that will be needed in the next few years.

Having said that I think there could be an opening for it if combined with a monitoring service/mobile patrol as crime is on the increase and the boys in blue are all too busy doing their own nixers. The private security industry could be a serious growth area in the next few years. I prefer to monitor my own alarm but some people still like to go the monitored route. I love the new Eircom Phonewatch ad which says if your alarm goes off in the middle of the night they get someone to call to check out the house. I think somehow that in reality you might just have to creep downstairs yourself and check it out.

as part of a small company we often do installations on behalf of eircom phonewatch and their call centre and monitoring station, imo would be one of the best in the country. the gardai along with their relativly new verification policy have improved their responce times and overall this has helped the whole monitoring system especially where the gaurds time is not being wasted.
no alarm system will ever stop somebody who is detemened on entering a property, all we can hope to do is deter them to a certain degree and failing that notify others weather it be the gaurds or a neighbour.
as far as the new licencing regs go they area a good idea but the fees are rediculous. there are a lot of ppl out there installing alarms that havent got a clue,any genuine installers will have come across some of their work from time to time and some of the stuff they have done in ppls houses beggers belief.
i believe there is plenty of room out there for more alarm installers,as it stands now there is good competition and a good price can be got buy shopping around. most alarm istallers also do door access and cctv so there is allways work to be had even when times are slack. ive never did any alarm courses other then training on certain systems and in the 6 years of non stop installations there is nothimg difficult about alarms or cctv, at worst its time consuming depending on the installation and you allways get difficult clients from time to time

spinaltap

Hi saw your post , you say you did a course in Fas , which centre was it , ive been onto s few and they know nothing about it, many thanks inadvance

boa-constrictor

northdublin wrote:

the gardai along with their relativly new verification policy have improved their responce times and overall this has helped the whole monitoring system

Thats in Dublin and major cities. Outside of the main cities in Ireland there is no problem with response times. There is no response.

northdublin wrote:

there are a lot of ppl out there installing alarms that havent got a clue

northdublin wrote:

ive never did any alarm courses

There you go.

I'm amazed that Eircom would use unqualified installers.

northdublin wrote:

as it stands now there is good competition and a good price can be got buy shopping around

I agree with you there. You can get an domestic alarm installed these days for around €700. Trouble is it will consist of the alarm panel, a keypad, a bell box if your lucky, contacts on the front and back doors and a bunch of Pir's in the downstairs rooms with no contacts or inertia sensors on any windows upstairs or downstairs. I know an alarm installer who is doing them like this. It means that you can break into every upstairs room through the windows without ever being in danger of setting the alarm off. Will have to get the wife to keep her jewellery in the cutlery drawer in the kitchen from now on.

KoolKid

Its back to common sense , you get what you pay for,
If something seems too good to be true it probobly is.

Whaeslikeus

Hi All,
I have an Aritech CS350 alarm in the house I bought a few years ago. I have had no problems with the system until a few nights ago. 3am & the alarm went off I ran downstairs & halfway down I felt a wall of really cold air. I fully expected to find the front door wide open. Galdly it was just the cold snap in weather. I silenced the alarm & turned it back on as I thought it may have been a toerag ploy to set it off & hope the homeowner never reset it, then help themself 1/2 an hour later. Anyway it went off again another twice that night. Pi$$ed off neighbours.

All 3 times it was the front door sensor according to the control panel(CP). So my initial thought was an attempted break in that had damaged the sensor, next thought was it was a false alarm then it was a faulty sensor on the front door. I asked my wife to set the alarm during the day when she was in the house to see what happened. It went off again but this time it was the WC that showed on the CP. Same zone as front door? I have no idea?

I know nothing about alarms but would rather not have to shell out a load of cash if I can possibly fix it myself.


I turned off the circuit breaker (CB) as I was going to open the alarm unit. The alarm went off after only a few minutes I reset it, could the battery be dead even though I have no low battery errors? Then it went off when I had one screw out of the unit, nearly had a bloody heart attack. The message was something like panel tamper. I take it there is a spring loaded switch inside the unit. Anyway at that point I stopped as I realsied I know absolutely nothing about alarms at all.

So if any of you experts out there can give me a few pointers on where to start I really would appreciate it.

boa-constrictor

The WC shouldn't be on the same zone as the front door and if the panel said Front Door the first three times and WC the next then it isn't on the same zone. If they were on the same zone the alert wouldn't change (the panel can't differentiate between different sensors on the same zone).

If this alarm was installed a few years ago, the sensors have probably degraded or they may have come loose. Easiest thing to do in my opinion would be to replace both the front door and WC sensor and see how you get on. Rather than me explain the connections might be easier if you buy the replacement sensors and just note the connections when your disconnecting the old ones.

Also if your alarm is that old I'm sure a new battery would be no harm at this stage so I would buy one while your at it. Will be worth the money.

Whaeslikeus

Thanks very much for the reply. A few more questions. Each window/door has 2 sensors a magnetic contact & an inertia shock sensor. Which sensor should be replaced? Also where would I be able to buy these sensors & battery & a rough price? I am in Lucan.

Cheers.

E. Fudd

You'll need to change both......
The closest spplier to you is IGT in Hills industrial estate, Lucan. The lads are sound in there, and great for giving advice!
All in it'll cost you roughly 40 quid, ie. battery, and two inertias and two reeds.

Whaeslikeus

Excellent. Thanks for your help folks.

Capt'n Midnight

Anyone got an Airtech CS350 manual ?

Need to do a couple of things like a walk test on the sensors.

jabaroon

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Anyone got an Airtech CS350 manual ?

Need to do a couple of things like a walk test on the sensors.

Pm me your e-mail addr and I will send it on.
Jab

grey_newbie

E. Fudd wrote: »

You'll need to change both......
The closest spplier to you is IGT in Hills industrial estate, Lucan. The lads are sound in there, and great for giving advice!
All in it'll cost you roughly 40 quid, ie. battery, and two inertias and two reeds.

Hi, I'm in a similar boat to some of the previous posts and would like a bit of info, my alarm has gone off in the night numerous times over the last couple of months, doesn't always go off, could be only 1 every two weeks and it seems to always be the same zone, i've done a test around the house (setting the alarm off while in the house) and seeing which sensor/window it is, turns out to be the back door, i would like to change the sensor on this but wondering if i need the engineer code to disconnect the original sensor? It's an aritech cs350 and the sensor on the back door has a magnetic strip combined with a sensor detector, I'm not an expert on alarms but have an idea of wiring sockets and the like so don't really want to have to fork out over loads of money on getting the alram company to come out and replace a sensor..