Alarm Systems

[PH/CIB]

Many of us have discussed Gun Safes on this forum, and I highly recommend them.

Another good thought is a household alarm system, you can have one installed for $500 to $2000 and with a monthly monitoring charge of $25 to $50, the alarm system is hooked up to your phone line and if your phone line is cut you can have cell phone backup, there will be alarms on all entry doors and motion detectors and glass breaking sensors located throughout the house. You can also have a fire alarm installed that will notify the fire dept. of a fire long before your neighbors notice smoke coming out of the house thus a faster response from the fire dept. and less damage to the house and contents.

You can still break into a house with an alarm system but the alarm will go off in 30 to 60 seconds and then you have about 10 to 15 minutes to get out of the house before the police arrive and therefore have little time to steal very much. I am lucky I live almost next door to the police dept. and the fire dept.

I would appreciate your thoughts on alarm systems and their pros and cons! Thanks!

 

[jnyork]

A miniature Schnauzer has worked very well for me for many years. Very noisy, nobody sneaks up on THIS house.

 

[JoeMal]

Yeah....my American Bulldog is my alarm system. Also works great as a doorbell.

Although I do think one of these fancy systems would be nice for out of town travel and such. I've though about just buying one of those "ADT" signs on eBay or something and putting one in my front yard anyways....let the BG pick the next house thinking I DO have a system lol

 

[Ruger Redhawk]

I've had ADT for years, I've moved a couple of times. One of the first things we do is have ADT come in. When ever the power goes off they call. ADT is on the ball.If you have a problem with the system they come to repair in quickly.I'm very satisfied with them. We feel allot better leaving the house knowing it's alarmed.I think it's a good investment.

 

[Matt 357]

Excellent Point!

I am all for having a firearm for home defense. However, in the home a gun is like a fire extinguisher. I have both. I hope to use neither.

In addition to the alarm system you can:

Install outdoor lighting.
Trim trees and bushes from window and door areas to remove privacy for a would be burgler.
Install quality locks on windows and doors.
Use locks (seems obvious but...)

We have an alarm system our is monitored, but I know people who don't. Personal/financial choice. Some argue that 10 minutes is all the thief needs to steal tv, xbox, dvd player.

We also lock our doors all the time. This is hard to do with kids during the day, but once everyone is in for the night, lock em up.

 

[Texas Gun Person]

My alarm system is no longer monitored. I didn't feel like paying the bill to have some people call me every time I accidentally close a cabinet door too hard. However, I do arm my alarm every night. It is VERY loud and will wake up the entire neighborhood if it goes off... and I'm hoping that will be enough to scary anyone away.

 

[hso]

Alarm systems are just one of the reasonable precautions people who are actually interested in protecting their property and themselves can employ.

Property line fence and gates, dogs, alarm system, motion activated lights, doors and windows that are actually locked all help to keep bag guys away from you and your family and motivate them to find softer targets.

 

[Straight Shooter]

An alarm is a good defense and well worth the money, especially if you travel, however, if you are on a tight budget you can also bluff.

A big part of the deterrence of an alarm system are the signs you put on your property and in the windows, remember a BG can't see your alarm.

Alarm signs that look almost exactly (if not exactly) the same as the well known company signs, ADT, Brinks etc. can be purchased. I saw them on EBAY for around $20. They were not the cheesy "This house has an alarm" signs, they looked like the real deal.

Just a thought...

 

[Ruger Redhawk]

The signs are a good deterrent and yes they are better then having nothing at all. That is an inexpensive way. Once you get past the initial cost of having a system installed it's just another quarterly bill. To me it's another form of insurance to help you keep your valuables.

 

[Chemist]

You can use theft proof rails to mount your flat-screen TV's to the walls, ours has a place for a lock. Our installer said they get used in businesses all the time, so some idiot customer can't bump the TV and have it fall on them.

 

[jakeiscrazy]

I have an alarm system. I think if anyone broke in and it went off, they would be running. It has convinced my dad not to keep a gun at the ready. I keep telling him the system doesn't short people for him but he just doesn't want to keep one handy.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Remember the Taurus judge commercials there for you when the police are minutes away

Alarms are a layer of security, and just that, one of many layers.

 

[leadcounsel]

My alarm sounds exactly like a 12 guage firing.

 

[RainDodger]

I have the 12 ga alarm, and a couple in various other calibers. Add to that, 3 dogs, a couple of "BEWARE OF DOGS" signs, a couple of "NO TRESPASSING" signs and set of motorized gates across my driveway with a keypad for expected vistors. Oh, also a monitored alarm system.

Really cuts down on drop-ins.

 

[Dnaltrop]

A multiple camera system set up to a HDD capable of storing 1 year of footage across 8 cameras at once. 1 camera covering each direction on the corners, one at each entryway.

Today, it's much more common and cheaper, and you can monitor your video feeds with one of many various Smartphones.

A motion detector set up to ring your phone when the perimeter is breached, to cue you to run through your feeds. (or wake you to turn the bedside screen on.) A big, loud dog.

Most importantly, a family "fall back" point where the wife and I can cover the choke point while we wait for LEO.


Almost forgot the passive part.

Devil's walking stick, or any long-thorned cane plant is a perfect match for chimneys, corners, and anywhere someone with minimal climbing skill might apply said skill to reach the second floor.

 

[BamAlmighty]

a typical house alarm can simply be defeated by cutting the phone line before breaking into the home. It is very rare to find a house with a system running off of a cel network.

Make your first priority to smash the siren and you have all the time in the world, unless somebody comes home...

 

[Tacbandit]

Safes are good, and so are alarms...I believe in the layer system as well. In addition to the aforementioned, we have an additional system, of German design. Ninety five pounds of "you don't want any of this" Rotty... Basically any dog is helpful in alerting you to the presence of "visitors"... however, some are more convincing in their response.

 

[OpenSights]

I have an alarm system installed in my house, it was free with a 5 year monitoring contract at $45 a month. Has come in handy once already! Stopped by the house one day with the work van for something, re-armed it and left to drop the van off at work, wife called and said the alarm company called and said the basement door sensor went off (which I had not opened since the night before, must have left it unlocked.) Cops were called, looked around and re secured the house before I could even make it home. About 20 min's time. LOL, this happened after a night of cleaning and none of them made it back to the closet or cabinet. Would've loved to see the LEO's faces.

I do not have a safe, only an 8 gun cabinet for more than 8 guns. So I am building a "safe room" in the basement, not just for guns but everything else that I don't want to walk away in 15 min of looting.

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

i like those security cameras that connect to your pc. you can check your outside perimeter while sitting at your computer.

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

a typical house alarm can simply be defeated by cutting the phone line before breaking into the home. It is very rare to find a house with a system running off of a cel network.

yeah, like 20 years ago. very few homes still have analog alarms running though standard land lines.

nowadays, it runs through cable drop line, which is 20 feet in the air.

 

[jakeiscrazy]

A typical house alarm can simply be defeated by cutting the phone line before breaking into the home. It is very rare to find a house with a system running off of a cel network.

Not really true, install the alarm on your crawl space doors too and then the alarm will still go off. Plus most criminals are stupid so the chance they go thru that trouble or even think about doing something like that is minimal. Criminals pick easy houses. If your house has camera's, alarm system, dog, safe, and you in the house with you AK(or whatever) it's unlikely they break in. However it could still happen.

 

[Rembrandt]

I use ADT on our second home, it's vacant for extended periods of time.....that and remote security cameras help keep it secure. Also added sensors so if the electric goes out or heat fails to work you get a call before serious damage can occur.

 

[Ruger Redhawk]

Mine is set up for the regular land line. If the phones go out or lines are cut it's monitored by a cell network. That was a add on. My toys are all in safes, then dogs in the backyard,alarm system. I think I have it pretty well secured. Then if I'm home there's a few other things the would be crook needs to worry about. In that case may they Rest in Peace.LOL.

 

[Onward Allusion]

An alarm system is only one of several deterrents. I like the standard monitoring service system with land-line & cellular backup with contact sensors & motion detectors. However, I would also add several 125+ dB sirens throughout the house and maybe even a couple of these:

https://www.stopthecrime.com/default.htm
http://v2.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=170154921

If cost was not a top priority, I would add remote cameras & controls.

 

[GhostlyKarliion]

my alarm sounds like a Chihuahua, loud enough to wake everyone in the house up, small enough to stay out of the field of fire.

I'm renting and the property owner doesn't want an alarm system installed for some reason (business with family, still not really comfortable with it, but meh, rabbit trail) so a dog report from the weapons are my only alarm for the time being.