Anyone using a home security system?

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Howdy ya'all, was wondering if any BITOG'ers have a home security/alarm system installed on their property? If so, have any feedback or experiences you could share? I have just closed on a home and one of the first things I'd like to do is get the home alarm system installed. My lady is pretty set on ADT, but I've read nothing but bad reviews about them in our area on Yelp. Along side an alarm system we will most likely pick up a couple security cameras and a 12 gauge shotgun.

Much appreciated
 
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Parents have frase, I have adt, not bad in my area but frase is a big one around here. My real security system is the two 130 pound pit bulls out back. Dont bite but bark at anything they don't recognize.
 
Originally Posted By: satinsilver
I have one, it's called a Mastiff. Works very well and effective.

We'd love to get a dog, but we are gone most weekends and from 6am-7pm weekdays for work and don't feel we could properly care for it when we would rarely be home.
 
Remember most come with a $30 monitoring fee/month.

A security system is only as good as when its used. Are you really going to set it when you leave and disarm when you come home and then arm for night time? Think about living with a security system.

If you are going with cameras, I suggest Axis network cameras. Indoor camera are pretty cheap, its the outdoor cameras with the wide range of light conditions and weather that can be expensive. If you compare cameras, compare the playback video of each. Not just the monitor video. Most cameras will do compression and while it might look great just being displayed, once its compressed and then expanded during playback it may not look so good.

A 410 shotgun is much better inside a house.

Scrap your ideas and get a Bull Mastiff.
 
We had ADT at the last house and I honestly don't see the point. We never armed it when we were home, and when you're away the response time would be ridiculous... as in someone breaks in... they call you... you tell them you're not home... they call the police... 10 minutes later they drive by (if they even do, some municipalities do not). So 15 minutes or so, I would think a burglar would be gone in 5 tops. Or if they were smarter they'd be in and out of my garage.

I'd rather have cameras and a DVR.

Or just take the 30 a month monitoring fee at 360 bucks a year, invest it, and figure that covers your homeowners deductible.
 
Originally Posted By: satinsilver
I have one, it's called a Mastiff. Works very well and effective.


What kind? English, Neopolitan, Bull, Corso?

I have a 110lb Bull and a 60lb Corso/Bulldog mix. As the name implies, they are a massive dog.
 
My wife is a police dispatcher, so she deals with alarm companies numerous times a day. She says ADT is by far the best alarm company to deal with. Most of the alarm companies are horrible to deal with (callng the wrong city, wrong address, wrong phone number, etc) but ADT is usually on top of things.
 
Used to have ADT but it got to be too pricey. I'm using SimpliSafe now and am quite happy. They send you a DIY kit with door sensors, motion detectors, horn/base station and keypad that all stick on easily with adhesive strips. Monitoring occurs through cellular networking so your home phone line is not in the picture.

Check it out: http://simplysafesecurity.com/
 
A very close friend of mine had ADT, had numerous false alarms. Then one night he heard something downstairs....It was a man, luckily he had a 9mm and told the guy to scram or he would shoot. He called ADT right after he called 911. ADT said there was no break-in. He found a broken window where the dude crawled in.

IMHO, nothing beats a dog and a gun. Time tested, ballistics proven.
 
Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
A very close friend of mine had ADT, had numerous false alarms. Then one night he heard something downstairs....It was a man, luckily he had a 9mm and told the guy to scram or he would shoot. He called ADT right after he called 911. ADT said there was no break-in. He found a broken window where the dude crawled in.

IMHO, nothing beats a dog and a gun. Time tested, ballistics proven.


Lucky guy. If he were in my house, there would be no telling him to scram.
 
Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
A very close friend of mine had ADT, had numerous false alarms. Then one night he heard something downstairs....It was a man, luckily he had a 9mm and told the guy to scram or he would shoot. He called ADT right after he called 911. ADT said there was no break-in. He found a broken window where the dude crawled in.

IMHO, nothing beats a dog and a gun. Time tested, ballistics proven.


Lucky guy. If he were in my house, there would be no telling him to scram.


He is a NY native, was probably terrified to pull the trigger.
 
I once went to a friends house to drop something off, they told to let myself in if they were out (I have a key)
Well it seems they had set the alarm linked to a security service.
So with the alarm ringing, I wait outside for someone to show up.
20 minutes later, 20 year young lady shows up in a Corolla.
I walk over and tell her "sorry, I set off the alarm"
"OK" she says, and starts to drive off!

I tell her to hold on, and ask if she would like to know who I am?

"OK" she says
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Originally Posted By: mclasser
Used to have ADT but it got to be too pricey. I'm using SimpliSafe now and am quite happy. They send you a DIY kit with door sensors, motion detectors, horn/base station and keypad that all stick on easily with adhesive strips. Monitoring occurs through cellular networking so your home phone line is not in the picture.

Check it out: http://simplysafesecurity.com/


I second Simplisafe. I manage security for a couple of facilities that must meet UL specifications so I do know a little about alarm companies. I used to have ADT. Now I have Simplisafe and as long as you have a reliable cell signal at home, it can't be beat. $15 a month, they send you the kit and you install it yourself. And on the few occasions that I open the wrong door and the alarm goes off, my phone is ringing before I can get to the panel to turn it off. ADT will call you in 5 minutes.
 
Originally Posted By: bepperb
I would think a burglar would be gone in 5 tops. Or if they were smarter they'd be in and out of my garage.



IMO this is the key. Short of a true safe (not an RSC) or vault, the intent isn't to prevent theft or catch the thieves, but rather to limit their time to the minimum so what they can steal is reduced.

5-10 minutes isn't enough time to even get into an rsc, load up, and get out (I'd think, this is all speculation). If you have your home reasonably well set up without all your valuables in one spot, the benefit it seems is to limit a theft to a simple smash and grab, with limited looking around.

I guess my concern with any security system is that if a thief kicks in a door, there usually is an entry delay, which gives them time. If they come in any other way, and the alarm starts bleeping, does it call the monitor right away? If a thief finds it and smashes it, it can't call. Ditto if a thief finds the phone/cable wire and cuts it before entry. If an alarm can be defeated by smashing or cutting, that's a problem.

But I suppose if it can limit the time that a thief is in the house, then it's done it's job. A determined thief will most likely always get what they're after. But let's hope not.

A good practical thread would be on good home safeguards to protect one's home. Not dogs, guns or alarms - they're obvious. But the best ways to secure doors, windows, basements, garages, how to or to not illuminate, etc.
 
I've had an alarm system for close to twenty years (and several houses) and currenty l have ADT....I've tried two others but ended up, once again with ADT. We now live in a very isolated house off of the main road that cannot be seen without traveling at least 500 feet down the driveway. Our response times are very prompt as we discovered when stinkbugs caused several false alarms in the garage.

Years ago in another house, my pager went off with a smoke alarm at my house and when I got there (along with the FD) nothing was amiss so I reset the system and they left. When I was leaving the alarm sounded again....still couldn't see anything wrong and reset once again. When the system alarmed for the third time, I took down a battery operated stand-alone smoke detector and set it next to the ADT detector in the basement ceiling....minutes later it too went off. Finally discovered a wire nut wisping smoke from a receptacle box next to the water heater.
 
We've had a Swann 8-channel system in place for a couple of years now and very pleased with it, monitors under-cover parking, front/back porches with 4 cameras. I'm planning to add another 4 cameras for more outward looking to yard areas.

Supplemental security consists of 3 dogs and a small variety of firepower.
 
No security system, vast majority of time not armed, and our dog is nicknamed "useless". We usually remember to lock the house when home--or not home. Mostly we just don't own things of value. Knock on wood, only things stolen has been some gas cans out of the shed.

IIRC our town report listed the PD as having given out something like 365 tickets/warnings last year, and made two arrests. Not saying the money spent on commuting is less than what I'd spend on an alarm system though. But I think response time in the off-hours from the PD would be in the 5 to 10 minute timeframe.
 
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