How fast exactly is police contacted when a home alarm system goes off?
It can be a long time. The alarm, activates at the monitoring center, then they call the house. If no one answers, then they check the account to verify what PD gets called, and then they call the police.
Motion Detector Lights rigged to Cell Phone?
The easiest way to do this is using off the shelf hardware for about $700. No soldering iron needed. If your handy with a soldering iron you can try to wire the motion detector (momentary output) switch across the SEND button of the cell phone which has a predialed number. Motion would trigger a ReSEND on the cell phone. Otherwise you will need to purchase two types of adapters and no soldering or other technical skill is required. The first is a cell phone adapter that will provide an RJ11 interface. RJ11 is the wall jack used by the land line phone system. THe adapter provides a means to simulate the wiring of a phone system and allows you to connect an item like a fax machine. The attached item "sees" a regular phone line with dial tone and all but its really connected to a cell phone. The second item is an "Alarm Phone Dialer" these are devices which are designed to interface to an alarm system and they call for help when the alarm trips. These are available as stand alone devices for people to monitor a vacation home. You can connect several devices to these monitors besids a burglar alarm. Ususallly there is the abiity to monitor several switch contacts, any change in the switch contacts triggers the dialler to dial a series of phone numbers and continue the dialing until one of the phones number acknowledges that call. I used a system such as this in theearly 90's to monitor a Landfill Gas extraction system. The treatment plant had its own power generator running off of gas and no connections to regular power or phone. We used a RJ interface on a Bag cell phone and a Senseron dialer. The dialer monitored several switch contacts that would trigger for different alarm conditions. These ran off of generated power and had battery backups. when teh generator failed the swictches triggered the dialer to call for help. All you would need to do here is connect a motion detectors output contacts to the dialer. Detected motion would trigger the dialer which then calls out using the RJ11 adapter
Will 911 calls work if phone disconnected?
Your security system does not call 911 when activated. It calls the call center and they then disbatch some one. So there for it would not work for that purpose. If you have a cell phone, that will call 911 even when disconected but can not call 911 using a land line.
Does Via talk work with alarm systems?
Home security companies gotta go with the times.... you gotta look for a provider that works with VoIP....there are many out there now!!! ADT....CPI... has it and also Vonage have there own, just for VoIP !!! Some of the VoIP providers have workarounds. Vonage, for example, partners with Alarm.com. Alarm.com offers a phone line-independent security system that wirelessly transmits alarm signals from a customer's home or business to a central monitoring station. The station then contacts local authorities in the event of an emergency. The service is around $35 a month and there are a number of installation plans, but you'll spend about $500. You will need to make sure that your provider has set up the D-Mark (Outside Phone Box) to where CPI will have full line-seizure over the computer and your phone lines within the home.
I recently moved into a gated community, do i need to get a landline phone installed to let people in the gate
it would depend on the set up of there system... and there requirements... if there is a security guard at the gate, that calls to approve guests, then it should not be required... if it is an intercom system, they will either have a seprate "phone" or intercom unit in the apartment to speak to, and buzz people into the gate... it is possible it it is an intercom system, that it is connected to the landline phones in the building... while this may be a problem now a days with so many people using VoIP or all cellular, but when the system was installed it was more convenient and cheaper, then wiring each unit for a separate intercom system.. besides, when it was installed no one could have imagined that land phones would have an alternative contact the managment, they should be able to tell you if there intercom system works thru the landline phones... if it does, and you must get a land line phone, go for the minimum that the phone company provides in your area.. you should be able to get something where you have to pay per minute for all outgoing calls.. which should only cost about $5 a month... and on the bright side.. if there is a power outage and your cell batteries are dead you have emergency phone service.. also if you need to dial 911 in a hurry and dont have time to look for the cell... or if you are going to get an alarm system installed... .
What's better, a wired or wireless house alarm system?
First, if you read the answer by Danielle Degnan, it's important to understand that wireless does not mean that the alarm system does not use wires to communicate to the monitoring station. Most often, systems that are advertised as wireless have sensors that don't require wired connections. The sensor may still use a phone line to call outside of your house, unless you buy a unit with cellular monitoring capabilities (usually associated with an extra monthly fee).With that said, here's a brief review of the pros and cons of each.Wired SystemsPros:Can be more reliable since sensors and their connections to the central unit are less complicated and less prone to false alarms.Are not susceptible to spoofing (hacking) or jamming.No battery changes are required for sensors.Cons:Installation fees into existing homes can be high.You may not want a lot of holes drilled into your walls, windows, doors, and floors. Maybe your 100 year old home still has the original plaster walls and hardwood floors.Are not a good fit if you move often and want to take the system with you.Can not be used without the owner's permission in rentals.Wireless SystemsPros:Just about anyone can perform a DIY installation with no cost.Installation doesn't require drilling and running wires through crawl spaces, attics, etc.Can easily be removed and transferred to a new apartment or home.Are compatible with most rental/leasing agreements.Cons:Marginal hardware and installations (long distances from central unit) can cause unreliable sensor connections and false alarms.Depending on the firmware in the controller and the protocol used to communicate with the sensors, jamming and spoofing the unit can be relatively simple for a technically-minded burglar.Sensors require new batteries periodically. Usually, their life is around 6 months, your mileage may vary.As you can see, choosing the right system for you will require some consideration of your needs and how long you will be in your current location. If you want some more detail, you can find more information at http://24-7-home-security.com/pr.... And, if you're ready to start comparing the available systems, I've put together a security system comparison table at http://24-7-home-security.com/se... that will let you find just the features you need and sort them based on upfront or monthly costs.
Can you add window sensors to an existing home security system?
Hello my friend, That sounds like a lot of money for adding window sensors. They should do it for free to keep you as a customer. I would either look for a new company or check Amazon for a do it yourself wireless system. With the new technology you can install your own system and don't have to worry about the monthly fees. The link below is a search I just did for - wireless home security system. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_29?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=wireless+home+security+system&sprefix=wireless+home+security+system Read the reviews and see what others had to say. Another alternative is to add security window bars with quick release devices. These bars are great because in case of a fire, you can remove the bar quickly from inside of your home. You can also buy independent wireless alarms for each window. These won't hook up to your system, but could serve as another alternative to paying $2,000. I hope this helps. Ollie G