Smith Thompson Home Security

[jbarn]

Do home alarm systems do more than provide piece of mind?

Any statistics that prove it?

Yes, there are stats.
http://www.alarm.org/HomeSafety/Burglar ... stems.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The FBI has reasearch as well.

I can also tell you personally that if my alarm goes off at 0230, I know the burglars feet are still outside of my house. When I am gone, the screaming alarm is an additional deterrent.

As a cop for a decade, I made one residential alarm call where the alarm sounded and the burglar actually took something. He took the microwave that was on a cart right next to the door he kicked open.

[jbarn]

I used Simplisafe and installed it myself. You have to pay for the equipment but monitoring is fairy cheap and it works on a cell signal.

I looked at them. Is your keypad backlit? I never could tell.

The worse thing about it, the LCD display is but the keypad is not. The only other complaint is that my old system had a feature called "quick exit". It would allow me to exit when going to work in the morning and arm the alarm when the door shuts. Now I have to turn it off, leave and arm it in the "home" mode from my phone.

Thanks.

I bought a 2Gig system from an Ebay dealer. I already several Ademco wireless transmitters, so I just purchased more. I installed it myself. It speaks, identifies each point in the system, and is handled through Alarm.com. I can arm it in home mode with an exit delay when I leave, or away mode. I can do so from the keypad, keychain remote or smartphone. It also has Zwave for home control features.

I would have liked to try something like that but I was under a time crunch (I switched over to U-Verse and never stopped to think about how my alarm would work. The AT&T people had problems with my phone line so I could not use it for my old alarm. My previous alarm company wanted about $450 to switch it over to a cell signal). Since I needed something quick I ordered the Simplisafe system. How much did your 2Gig system cost?

Right at two hundred, control panel/keypad with 3 wireless contacts and a motion. The system I was replacing was using Ademco wirless devices, and 2gig is compatible with Ademco. I purchased additional sensors for around twenty bucks each.

[owwo]

+1 for Smith Thompson...just moved into our house and home monitoring was one of the top priorities on our list.

[rentz]

We have those features, but from DFW Security, and our account was set up by a friend of ours. The monitoring is through Alarm.com, and we control our system by means of an iPhone app. The system does not rely on a landline and it has a battery backup that, we've found out during power failures of hours length, keeps the system running.

We really like this system much better than the old-school one we had before.

good to hear, i was looking for a cheaper alternative to ADT and my insurance agent recommended dfw security and their price is the cheapest i've found