alarms for dummies

jackreacher

hi all,
ive been a long time reader but never posted in the (hss) forum before.

have no alarm on the house at present and am looking at the various options available.

house is not cabled for alarm so thinking of going the wireless route.

anyhow all the websites forum posts and brochures ive looked at have thrown up some questions for me
all these questions relate to hkc wireless range either sw 1070 or quantum 70

1. are wireless alarms hardwired into the mains or are they just run of a battery
2. what is the replacement cost for the 3v lithium batteries that power the pirs and door contacts
3. which of the 2 panels (sw 1070 or quantum 70) would be better and what would be the difference in price roughly
4. i wanted to add a 2nd keypad (RKP-SL) for the main bedroom can anyone give me a ballpark what that should cost
5. also what should i expect to pay for an extra key fob
6. can someone explain the options regarding communications ie sms and voice msgs between alarm and user

regarding prices i dont expect the folks on here to give exact prices but if they can go to the nearest round number to give me an idea it would help a great deal

many thanks in advance

FMartinp

jackreacher wrote: »

hi all,
ive been a long time reader but never posted in the (hss) forum before.

have no alarm on the house at present and am looking at the various options available.

house is not cabled for alarm so thinking of going the wireless route.

anyhow all the websites forum posts and brochures ive looked at have thrown up some questions for me
all these questions relate to hkc wireless range either sw 1070 or quantum 70

1. are wireless alarms hardwired into the mains or are they just run of a battery
2. what is the replacement cost for the 3v lithium batteries that power the pirs and door contacts
3. which of the 2 panels (sw 1070 or quantum 70) would be better and what would be the difference in price roughly
4. i wanted to add a 2nd keypad (RKP-SL) for the main bedroom can anyone give me a ballpark what that should cost
5. also what should i expect to pay for an extra key fob
6. can someone explain the options regarding communications ie sms and voice msgs between alarm and user

regarding prices i dont expect the folks on here to give exact prices but if they can go to the nearest round number to give me an idea it would help a great deal

many thanks in advance

If you PM me your e-mail address I'll send you a copy of the HKC wireless pricelist I got from my wholesaler.

jackreacher

pm sent

KoolKid

jackreacher wrote: »

1. are wireless alarms hardwired into the mains or are they just run of a battery

They have permanant mains power.

jackreacher wrote: »

2. what is the replacement cost for the 3v lithium batteries that power the pirs and door contacts

They vary from €3 to €8 so shop around

jackreacher wrote: »

3. which of the 2 panels (sw 1070 or quantum 70) would be better and what would be the difference in price roughly

I would recommend the 1070 over the Quantum . A much better panel for very little extra.

jackreacher wrote: »

4. i wanted to add a 2nd keypad (RKP-SL) for the main bedroom can anyone give me a ballpark what that should cost

€70-€90 for a wired keypad

jackreacher wrote: »

5. also what should i expect to pay for an extra key fob

€30-€40

jackreacher wrote: »

6. can someone explain the options regarding communications ie sms and voice msgs between alarm and user

SMS can send text via landlines or GSM . GSM give you the option of remote control via text commands to the panel,
Voice can call from any landline and play a prerecorded message regarding any alarm activations.

If your considering wireless at the 1070 level . I would recommend looking at the Siemens 4000 range . It might be worth waiting for their wireless . It promises to be very compeditive.

altor

jackreacher wrote: »

which of the 2 panels (sw 1070 or quantum 70) would be better and what would be the difference in price roughly

If the house is not cabled then the Quantum would be the cheaper option. It also has a built in dialer for self monitoring. One hard wire zone but you wont be needing that if going the wire free route.

KoolKid

I , and a lot of engineers I am talking to, really arn't getting the value of the Quantum compared to Securewave . For whats in the difference I would spend the extra on either the Securewave or Siemens.

altor

Really, they dont do the Securewave pack so that has just made the price difference even bigger.
You said you did a price comparence before but never came back with it.
What is the difference ?

KoolKid

Don't have it to hand, going by memory I think it was €50-€75 like for like.
It may be a bit more so I stand to be corrected. Not a lot in my book for the extra spec.Open day in Northwood next Thursday, ill check it out again then.

altor

The cost of the text and voice dialer alone would cost that
Let us know how you get on.

jackreacher

had a few site surveys over the last week or ten days which has thrown up a few questions.

nearly all installers in kerry are going with the hkc wireless panel.

have a few more questions

one guy told me the panel had to be installed next to the main phone point in the house and the next 2 said and telephone point would do.

because of the layout of the house (3 storey townhouse) i wanted to get a wireless secondary keypad. does such a thing exist for the quantum or the 1070 panel.

regarding the main bellbox outside is it a necessity to have it mains operated or is battery ok.

is there any other reason except for lower maintainance

cheers

jackreacher

@fmartinpcan you forward me that pricelist again.

many thanks

altor

jackreacher wrote: »

had a few site surveys over the last week or ten days which has thrown up a few questions.

nearly all installers in kerry are going with the hkc wireless panel.

have a few more questions

one guy told me the panel had to be installed next to the main phone point in the house and the next 2 said and telephone point would do.

because of the layout of the house (3 storey townhouse) i wanted to get a wireless secondary keypad. does such a thing exist for the quantum or the 1070 panel.

regarding the main bellbox outside is it a necessity to have it mains operated or is battery ok.

is there any other reason except for lower maintainance

cheers

Any phone point will do once the phone can be given priority over all the other points in the house.

You can have a wired keypad with the 10/70 but not with the Quantum.

Either will work but if possible a wired external bell is always the best option as there is no real maintenance involved. There is also a second battery pack that can be added to the wire free external bell to keep it going for longer.

jackreacher

thanks altor,
few more followup questions if i may,

how do you give one phone point priority over another?
i play a bit of online gaming will the alarm being connected to the same phone point as the ps3 cause an issue.

regarding the 2nd keypad are you saying it has to be wired for the 1070 but there is a completely wireless keypad available (except for power) for the quantum?

sorry about the questions im just trying to get the best information i can before i decide.

altor

jackreacher wrote: »

thanks altor,
few more followup questions if i may,

how do you give one phone point priority over another?
i play a bit of online gaming will the alarm being connected to the same phone point as the ps3 cause an issue.

regarding the 2nd keypad are you saying it has to be wired for the 1070 but there is a completely wireless keypad available (except for power) for the quantum?

sorry about the questions im just trying to get the best information i can before i decide.

The alarm needs to be given priority over all phones in the house. To do this the main line is routed from where it comes into the house to the alarm then back to all house phones.

If you have broadband on the line then you will need to fit a DSL filter with the 10/70. The Quantum has one built in as it has an integrated dialer to allow text or voice through your phone line. I have added a picture of the DSL filter commonly used with alarm systems.

There will be a wire free keypad next year for the 10/70. There is no wire free keypad for the Quantum. Not sure if the Quantum will have one but with the use of the keyfobs from HKC it is the same as using the keypad but you don't have the screen.

Any other question, let us know

jackreacher

just for the sake of clarity then. would this rerouting fall under the category of an extra or would it be covered under the installation.

when you say rerouting is it a physical take out line and run an additional one job or open the phone box and rewire it up in a different way type job?

KoolKid

I would include it in the installaion cost. In most cases you could wire to the nearest phone point & use the existing wiring to reconfigure it to give the alarm priority.

altor

Should be part of the install. It is only a matter of sending the main line to the panel and then back to the point it is taken from.

jackreacher

main eircom socket is in sitting room behind tv.
secondary phone socket is inside front door.

had 3 guys looking at house. one guy said the panel had to be next to the main phone socket (behind tv)

another guy said that he would put the panel inside the front door and wire off that phone point. i said i thought it had to next to main panel and he said that he can configure out to the front door phone point.

the first guy is giving me a cheaper quote and i wasnt sure if i asked him to reconfigure the phone point to place the panel inside the front door that the quote would magically increase

KoolKid

He wants to put the panel in the sitting room behind the TV? Seriousally?
Never in all my years have i seen a panel there . Get rid of him, he obviousally is not that well up. The panel should go in the hall & wire to that socket. From there its only a matter of a couple of joins to get it to the main line in & back. It about 15 minutes work . Anyone wanting to charge extra for this is ripping you off.

altor

jackreacher wrote: »

main eircom socket is in sitting room behind tv.
secondary phone socket is inside front door.

had 3 guys looking at house. one guy said the panel had to be next to the main phone socket (behind tv)

another guy said that he would put the panel inside the front door and wire off that phone point. i said i thought it had to next to main panel and he said that he can configure out to the front door phone point.

the first guy is giving me a cheaper quote and i wasnt sure if i asked him to reconfigure the phone point to place the panel inside the front door that the quote would magically increase

If there is a 4 core cable from the living room to the hall point then I cant see an issue. Yes if a cable needs to be installed and protected in trunken then there would be extra cost involved. All this should be arranged on the site survey.

jackreacher

just opened secondary point there. 4 core alright.
b&w, o&w. br&w and g&w.

many thanks for the help thus far.

ill update this thread again during the week when i get more quotes in

KoolKid

That's an 8 core. No problem using that.

inovo

I find the quantum 70 very good myself. Had one installed in September 2011

jackreacher

getting the quotes and just wanted someone to give me an idea what they would be charging up the country.

i seem to be getting differences of 180 to 250 between cheapest and dearest.

quote for hkc quantum
4 pirs
1 contact
outside bell box
dummy bell box
2 key fobs.

also what do people charge for a service call and for a maintainance contract

cheers

altor

jackreacher wrote: »

getting the quotes and just wanted someone to give me an idea what they would be charging up the country.

i seem to be getting differences of 180 to 250 between cheapest and dearest.

quote for hkc quantum
4 pirs
1 contact
outside bell box
dummy bell box
2 key fobs.

also what do people charge for a service call and for a maintainance contract

cheers

Not the best type alarm to go for, it is always best to cover windows and doors. I see from your list no back door either is covered.

Price for you list you gave would be about €600-€650
Service call prices can vary, €50- €100.

jackreacher

my approach was to get a quote for a set amount of pirs and contacts and a price for adding extra contacts and pirs and i would tailor it to my own needs.


regarding the contacts on back door i have a pir covering this. i
s best practise one or the other or both pirs and contacts for a ground floor opening.