Monitored Alarm Retrofit - Can it be done?

p_mac

Hi guys,

I apologise in advance if this has been done to death already, if it has, a link to the thread would be appreciated...

I have a standard HKC wired house alarm, never had an issue with it. Was just wondering about the possibility of upgrading to a monitored setup? I guess what I'm really asking is, will I have to get a from scratch installation done or will some of the hardware do the job in order to keep the cost down. If anyone has gone down a similar route any info would be greatly appreciated....

regards,
PM.

KoolKid

You can add a dialler to that panel for monitoring. If you are looking for central station monitoring with Garda response you will need it installed and certified to EN50131 by a licenced installer. This may require extra work, but not all new equipment.

altor

p_mac wrote: »

Hi guys,

I apologise in advance if this has been done to death already, if it has, a link to the thread would be appreciated...

I have a standard HKC wired house alarm, never had an issue with it. Was just wondering about the possibility of upgrading to a monitored setup? I guess what I'm really asking is, will I have to get a from scratch installation done or will some of the hardware do the job in order to keep the cost down. If anyone has gone down a similar route any info would be greatly appreciated....

regards,
PM.

Is this for self monitoring or to a monitoring station?

p_mac

Was thinking about a monitoring station, but self monitored would be a step in the right direction... any thoughts/experience?

altor

p_mac wrote: »

Was thinking about a monitoring station, but self monitored would be a step in the right direction... any thoughts/experience?

All depends on the system. If the system is a 6/10 then you would need to replace the chip in the control panel to bring the systems up to EN Standards and add a digi. If the system is an 8/12 then flashing it with the latest software is what I would recommend. You would need to add a modem card for monitoring. That would make the system talk to a monitoring station. Just if anything else was to be done to bring the system up to standard then this would need to be done also for the alarm to be certified.

If using the 6/10 for self monitoring you could add a voice dialer to the system and have it triggered off the outputs.

If you went down the self monitoring route you could easily use the modem card with the 8/12 if you want a text and your service provider is Eircom or Vodafone. A voice dialer would also do the same with this system if you have a different service provider.

p_mac

Thanks for the info altor, much appreciated!

any reccomendations on who I could contact in relation to upgrading to to a monitoring station system?

tks

altor

p_mac wrote: »

Thanks for the info altor, much appreciated!

any reccomendations on who I could contact in relation to upgrading to to a monitoring station system?

tks

Always happy to help

Any of the company's listed on the PSA website should be happy to accommodate you. Shop around is the best advice I can give.

p_mac

that's 100%, big help now!

tks again...

altor

p_mac wrote: »

that's 100%, big help now!

tks again...

Your welcome, any other problems you know where we are

DrPhilG

I might hijack this thread a little if you don't mind. I was about to ask the exact same question.

Had an alarm fitted when we moved in nearly 2 years ago but I'm wondering about monitoring. Came home yesterday and the alarm was going off, but no signs of disturbance anywhere. The panel told me it was the front bedroom that triggered it, and I looked carefully around the window but no sign of interferance.

I'm sure it was just a false trigger from the sensor, but I'm a little paranoid now that someone was testing the waters to see what kind of response the alarm would get!

Don't remember the type of alarm, I'll check when I get home.

altor

DrPhilG wrote: »

I might hijack this thread a little if you don't mind. I was about to ask the exact same question.

Had an alarm fitted when we moved in nearly 2 years ago but I'm wondering about monitoring. Came home yesterday and the alarm was going off, but no signs of disturbance anywhere. The panel told me it was the front bedroom that triggered it, and I looked carefully around the window but no sign of interferance.

I'm sure it was just a false trigger from the sensor, but I'm a little paranoid now that someone was testing the waters to see what kind of response the alarm would get!

Don't remember the type of alarm, I'll check when I get home.

Once the system can be brought up to the standards of today to be certified then I cant see any issue with you having it monitored. You could also have the system set up the way it is to call your phone if you did not want it to go through to a monitoring station.

With single alarm activation's like this I would wait to see if it happens again.
Could be a fault, could be a bird or anything really but if it does happen again then have it checked out.

Whens the last time you have the whole system serviced?

DrPhilG

altor wrote: »

Once the system can be brought up to the standards of today to be certified then I cant see any issue with you having it monitored. You could also have the system set up the way it is to call your phone if you did not want it to go through to a monitoring station.

With single alarm activation's like this I would wait to see if it happens again.
Could be a fault, could be a bird or anything really but if it does happen again then have it checked out.

Whens the last time you have the whole system serviced?

A bird? It was an internal sensor in a spare bedroom. I have considered the possibility of furry friends getting in though...

It has never been serviced I'm afraid, didn't honestly think about that. It's coming up on 2 years since installation.

Emailed the company who installed it earlier, they told me it would cost €70 to connect the system to a monitoring station, and then €150 a year for the service. (plus vat)

KoolKid

Is it a PiR?
There are many things that can cause a false alarm on an internal pir. Check around it is clean and inside for spiders etc. Another around this time of year is decorations hanging.
Again a single activation as a once off may be nothing to worry about.
Those monitoring and call out prices are fairly average.

DrPhilG

KoolKid wrote: »

Is it a PiR?
There are many things that can cause a false alarm on an internal pir. Check around it is clean and inside for spiders etc. Another around this time of year is decorations hanging.
Again a single activation as a once off may be nothing to worry about.
Those monitoring and call out prices are fairly average.

Yes, PIR.

I had a look around it, no sign of dust or dirt. No decorations in that room either.

I'll keep an eye on it, dropped home at lunchtime yesterday to make sure it hadn't gone again, and I'm home all day today so I might set the alarm but bypass the rooms I'm in just to check if that room trips again.

KoolKid

Do you have engineer access?
You could leave that zone on walk test.

DrPhilG

KoolKid wrote: »

Do you have engineer access?

I have no idea what that means, so I suspect the answer is no!

KoolKid

Do you have the engineer code for the alarm?

DrPhilG

KoolKid wrote: »

Do you have the engineer code for the alarm?

No.