Dummy alarms?

Are these any good please? I'm looking at the well reviewed Friedland Response alarm on Amazon. Just wondering if these are a complete waste of time and money!

fred funk }{

Probably just a little better than having nothing.

You'd be better off buying a decoy off a registered company, Response alarms have a nasty cheap look to them.

BTW, how does a dummy box become "well reviewed"?

Well I think it has 60+ positive customer reviews:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Friedland-Intruder-HW0-Wirefree-Dummy/dp/B0045IHDLC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394918210&sr=8-1&keywords=dummy+alarm

kub

Deleted User wrote: »

Well I think it has 60+ positive customer reviews:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Friedland-Intruder-HW0-Wirefree-Dummy/dp/B0045IHDLC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394918210&sr=8-1&keywords=dummy+alarm

Good for them, personally speaking as a professional I have no credibility in the appearance of these boxes. I think of them as glorified door bells.

This one looks decent:

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/7004913/Trail/searchtext%3EDUMMY+ALARM.htm

Guy:Incognito

fred funk }{ wrote: »

BTW, how does a dummy box become "well reviewed"?

It would be hard for it to fail at what it does in fairness

kub

The best one I ever came across while fitting a system to a house was a dish, like one of those that goes into a kitchen sink. It was screwed onto the back wall of the house, painted red with a recognised local installers sticker on it.

Tokyo

It's marginally better than having nothing at all, but anyone better than the most opportunistic of thieves will spot dummy bell boxes or cameras with a cursory glance. Coupled with the fact that you'll be up and down a ladder on a regular basis to replace the batteries that keep the flashing LED's going.

Take a look at what your neighbours have, and see if you can pick up a dummy box as similar as possible, or better yet, invest in an alarm system. Security seems to be a reasonable concern to you, so why not do it properly.

fred funk }{

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

It would be hard for it to fail at what it does in fairness

Suppose, what we really need are the reviews from the would-be burglars who were fooled by the box

Paddy the burglar: "I was going to break into that house until I saw the Response Dummy box, Had me fooled so it did"

I pulled the trigger on the Argos one this morning. Looks genuine to me anyway. May I ask are these alarms placed very very high up usually? I was hoping above a first floor window would do the trick. Don't think I'd have the head for any higher!

KoolKid

If they are not up close to the fascia or in an apex then they look more amateur as well.
I do have to laugh at those response alarms installed with the bell outside the lounge windows etc.
An attraction to paddy the burglar if you ask me.

ehealo

You should the height some PW Boxes are mounted around here. Just over a front door, above a front room window. And usually not even level. Just get in and out as quick as possible.

KoolKid wrote: »

If they are not up close to the fascia or in an apex then they look more amateur as well.
I do have to laugh at those response alarms installed with the bell outside the lounge windows etc.
An attraction to paddy the burglar if you ask me.

kub

ehealo wrote: »

You should the height some PW Boxes are mounted around here. Just over a front door, above a front room window. And usually not even level. Just get in and out as quick as possible.

That is because PW are the be all and end all.