Security Systems

Has anyone tried SafeMart security company. Impressions? Good, bad?

They seem to have good range of products for home security and home automation. Monthly service cost is lowest and contract term is only 1 year. You have to buy the systems yourself though (at a discount).

 

No one using SafeMart security system?

 

Never heard of them.

 

Have you thought about the Skylink Security system?

http://www.amazon.com/Skylink-SC-1000-Complete-Wireless-System/dp/B003MP93BW

No monthly fees, lots of addons (water sensors, etc) you can buy as well.

 

Very economical system, but I am looking for a security monitoring service also. Was hoping SafeMart customers would share their experiences.

 

I don't have any experience with Safemart; however I am looking at the Honeywell Vista 20p system. Its not a fancy touch panel (although there is an optional one); however easily integrates with home automation like Indigo (for us mac users) to handle the other tasks. I don't like the thermostat and other automation in an alarm touch panel b/c those panels are typically installed near the doors. A true home integration/automation touch screen should be installed more centrally (IMO).

 

pauleyc,

Google search result for Indigo:

Sounds like a cool automation system. I wonder how mature are its security monitoring features. Need to get educated about it... fast.

 

Also, check out aesecurity.com

Seems like the pricing may be better than safemart. Also need to read up on the Vista 21ip which I have not seen before.

 

We have a Vista 20p, and have added 4204 relays and the 5883 transceiver. Aesecurity is great for buying that. Same panel they use at a lot of businesses. Look around when you are at stores like Costco for example and realize they use the same system.

A good reliable system is not that much more expensive, I would not waste your time with a lot of the lower end stuff they had on that website.

Once you get into the programming concept it is pretty easy. If anyone is interested I've drawn up some diagrams that might help.

Ours is tied into other systems using relays, so I can hit one button and open the garage door and disarm for example with the alarm remote or my cell phone or my laptop.

The nice thing about relays is they don't go out of style - no version tweaks to the latest zwave zigbee or whatever standard is the flavor of the day.

Absolutely no regrets having purchased that panel.

The other thing that is nice is I tied it into the surveillance system so that if anything happens (alarm, water sensor etc) the VMS (Axis camera station) emails pics.

Free advice, put sensors on the garage door. So easy to break into.

And motion detectors downstairs. Get the good ones with IR and X-band radar. Hard wire as much as possible, to avoid any interference. Also nice because if you replace the panel twenty years from now, it is easy to just connect it up. My Mom did that a few years ago.

Also, the Honeywell remotes are great - I have one of the bidirectional w/ voice and it has a 100 yard range! Some of these things you can find on ebay for next to nothing later.

 

Mike and Kim,

Since this is a wired system, would it still work (security devices) if there is a power loss?

Do you have a security monitoring service with this system?

 

This aspect has nothing to do with whether it is wireless or not.

The main unit (not the keypad in my case) is in a metal box with a backup battery. The backed up power from the main unit feeds to the motion sensors for example. This also means there are not batteries to replace in the sensors.

Even if it is wireless you still need to have backup on the main unit. The other question is how you do monitoring - some have GSM, or internet instead of the phone line.

There are adaptors online these days for about $100 that allow you to do it all yourself with no monitoring fees.

Avoid all-in-one systems where it is all built into the keypad - there are examples online for how to disable those.

 

Thanks for the info. Between this forum and google, I have a decent idea of what is involved and what can be done. Home automation project has to evolve over time. Decided to stay completely wireless using Z-Wave technology.