Fun with alarms

Travel the world with ring….

I installed our first burglar alarm a very long time ago. It was the morning after we woke up in the night and went downstairs to find the front door standing wide open. The fact that we were due to head off on holiday that afternoon made it even more exciting. I went down to the local DIY warehouse first thing to pick up a box of bits and a large bell box to go on the front of the house. That alarm worked well until one day it got bored with alarm duties and decided that it really wanted to be a beatbox and filled the hall with clicks and beeps.

The one that replaced it that also performed its duties well, although recently it has been forgetting the time of day and the backup battery inside must be well past its best. So I’ve just fitted alarm system number 3. I bought it in the Amazon Black Friday sales. It was very well reduced. In fact, if I think about it every alarm that I’ve bought has been cheaper than the previous one. In a hundred years or so they will be paying me to take them away. Of course, Amazon is not looking to make a profit on the sale of the hardware. That is so last-century. What it really wants is the 8 pounds a month I will probably end up paying for the monitoring service.

The alarm was very easy to install. The sensors in the basic kit were already connected to the alarm box, the additional ones just needed to have their QR codes scanned to introduce them to the system. I didn’t have to run a power supply to the keypad that goes in the hall. That will run off batteries for a good length of time. You can put the alarm box anywhere you like and you can also wire it directly to your network rather connect over WiFi. There is also a backup mobile phone in the alarm box in case your home falls of the internets.

It is much easier to configure than my earlier alarms were. Rather than making you think about setting up “zones” you just have three modes. Alarm off, alarm on when you’re at home (for example at night) and alarm on when you are out. The modes can be set on a schedule or based on your location. And of course you can configure and manage everything from your phone.

I’m impressed. Although I’m not sure I’ll bother with the stickers.