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C-Pittway Corp Alarm News
Specializing in Ademco Lynx
wireless security alarm systems
&
other Ademco Products
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Serving the USA
and Canada

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New Uses For Alarms
Dec. 99 It used
to be that alarms systems were wired in and this greatly limited how one could utilize the
technology. Alas, wireless has entered the scene and after years of evolving, we've
finally got a product that's not only versatile but also highly reliable.
Without
the wire, all sorts of new applications are at hand. In a home environment, you are no
longer confined to the interior of the house itself. It's easy to add a door contact to an
unattached garage, or to a shed. I keep a motion detector inside my boat and if
anyone dares enter it, they're going to be awfully surprised.
In a
business environment, we'd occasionally get businesses that had rented a separate office
on the floor above for storing supplies and the like. It was often not cost
effective to add another alarm system for one single room but now, we simply add a
wireless door contact, or a motion detector and the job is done. Best of all, it's
done in minutes.
Other Applications
Let's say you're travelling in an RV or pulling a
trailer, a boat or anything that you feel uncomfortable leaving, while you go to sleep in
a road side motel, or even in the residence of a friend. Wouldn't it be nice to be
awakened if someone intruded upon your private property?
No
problem. Put a wireless door contact on it, or a motion detector within it and plug your
alarm system into any outlet inside your hotel room. These new wireless have a pretty good
range and you're sure to know, if somebody is messing with your stuff.
Similarly, boats at Marina's are often susceptible to intruders. Place a motion detector
in the boat and plug the control unit into an outlet in the main building and you can
alert the staff, or even have central station call police.
These
new wireless are very impressive. False alarms are nearly a thing of the past and the
number of new uses are up to your imagination. The prices may be low but the quality
is High Level.
Oct. 99
Old News
False Alarms - A Total
Perspective
Alarm
manufacturers advise that every alarm system be tested once weekly. In some instances,
tiny sticker labels are even provided with new systems to assure that everyone knows that
a system needs to be tested in order to validate that it's functioning properly. All
too often however, the first test is done by the installer and the second is done by the
customer, only when he accidentally activates the alarm.
False alarms are
a really big problem and to the police, any alarm that they respond to, not caused by a
burglar, is 'False' and worse yet, a nuisance. Let's face it, it cost money, time
and manpower.
Unfortunately,
there is actually a minor, but relevant, good side to False Alarms. If it weren't
for the occasional false alarm, many people who never test their systems, would simply
never know that their system actually works. We've had numerous calls from people
who verbalize, that they have just discovered that the police, do respond.
This brings up
two points and both revolve around, or equate, customer negligence. When you have an
alarm system installed, you have accepted at least two responsibilities, whether you know
it, or not. The first responsibility occurs upon accidentally activating your
system. When this happens, you must assure that the police are not dispatched by
either contacting your central station, or by giving central your password when they call.
Failing this, the police will visit your house or business and this may soon be followed
by fines. In most areas these days, you're only allowed x number of false alarms
annually, before having to pay for each false alarm thereafter.
The next issue
has to do with equipment that causes the alarm. Although we provide the best
available alarm products, anything electronic can experience a failure. Sorry, but
it does happen occasionally, but not often. I hear you saying, "well, this
isn't customer negligence," and granted that's true. However, when a customer
has one true false alarm and doesn't report it to us, we can't fix it, if we don't know
it's broke. The first false alarm needs to be reported and repaired immediately.
After that, you will likely get years more trouble free operation.
Remember
I said that there is a good side to false alarms? Unbelievably, we recently
got a referral from a customer's, neighbor, who was impressed that the police has
responded to his house so often. Although, it's nice to get referrals, we still
prefer that neighbors only realize that there is an alarm next door, via our window
stickers. This customer fell into the, 'not reporting it to us,' category.
Also, his equipment was nearly ten years old and though advised to replace it, he wouldn't
spend the bucks. We told him that bad equipment is worse than no equipment but the
customer preferred to place the blame for the false alarms on us and continued to use the
faulty part. He also cancelled his monitoring, since the police were about to fine
him for repeated offenses, so he now has a local alarm only, that is subject to constant
self activation, without cause.
False alarms,
that is, where the police respond for no reason, are bad for all concerned. We're
doing everything we can to completely eliminate them but factually, we can't do it without
customer cooperation. It's a group effort and your assistance could make a big
difference. We can't guarantee that every customer will participate in this effort
but we hope they will and we want everyone to know that were giving it our best.
We're
committed to this cause and the first thing that we try to convey to every customer is
that, false alarms are not a normal part of owning an alarm system. Unlike some
companies, we are always there to help you solve a problem and if you'll just let us know
about it, you can count on us to get over this hill, quickly and without a fuss.
Bottom line, talk to us...
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Desk 9am to 8pm eastern - Blocked numbers dial *82, then
1-800-469-1157 |
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