A good gun and knowing how to use it is the best home securityhttp://www.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/2ar15.gif

I know, know.

Guys, check your smoke detector batteries. It saved my life or at least my house and neighbor's last year. I left a candle burning, but the flame was so low that I didn't notice it when I went to bed. The detector woke me up almost three hours later and I could see the huge glow of the flames from my bed. I got it out and amazingly, with no real damage. But it was a serious jolt and I didn't go back to sleep that night.

My other alarms are made by Mossberg and SIG Sauer.

Scott -

I probably live right up the road from you. I've got ADT - cam with the house. I also have two really barky dogs. I think they do more than the alarm system for deterence.

If you are into DYI, check out http://www.aesecurity.com/

I installed an Ademco system in a previous residence and replaced a brinks in our current house with an ademco. They are nice alarms. You still have the option of monitoring at lower rates than the national firms. Or you can run the system without monitoring and just use the sirens and lights. There are options for dialers that can call your cell phone if your are away and have an alarm.

I tried one of the national monitoring firms for a couple of years and was not impressed. They took forever to call when the we accidentally set off the alarm.

Funny story, when we first moved in to our current house, the previous owner had been using brinks. The alarm had been canceled prior to the move. I was out of town and the wife was home with the kids. My youngest (2 yrs at the time) is the kind of kid that has to touch everything. He decided to push the "fire" button on the alarm panel. The siren starts wailing... The kids and wife are freaking.... The wife calls my cell in a panic, wanting to know how to shut it off. Since we didn't have a code, I had her pry the box open and pull the battery and power. We ended our call and I had a good laugh. About 5 minutes later, she calls back and there are 3 fire trucks in front of the house.....

Appreciate the information. A system came with my house and I am looking for monitoring. This information helps.

Scott

Similar situation here. I travel & she stays home. Near suburbs location in Toronto. ADT has been flawless for 8 -9 years & gives a lot of piece of mind to her & me. Remember, the outdoor signs are almost as important as the alarm. We skipped motion because of pets. And we don't use their patrol guys - just the real thing.

Only one cop call to date & that was when the door wasn't latched & it blew open when we were out. We got a $70 bill for that.

We wouldn't be without one. Guns are not an option here.

Ian

I was going to suggest Denver Burglar Alarm. I bet they're either cheaper, or WAAAY more. They've done a few commercial systems at places I've worked.

We have Brinks and it's the greatest peace of mind for me when I'm on the road. We really got it because of my wife's diabetes and the idea she only needs to push one button and they instantly know what to respond for. I can also call their number while on the road and they will have someone respond to the house. I really like the idea that if the alarm goes off they call quickly and even call our cell numbers to verify if anything is wrong.

I still think a monitored system has it's plusses. Smoke alarms, for example. We have battery powered, of course...but we also have a detector wired into our alarm system. If we're not home, and a fire breaks out, the alarm company will hopefully call the local F.D.

Unless you are at home, standing on the back deck havin a smoke while (important part) talking on the phone and you hear someones alarm go off and think to your self "how irritating is that" as you turn and look into your back door and a house full of smoke caused by the wife unit making blackened something in a pan and thinking olive oil would be good to use (NOT) so you put the phone down (important part) and run inside and after figuring out the house is not on fire you open all the windows and turn on the ceiling fans to clear out the smoke and while instructing the wife on the proper oils to use while blackening things in a pan you start seeing trails of "disco" lights in the smoke and think to yourself you've only had 2 or 3 margaritas so what the F is that as you wander to the front of the house and notice the Fire Trucks parked on your lawn and you may be lucky enough to open the door 2 seconds before the guys whose dinners you just interrupted bash it in with the axes they are charging up the front steps with in rabid anticipation of a little action and you'll feel pretty crappy telling them the truth and then pretty embarrassed when the Chief leans into his radio and says "it's just cooking" so the next day you'll stop by the firehouse with a couple of cases of beers to make amends.

Oh yeah, when your alarm goes off in addition to putting the phone down you also need to HANG IT UP or else the monitoring company can't call you to verify everything is OK and they WILL notify the fire dept.

Ask me how I know.

Other thing is to make sure that the smokes are properly positioned...over the stove is not a good idea...

Get it over in the next room (dining room or something like that). Idea is that by the time the smoke (aka wife's cooking) gets that far you really have a problem other than carbonized food....

Dennis

Denver Burglar Alarm is out of business their clients are with ADT now.

Brinks was just here with a little better quote, $29.95/mo and 850 installed with two key pads, 16 wired contacts and a remote transmitter. I'll probably go with them.

My alarm company calls the home number first, then my cell second, then starts on my other contacts. Takes care of the home telephone not answering issue.

I was worried about this as well, setting it off and such while home. Brinks has a "cancel" button that you can use when you do that, that's why they are winning right now.

We've been with ADT ever since I started travelling for work (10+ years). Honestly though I think the signs (front and backyard) and a couple window stickers are enough to disuade most thieves.

For the rare home invasion where they're looking to hurt people a security system isn't going to help. Having a gun won't help either unless you happen to be watching the Simpsons with a loaded gun in your lap.

I do not have ADT. I do, however, have ADD. Does this count?

Actually, we have Westec.

You have a point. Several years ago, some badasses lived near here. They are now being managed by the state. Breakins, day and night, happening all over the neighborhood. One, during the day, happened to a neighbor just to the west of me. He had a pack of yip-yip toy poodles...I mean, these mutts would run to their fence and bark at me, whenever I stepped in my yard to smoke a stogie. His wife was home, asleep, during the break-in. The yip-yip poodles never made a sound....

Funny thing. With my "protected by" sign out front, I wasn't hit by these punks. Neither was the neighbor across the road, who had 2 BIG dogs.... I mean BIG..."Elliot", the biggest, was 185 pounds. Very scary to look at...but if you knew him? He might lick you to death...

We have a Vector system and I have no complaints so far - it came with the house so I didn't do any shopping around, but shortly after moving in the main control panel bit the dust so I had to replace it and they were very professional and offered several options.

We have most doors/windows covered plus infra-red detectors most everywhere. The system gives you the ability to disable any single sensor by number (or group into zones) so you can keep some infra reds off for the dog. It's also hooked to smoke and heat detectors throughout the house, basement and attic. The best part is that when there is an "event" it sends 2 signals to the monitoring company simultaneously - one by land line and one via cellular. All land lines route through a controller in the panel also so it will take over the line if you are on the phone.

It's also fully controllable over the internet and you can program it to send an email or text message for any number of events. This is the part I like best when travelling because you will get a text if the power goes out, etc. Very nice system...

Having said all that though, our best system is Jake our 185lb Saint Bernard, who barks like a maniac at anyone who comes within 100ft of the house - even though he's a big baby in reality...