One way to buy an alarm system is to first study and research the various alarm systems that are currently on the market. There are several ways to do this, but the best way is to have a number of alarm companies come into your home and evaluate your security needs. They also will demonstrate the alarm system that they sell, giving you a first-hand look at some of the features of that particular system.

Another way to buy an alarm system is to attend crime prevention meetings where you can ask knowledgeable crime- prevention proponents questions about alarm systems. You can also call your local law enforcement agency and ask a police officer or sheriff deputy what kind of alarm system that they recommend. Although asking crime-prevention and law-enforcement "experts" questions will probably help you understand alarm systems better, it may not provide enough detailed information for a final decision.

A third avenue is to visit a local library where you can learn about alarm systems from
technical books and various trade journals. Formal training in the field of alarm systems is also available from the National Fire and Burglar Alarm Association, Washington, DC and select colleges and correspondence schools. You can also obtain instructional books and other materials from a Radio Shack store in your area.

Alarm Systems Detect, Not Stop
The best place to begin is at the beginning, so let's examine a few facts and myths concerning alarm systems.

* ALARM SYSTEMS WILL STOP CRIMINALS FROM BREAKING IN: This is false! Alarm systems are made to detect criminals, not stop them from entering homes. At the same time, merely having an alarm system is sometimes enough to discourage unauthorized people (criminals) from breaking in.

* I'D BUY AN ALARM, BUT I HAVE TOO MANY KEYS AS IT IS HANGING FROM MY KEY RING: Most alarm systems today do not require the use of a key. Instead, they use keypads that have alphanumeric buttons and textual readouts.
Each user is given an authorization code that enables him or her to enter their home without triggering their alarm system. This special code number must be entered into the system via the keypad. Typically, homeowners have a predetermined period of time from the instant they open a select entry door until the time the alarm goes into alarm. Entering the right code number cancels the alarm.

• I DON'T PARTICULARLY WANT A BELL HANGING ON THE OUTSIDE OF MY HOUSE: Professional alarm installers usually do not use bells in residential applications today. Instead, they use siren speakers, many times mounting them inside an attic pointed out a gable vent or on a roof top where they're not so easily seen or tampered with.
Sirens do a better job of reporting unauthorized entries because of the sound they make. They especially attract attention better in rural settings where the high- frequency sounds they make carry further than that of bells and buzzers.

* ALARM MONITORING IS TOO EXPENSIVE: Although monitoring can cost, on the average, $240 a year, this feature provides an enormous benefit by assuring that help is on the way when your alarm system detects an intruder. Monitoring hinges on a 24-hr. central stations where operators work day and night to dispatch the police, fire department and paramedics to homeowners in trouble.

* ALARM SYSTEMS COST TOO MUCH: Putting a price tag on your home and its contents is one way of deciding whether to buy an alarm system. But, putting a price tag on the well being of your family members is impossible. It's also impossible to place a price tag on the peace of mind that results when you have an alarm system.
For example, from my own personal experience, one of my children--who literally grew up with an alarm system of one kind or another in our home--use to express how they felt like a prisoner in their own home. One day, after spending a night at a neighbor friend, she told me how uncomfortable she was all night long in a house that did not have any kind of protection, other than a lock on the door. After that she never complained about an alarm system; I suppose because it made her sleep better knowing it was there.

* IF I HAD AN ALARM SYSTEM I JUST KNOW MY CHILDREN WOULD SET IT OFF CONTINUALLY: False! Children historically learn how to operate alarms faster than their parents! In fact, it's usually the children who keep reminding their parents how to use it. And then it's usually the kids that venture beyond merely turning it on and off-- teaching their parents afterwards.

Do-It-Yourself Alarm Systems

There is essentially two levels of alarm protection in the security market: "do-it-yourself" and "professional."

Do-it-yourself (DIY) systems are understandably simple to install so the average do-it-yourselfer (DIY) can install them. This is because most do-it-yourselfers (DIYs) do not have the electronics background to install the sophisticated alarm systems used by professional alarm installers. Although these systems are usually inexpensive, beginning as low as $100, most of them are not usually as effective at protecting homes as professionally-installed systems are.

DIY systems, however, do fill a need in the protection of certain kinds of homes in certain situations. For example, DIY alarm systems are ideal for homeowners who cannot afford to buy a professionally-installed system. DIY alarm systems also are good for people who do not own their own home, as in the case of a tenant who rents an apartment. DIY systems also provide adequate protection when the risk of loss is significantly less than what it costs to have a full-sized, full featured alarm system installed by a professional.

For example, in the case of young newly-wed couple, they may not have enough expensive items in their apartment/home to warrant the cost of installing a professionally-installed alarm system. A DIY system will provide adequate protection in their situation. Another factor might be where they live. For example, a DIY alarm system may also be adequate when they live in a rural environment or one without a history of violence or crime.

You can usually identify a DIY system by how it looks in a home. Most DIY systems are designed to sit on a counter or a bookshelf. Most of them are also "wireless," which means there are no wires to connect them with the remote sensors that make up a professional alarm system--other than a plug-in power cord and speaker wire. The draw back to this approach, however, is obviously the ease at which criminals can circumvent them.

For example, most DIY alarm systems provide a delay when entering a home. During this delay a small electronic device (called a piezoelectric or just piezo) sounds a low-level warning alarm, reminding the homeowner to disarm the alarm system. Because the piezo is usually located in the DIY unit itself, a criminal only has to follow the sound to find the brains of the system. To defeat it, all he usually has to do is unplug the power cord and cut the outside speaker wires.
Some DIY systems are designed to use wireless transmitters to convey open reports from each door and window switch. Miniature transmitters also are built into interior motion detectors, smoke detectors, and other sensory devices. This nearly eliminates the need to install wire.

Some DIY systems come with motion detectors built into them. Thus, the same cabinet that houses the brains of the system also acts as a motion detector, sometimes eliminating the need for additional interior sensors. In other DIY systems, "hardwired" connections are also provided--just in case someone wants to install both hardwired and wireless devices.

There is also another type of wireless system on the market that requires no wires, no transmitters, no door/window switches and no interior motion detectors. One version of this type of DIY system detects burglars by sensing sudden changes in atmospheric pressure inside the home when a window or door is opened or a glass pane is broken. The technology that makes this happen is called "infrasonic."

Although infrasonic systems do work, this technology was abandoned by professional alarm manufacturers a few years ago for a variety of reasons. One manufacturer confided that the technology involved was not stable enough for professional use. There is at least one consumer-grade alarm system on the market today, however, that uses infrasonic technology. I cannot attest to its reliability, but will suggest that perhaps in unmonitored, low-risk applications (those applications where an alarm system only rings at the protected premises and where the risk of monetary loss or the loss of life is low), infrasonic may provide adequate protection.
Another type of wireless DIY system detects the entry of unauthorized people (criminals) by listening for the sound of breaking glass and splintering wood. These devices, again, are shelf-mounted and they plug into a 110 volt receptacle in the home--often with battery backup.

Professionally-installed wireless and hardwired alarm systems, on the other hand, are usually wall-mounted, which means the sensor, power, and telephone wires can be concealed inside the wall behind the alarm box or inside a metal conduit. Getting to the circuit boards inside the box is made all the harder because most systems require the use of a key to open the box. This makes it a lot harder for criminals to defeat them.

For an example of what it is like to install a typical DIY alarm system, view How to Install a Typical DIY Alarm System.

Professional Security Systems

Professionally-installed alarm systems will accommodate either wireless, hardwired, or both technologies. Wireless systems, for example, usually use sophisticated radio-controlled equipment that not only sense the presence of unauthorized people, but also send open-and-closed status (alarm) and low-battery (supervisory) signals to the main alarm unit on a transmitter-by-transmitter basis.

The technical advantages of this type of wireless system over that of a DIY system are obvious. The most important difference, however, is the ability of this system to report alarms and supervisory signals to an alarm panel on a transmitter-by- transmitter basis, pin pointing where a criminal has entered. Interior motion detectors equipped with radio transmitters also enable central station operators to follow criminals through a home, giving the police the assurance that someone is still inside, even though the doors and windows may appear to be secure.

Pin pointing the origin of an alarm is also essential when there are false alarms (nothing made by man is perfect, so ALL alarm systems will eventually generate a false alarm sometime). A professional wireless system enables both the homeowner and professional alarm installer to quickly determine the source of a "troublesome" alarm, eliminating the problem before it begins to annoy the police. This is also important because more and more communities are instituting fines against homeowners when their alarm system repeatedly causes false alarms. Worse yet, in some cases, the police has placed false-alarming systems on low priority, sometimes eliminating police response altogether.

By contrast, most DIY systems cannot pin point the origin of "troublesome" false alarms. In addition, they do not monitor the status of their batteries, sometimes allowing them to go dead without warning anyone of their low power condition. Professional-grade wireless systems, on the other hand, provide a low-battery warning up to 6 weeks prior to a battery's failure.

Although wireless is gaining in popularity among professional alarm installers, the most common professional alarm system on the market today is the "hardwired" system.

Because these systems use wire to connect remote door and window switches, as well as motion detectors, smoke detectors (when used), and other sensors, there is less sophisticated electronic circuitries to malfunction. In addition, larger systems can quickly identify false-alarm sources so the alarm installer can quickly solve a false-alarm problem.

Another sign of a professional system is an integral central- station connection. These systems usually contain a device called a digital communicator that communicates with a special computerized receiver on the other end at the central station. Although add-on digital communicators are available, these devices usually are inherent in the design of a professional alarm system. In some cases, the manufacturer provides an add-on digital-communicator board that simply plugs into the main circuit board inside the alarm box.

Conclusion

The first decision to make is whether to buy a DIY alarm or a professionally-installed security system. Those who sell DIY systems often point out the difference in cost. If you are an apartment tenant, you have very little to loose inside your home or apartment, then a low-cost DIY system will probably fulfill your needs. On the other hand, if you own your own home and you intend to stay there and you have many fine things in your home, a professional-grade alarm system is probably the best way to go.

In some cases, it's not only a family's valuables at stake, but the welfare of family members that must be considered. In this case, a professionally-installed system with several keypads inside the home (one in the master bedroom, for example) is a must because this type of system will quickly identify a criminal's point of entry, as well as his current location in the home. This is important especially at night when the alarm system suddenly goes off.

The next decision is whether to pay for professional 24-hr. central station monitoring. One criteria for this decision is, of course, the money it will cost you to have your alarm system monitored. It's also important to note that in situations like the one in the last paragraph, central-station monitoring assures you that help is on the way without you even making a phone call.