I see a lot about safes and cameras, but I'm trying to figure out what to get/buy/build for a general security system.

Mostly I'd like something that would tell me if a window was broken or a door kicked in while I'm away from home, alseep, in the shower, etc.

I live in a modest section of town (I paid 68% of median sale price (my town/#bdrms) for my house two years ago and most of my neighbors are retired.
Nice quiet neighborhood, little through traffic, modest homes.

I'm not concerned with having a system that a professional burglar can't defeat, but rather something to deter/give me notice of a crackhead/methhead smash and grab, or fire, or CO issue.

Possible system factors:
I have an old (11 yes) 70lbs dog that has run of the house when we're not there and a two year old 75 lbs pup who gets locked in a pen in the backroom/workshop. So motion sensors are out for now. Younger guy will likely always be crated/penned when we're not home, so after the old man passes motion sensors might be viable.

My wife is only borderline on board with this and thinks cameras are creepy, so I'll have at most one to two interior cameras, and they'd only be in the gun room.

A CO and smoke detector (s) that will notify us of an issue when we're not home are a big selling point for my wife; she had a co-worker who lost her house and dogs to a fire a couple years back.

My house is a ranch with a lot of windows, and we leave a lot of doors closed a lot of the time. Not sure how to best deal with that as far as acoustic glass break sensors vs individual window sensors.

My dad suggested Simplisafe and a buddy Cove.

Thoughts?

Thanks.

I just setup the ring alarm system and have had it running for a couple weeks now and it has been great so far. Not using the professional monitoring aspect yet but it’s always an option for $10 month no contract which seems to be the cheapest out of most of the systems.

The unit has a built in cell backup that works without the pro monitoring so if your WiFi goes out it still works. I’m just using it for push notifications to my phone. Has a number of sensors such as contact, motion, they just came out with smoke\carbon monoxide, water\freeze.

All the sensors run on batteries so theres no professional installation required.

It is really easy to put in a DIY system that is equivalent to a commercial UL rated system, no simpli safe  Not a fan, proprietary, one size fits all sensors, monthly fee crap.

Build around a Honeywell Vista 20P or similar, it is not hard, and not expensive. You can self monitor or pay if you just want to spend money.

Here is an overview to get you familiar with a real alarm system;



Bare bones system, just add a few sensors.

In for info.

I like the 2GIG GC3 panel and Honeywell 5800 series sensors.  If you are handy and don’t mind doing some research it is completely doable.

I highly recommend suretyhome.com (no affiliation other than being a customer) for their forum. They have a wealth of info on the 2GIG systems and I also use them for monitoring.  Low prices, excellent forum based customer service, and NO CONTRACT.  Anyone who tells you to sign a contract for monitoring is hosing you.  Period.

I find that you can get the sensors and, in some cases, even the panel on eBay for cheaper than most other places.

I've used the SimpliSafe system for several years, and I'm pleased with it.

Yes I'm sure a person can read up on alarms, buy components, and install their own for less money and a better result.  But does a person want to spend the time and effort on this, compared to something else?  It's like AR's - a person asks about what AR to buy and people say "just build your own, wait just buy a stripped lower, watch this video on how to install all the parts, wait just buy a 80% lower and drill it out yourself, it's not that hard, etc".  Meanwhile the person just wants to buy something and shoot it, not spend hours figuring it all out.

The SS system is all wireless, so installation is easy.  It has glass break sensors that would help alert you to a break in, since you can't use motion detectors.  It has a fire alarm sensors, a water leak sensor to install around a hot water heater to let you know if it leaks and starts to flood, and a freeze sensor if you want that too.

They sell cameras for 100 bucks, and they allow you to see what's going on via your phone. There's some storage plan they offer for video, which I've not signed up for, as I figure it makes about 0 difference to get a video shot of some burglar.  It's about like asking the cops if they're going to dust to prints after a break in - yeah right.

I've had a few equipment issues over the years, that SS has replaced free of charge - like one of the alarms stopped working - they sent me a brand new one.

Monitoring is 15 bucks a month, with no contract.  The few times my system has had alerts (couple of times with my cats and the motion detectors, couple of accidental hits on the panic button on the keychain remote), they've called me right away to ask if things are OK, and if they haven't been able to contract me, they've called the police.  So the monitoring system works well.

In short, if you don't want to spend time learning about alarms instead of other things, the SS system is a good system to get.

Recently installed a SimpliSafe system and so far I am very happy with it.  I got to build my own system and it was super easy to set up.  After many hours of research the SS system is what I thought was the best way to go.

I agree, but i recommend sensoring every entrance & every pane of glass (Full perimeter protection), also install big exterior & interior sirens. Modern wireless alarm transmitters have made installation much easier than it was in the past

SimpliSafe is OK if you want bare bones fast DIY. To use an AR-15 analogy like above;

If SimpliSafe was an AR, it would have a 20" barrel, 1/9 twist, full stock, carry handle, and you are stuck with that configuration (assumption being the components are fixed and not swap-able). Still a good rifle, still can be used for defense, hunting, target, etc, just no flexibility.

Example;

Simplisafe, wireless only, proprietary components, proprietary monitoring, one motion detector available, one entry sensor available, indoor sensors only, etc . . . .

Vs;

Honeywell, wired, wireless, or both wired/wireless components at the same time for best configuration, non-proprietary components (Bosch motion sensor no problem, Tane alarm contacts no problem), motion detectors - dozens available (indoor/outdoor, dual tech detection, short range, long range, different size pets, tamper proof, on and on), alarm contacts dozens available, (inside mount/outside mount, recessed, hidden, long range, wired, wireless, on and on), expandable power supply, self monitoring, professional monitoring similar to an unlocked phone/you can shop "carriers" for alarm monitoring or do your own free monitoring via your Smartphone.

The Vista 20P is dual partition (2 alarm systems in one), right now my alarm in the house is off/alarm in the detached shop is on. Good example, the spare bedroom with your safe, or reloading room in the basement, always on and protected from bad guys, snooping kids, etc.

SimpliSafe OK for fast and easy.  A real alarm is better for those who want flexibility and do not mind tinkering/setting up their system.

Examples of Honeywell contacts, just some of the available options shown here

Motion detector overkill but example of tri tech detector

Honeywell advanced detector

Lots of motion detectors

Attached File

I currently have the SS (3rd generation) absolutely love it. The system does have its drawbacks such as no exterior cameras, but I use ring outdoor cameras with the solar charging option with zero issues. Ring also recently came out with a security system that looks promising.