My GF has been in her new house only 6 months and she was burglarized on monday! They took a $1k digital camera,a flat screen computer monitor,and a couple hundred dollars in quarters.                                        Any advice on looking into a home security sytem? She's also looking into purchasing a handgun,i'm pushing towards a Springfield XD model in 9mm.

Here is a good place to start....
[url]http://www.championsafe.com/pages/products/index.html[/url]

[url]http://www.adt.com/divisions/residential/index.cfm[/url]

When in doubt

[img]http://www.petgroomer.com/BREEDS/bullmastiff.jpg[/img]  

Radionics RULES !

Find a local dealer:
[url]www.radionicsinc.com[/url]

[img]http://web-comm.com/ool/DSCN0010.jpg[/img]

Slick looking alpha-keypads too:
[img]http://cedargrovepolice.com/rbad/016.jpg[/img]

If you want a do-it-yourself kit try [url]www.ademco.com[/url]



This thing is fricken awesome.  I am waiting for my distributor to get them in stock.

[url]www.ademco.com/ademco/products/keypads/Symphony.htm[/url]

You obviously need a trained attack cat!

I don't have a recommendation on a particular system, since they are all made by the same 1 or 2 companies, and everyone just puts their label on them.

The $99 specials they show on TV are a good way to start, but they usually only include a cheap model controller, 2 contacts for the door and perhaps a motion detector. You will need more than that. Contacts for all windows/doors on the 1st floor and basement (including windows and bulkhead if applicable). A motion detector or two for the large rooms, expecially rooms that provide access to other areas of the house. My house has one main room which all other rooms and halls feed off, so motion detector in that room effectively protects the entire house.

Although you may have contacts on all the windows/doors, a second or backup level is served by the motion detector. Although the system and all contacts should be tested regularly, no one ever does it, so if you have a bad contact, the motion detector will act as a backup.

Make sure the control panel has a backup power supply or battery at a minimum. It will provide a few hours of backup in the case of a power failure. You can extend this backup by buying a small/cheap computer UPS system for about $50-100 and plug the control panel into it. The panel draws very little power, so even a small UPS will provide power for an additional 1-2 days. It also provides protection from power surges. If you add the UPS system, do not think that you can forgo the cost of the built in battery backup in the alarm system. Most alarm systems have circuitry to check the condition of the battery. As the battery is discharged, the alarm controller senses this and places a call to the alarm company and sends a power failure alarm. The alarm controller can not detect the condition of the battery in the UPS system, so you will loose this feature if you do not get the built in battery. The way it would work is the power fails, and the alarm system works of the UPS, not even detecting the power failure. Once the UPS is exhausted, the alarm runs on the built in battery. If the outage is long enough and the battery is drained, it will place a 'dieing breath' call to the alarm company just before it's battery is exhausted.

Make sure the alarm system supports both pulse and tone dialing. I ran into this problem when the local phone company stopped supporting rotary dialing and my system couldn't do tone dialing and had to be replaced. Also, the alarm system can be taken with you if you move, and depending on where you are, you may not have the option of what type dialing service you have. Many small/rural areas still only have rotary dialing. There is not cost for this feature, if you think it may be a problem, make sure to ask to see if the system supports both methods.

IMHO, the wireless systems suck. The transmitters that are mounted on each window/door are larger than the wired contacts. They are also more expensive, and you have to worry about replacing their batteries. I just don't think they are worth it, except in special cases.

Make sure that the cost of the system includes installation. This is usually the biggest cost of purchasing the system (except for monthly charges). If the installer is good (make sure he is, before you let them start drilling holes in you house). Get details on exactly how they are going to install each contact and how they will run the wires and make sure it suits you.

Consider calling the phone company, unless you have underground/buried telephone wires. Crooks are now making it a practice to cut the phone lines before breaking into a house. Ask the phone company to move the interface on the outside of the house to the peak of the house and running a cable from the new location. This will make it more difficult for your lines to be cut. You could do this yourself if you are so inclined.

Monthly monitoring costs run $20-30/month. If you pay yearly, you can get a 10-20% discount.

Oh, yeah! Remember to clean the keys on the keypad at least once a year. The oil/dirt on your fingers build up on the keys and someone can use the traces of dirt to determine what the 4 numbers of your keycode is. If the build up is sufficient enough, you can even determine the exact code by the amount of dirt on each key, the first digit having the heavier deposit of dirt and the 4th digit have less.

thanx neilfj,good points to consider! i'll print this and hand it over to her.

I went to A & E Home Security (http://www.aesecurity.com/) and ordered my own kit.  I done busness with them for over 7 years.  They guy that owns the company is real honest and helpful.  His prices are very good.  Some things may be high, but a majority of his stock is much lower than you can get else where.  If something goes wrong, he stands behind the product and will make it right.

I started with a 16 zone hardwire system, with just one horn in a kit.  I went with all hidden switches and passive IR detectors.  Later, I added, smoke and fire for minimal cost.  Then, I added more keypads.  Then, I added several wireless sensors.  Over the course of 7 years every door, every window and every hallway in my home has a sensor of some type.  Next, I'm adding outdoor video.

In addition to a standard home security system Or If you cannot afford a whole house system. Ether way I would say you might want to buy several Motion detecting flood lights to install all around the house/Property. If you had a system of lights that covered the entire exterior of your house You would illuminate a perp every time he got near the house. This may make him a little uneasy on attacking a house. And to boot I think they are great because when walking around the house or place at nite Its nice to have an area lit up as you walk into it without searching for a damn light switch.
If you really want to get into it If you have a underground sprinkler system In a place that wont freeze the pipes you could rig that to your flood lights so when the lights go on your whole yard gets a bath. This should make someone real suspicious and It would help get rodents or wild animals off your damn lawn at night.

My only advice is; make sure you have every window wired with a sensor (people like to try and save $10 or $20 by not wiring the bathroom window.)
Get glass break sensors. Those sensors on the windows don't do shit if they break a window... This goes double if you have sliding glass doors/glass french doors.
Oh and don't be cheap, have the thing monitored.
There are other things to do as well, lights inside on timers is a good start.