datadiffusion

Is that like the online version of Yomps and Yomping?

A brand of cooking sauce mate, you only get in it posh supermarkets like Tesco, not the Kwik Saves you brummies seem to favour. Ta. I'm not saying CCTV is worthless, far from it, but IMHO it needs to be done properly or not at all, and be properly managed. In my experience domestic setups are rarely either.

Nope, most burglaries are drug fuelled and opportunist. They will stay that way for ever, until the day an alarm-busting 'app' is released that can be used by pressing one button by the typical knuckle-grazing crim (and for the record it would not be worth any hacker or developer releasing such an app to the great unwashed, even if they could make it work). The typical burglar would not have the knowledge nor inclination to defeat even a 1980s one zone, keyswitch system Hence my usual line that CCTV is no defence at all. Police are unlikely to be interested, criminals are often of the attitude that they don't care about getting caught, a couple of hours in the nick at worst and it just gets added to the long list they are already on probation for. CCTV will only confirm that the window is smashed and the TV is missing. You will find this out from coming home and seeing it with your own eyes. An alarm will alert you to the fact at the exact moment (if installed correctly) and may add to the mix of uncertainty for the criminal with sirens going etc... A decent looking (i.e. not plain white from Newlec) bellbox is 100% more a deterrent than CCTV IMHO.

Agree, and this will be a major stumbling block to anyone trying to 'DIY it. However, I'm not sure it will explode if you don't set that combination of dip switches within a month of installation, but I know it can get very hot, and several have caught fire; thankfully they have been in installations that included Nest Sprinkler, as it happens.

Like everything though, fine as long as it doesn't next go wrong at 3AM whilst you're on holiday. Having seen how poor the design is, what will you do to stop water getting in again? We don't advocate violence on this forum so a Senior H&S / Legal Compliance Mod removed it.

Any SAB siren will be compatible. It's really up to you which one you like the look of most.

Yeah, that's what you call a 'post design modification', oh dear Honeywell, ffs!

Is that why you've always got at least 4 in the shed for rush jobs?

Bottom two pictures definately have issues with water damage. Bin. Personally I would buy quality sirens like Texecom. Elmdene etc... where the electronics are enclosed.

Guessing that was at least 2-3 years ago?

Nah, they just tell you that. Believe me, they will sell it to anyone, as long as you tell them the magic phrase 'have applied for' or even 'am thinking about' SSAIB/NSI

When its 6 years later and you've spent £700 just as the company goes TU, you'll wish you'd spent the money on something more sustainable TBH. If you are small, there is no need to spend megabucks; you're using BASE so for forms Word is probably more than adequate at this stage. However, automation is important if it's just you, but the online forms thing I can't imagine isn't available for free?

Nope. I have a skeleton NHS contract, which was the problem. I didn't want to give it up as they would never hand it out again, I would not be able to keep up my professional competencies (easily) without it, and it would be a ticket back to work if I was ever unable to trade or install for whatever reason.

A slightly more helpful take on it than mine and 100% true. Hope it went well I applied for NSI Silver not long ago and can only say they were very helpful and were quite pleased with my documentation. The kicker was that they wouldn't allow me to be approved as a OMB if I didn't give up my NHS contract, which I never will so that's the end of that

Yeah that's the impression I get, forget everything you know other than how to wire a detector and start from scratch, product knowledge wise... I also find with a lot of these places, that because the market is slightly 'behind' in terms of demand (the UK is reasonably unique in having a large, professionally installed domestic alarm market IMHO) that the types of work and company types will probably be quite different too. When the domestic market does catch up of course, it will go straight to wireless & be DIY or at best non-specialist handyman type installers.

Going by some of the 'approved' shite I've seen out there you have very little to worry about...

Yup

Yep when it comes to flush I still rate elmdene better than Knight, who I use for everything else.

Something like a Honeywell AG6

Yes really, and when isolated and being that the house is being refurbished (so no powerline which is the worst offender) as I've done it can't be knocked (literally). The billy bonus being I got truckloads of the stuff, all new and unopened, for buttons. Same with home hifi. The discontinued Richer Sounds 'Incognitio' system (aka Opus) offers 6 channels over Cat5 wiring, well, I got the main boxes / PSUs cheap as chips + spares, the room controls were being sold off for buttons as they were the tabletop versions. And what is the tabletop version? It's a wall mounting version in a custom made table box. Unscrew controller from custom box, bin custom box and you have a £100 item for £10! Yes it's well 'analogue' and slightly old fashioned but it's simple and that's the key. Each room can choose one of 6 channels, for 3 of them that's radio from a fixed tuner in the main cupboard, 4th is my (actual vinyl) jukebox, 5th a bluetooth rx with a modified antenna so it covers the house... Best of all it works with any speakers you want to just reused my half decent Yamahas. No need to spend silly money or suffer tinny little pc type speakers.

Don't laugh but I'm doing our home using X10, simply because I have enough filters to effectively keep the lights electrically segregated from everything else (the USB controller is on the lighting circuit via a fused spur, too), it's cheap, I have an RF > Network gateway and an RF touch screen. I've even just managed to find an X10 > 1-10V dimmer from the US. What's not to like?

Usually, but not if it's one of those thermal master jobbies, the big white ones that run at mains pressure, they're pretty efficient & cool outside. I still wouldn't myself, though.

Agreed texe are a PIA to prog via keypad for a 'casual' user, UDL worth it's weight in gold with them.

Again, the 9651 manual actually lays it out very nicely and explains everything. Start there and then progress to bigger UDL type panels. It's not rocket science but the two intruder alarm textbooks that apply to the UK are pretty out of date.

As above buy a scanny 9651 or similar off ebay and play with it...