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20 hours ago, MrHappy said:

 

You in "education" every day of the week ? 

 

Yep, sadly, Monday to Friday, why?

19 hours ago, datadiffusion said:

We used to have a 1930s brick built substation opposite our house, entrance was down a lane so about once a year getting broken open by yobs, wooden doors with a Yale lock. It was usually us that would call the old bill as the woman whos actual garden it was in was deaf as a doorpost.

 

Once I had a look after it had been busted open, the funny thing was it wasn't obvious where the cable for the service head supplying the light, socket and alarm was coming from! It had a beige single zone Keyswitch alarm, large internal Friedland master bell only, keyswitch looked like a Yale too, makes sense. By the time we moved a bt pole appeared in the lane so I assume it was wired for either remote diagnostics, alarm comms, or both...

 

Wow. It must have been easy to disable, bring key switch. It would be worrying to hear the bell sound in the middle of the night, knowing someone is risking their life to steal copper. I'd love an old keyswitch panel  Really retro. 

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29 minutes ago, al-yeti said:

Have actually installed your own system yet? Choose a manufacturer first , easy of the shelf like texecom with a com wi-fi and the whole shabang which will confuse you proper , then once that's all sorted do some amongst locals

 

I haven't no, however, when I turn 20, and finish education, it is something I'd love to do  Ho do you go about getting NSI Approved? 

 

29 minutes ago, MrHappy said:

 

I was just an unlucky *******....

 

Can't be that bad, surely?  

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32 minutes ago, MrHappy said:

 

write to Jim'll Fix, television centre London ?

 

 

Hmm, not too sure that's a good idea, Best just research online, how did you get into the security business? Installing alarms, and all of that. 

 

20 minutes ago, andy™ said:

 

make sure you get the 230/400v end of the transformer for its supply, the 11kv side lets the smoke out

 

Ha, it does indeed. Would be amusing to see it smoking, though. 

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4 minutes ago, MrHappy said:

 

A brick shed with an accenta... you not fancy doing proper alarms ?

 

I would love to do that, but where do I start? How do I get into the security world?    

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30 minutes ago, al-yeti said:

Thing is you have to be an experienced house blagging basher like me to get it right, but then we cant all be pros 

 

Maybe they will sign here one day a learn from experience what you think? 

 

I guess that is true. I'd like to be an engineer for a company like Northern Power Grid, installing alarm in substations, no worry of wires there. 

 

I think they may do  

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29 minutes ago, al-yeti said:

Well there are some alarm monkeys who forget to caulk stuff up keep an "eye" out for them

 

Will do, that isn't god service at all, there should be no wires visible, unless there is trunking around, or it is impossible to hide it well. 

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Ha, well, alarms a good fun to mess around with, but I don't think I cold do it as a serious job. There is a lot of responsibility, making sure you don't ruin someone's decor , and make sure it is all done perfectly. 

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38 minutes ago, MrHappy said:

 

no I think they copied gardtec idea / design

 

Shame. When I was like 7 I got a Ventcroft Compact, and first thing I did was give myself an electric shock on the xenon strobe! Clever me  They are quite small compared to other boxes too. 

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23 minutes ago, norman said:

Next to the pile of Security Installer mags and crusty sock? 

 

Yep, probably, and a few other bits and bobs, mainly alarm panel circuit boards, got an ADE Ultimate board under there, some were. I'd love some old security magazines from the 90s, showing off all of the alarm equipment. 

 

19 minutes ago, MrHappy said:

The litlle red ni cad battery cover was a ventcroft thing.... however the pcb in a little clear box was done by Gardtec from the early 90's

 

You learn something new every day  So, that little board, and the awful sound it can produce is actually Gardtec? One thing I don't like about Ventcrofts is the fact that they only have a screw tamper, no back tamper. 

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8 minutes ago, MrHappy said:

could you find me a smaller pic to compare....

 

LOL! It was the only one on Google, sorry. Mine is all the way under my bed too, so it wouldn't be worth me getting it out. They all look like the Ventcroft ones, In My Opinion. Either way, they're all good, Ventcroft products are excellent.   

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16 minutes ago, MrHappy said:

 

the last castle box was a euro siren-

 

 

the plastic covered bell module looks "gardtec" to me ?

 

9 minutes ago, MrHappy said:

hang on we've done this before-

 

 

older banham sounder with gartec module...

 

 

Both of those bell modules are definitely Ventcroft, look identical 

 

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5 minutes ago, MrHappy said:

 

-

 

 

 

 

 

And so I stand corrected!  strange that. Were they always made by Pyronix? I could swear I saw one on eBay, which had Ventcroft guts in it, with the piezo cover saying 'VENTCROFT' either way, it's a bell box and it does a job. Were the Castle Care Tech ones made by Ventcroft? The insides of them also look very similar to Ventcroft. 

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1 hour ago, datadiffusion said:

 

Ah right, wise decision, I actually saw a blue triangle (totally inappropriate which is why I noticed) go up on a listed cottage in the posh valleys between WsM and Bath - it looked brand new, I assumed it was an ebay special. Perhaps not then...

 

I forgot about Banham, I don't know why but I assumed they'd been bought out as the last time I was in London I saw their old office, still engraved 'Banham House', was very recently turned into some hipster playground / flats. I guess they just moved...

http://www.banham.co.uk/burglar-alarms/

 

 

The usual of course, money!

I like those Chubb boxes. We've just had a dip in the power, and every alarm on my street, but the one of my house has gone off. Most are the older CQR style with a siren in them, all making the same sound, They all desperately need batteries in them! 

 

I like those Banham boxes, especially the black ones, with the golden logo on, very good looking. I think they are actually Ventcroft, though. 

 

What a shame. I guess sit is better changing your bell box than going bust. 

 

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43 minutes ago, datadiffusion said:

 

I'd say they are pretty good - it's all much of a muchness now with the biggest driver away from 'other peoples bells on someone elses controls' being wireless boxes that are tied into the system manufacturer. Risco are an example of a manufacturer whos boxes are often still used by those that wouldn't touch their actual alarm kit in years, but these days you still have Pyronix, Texecom, Eaton have just launched a unified Wired and Wireless design exclusive to them, after re-selling the Quartz for years as their wired bell, an in house item for wireless). Even Orisec seem to be doing their own bell. Honeywell are still knocking them out but don't offer any kind of colour range nor screenprinting, they really are targeted for DIY / sparky special / builders jobs.

 

I use the Quartz as it's well made, has been recently updated for LED strobe and other improvements, and even though it was never very popular absolutely no-one else round here uses them any more; certainly in the South West (OCS, Ambit and another facilities co. whose name I forget were the biggest, both have moved on)

 

As far as I know, ADT are the last ones with their own genuinely exclusive bellbox, and even they don't seem to use it on every job any more.

 

Chubb now use the Initial bell, which AFAIK isn't really an exclusive as such, it's just that Aritech won't sell it to anyone else in the UK (but it's widely available elsewhere). A bit like the last ever Chubb triangle box was available in plain red elsewhere in the EU, other than the UK.

 

All the rest - even the mightly Abel, have drifted to Pyronix lightboxes.

 

It's a bland world out there

 

I see. Just the compatibility of alarms. It is good in a way that they are all standard and that they all work together.  I personally find that wireless alarms are unreliable, and just get forgotten about, so they no longer work, especially the bell boxes. The solar powered ones aren't ideal either, since they never actually get placed in the sun, and people don't change the SLA batteries in them, either. 

 

That is a good choice, a local company, AWM here use the Quartz, with an orange strobe. It is good to have a bell box from the 'standard' ones you see installed, like the horrible AG6 and Kinetic AZ-TEC

boxes. 

 

I see. It must be very exclusive to have a bell made for your company, like ADT do. If I ever had a company, I would want my own bell, something that no one else has, just so it stands out from the crowd. 

 

I like those Aritech boxes. I wonder why they aren't sold to anyone else in the UK, I'd quite like one, just for the sake of having one. I hope Chubb still install those blue triangles, they look really good, especially the newer ones. 

 

That is a real shame, why did they change, do you know? They looked so nice, lit up blue and red with a shiny chrome body! 

 

It indeed is a very bland world, shame really, even making your own bell box, you could add a personal touch to the thing, something which can't be done now. 

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2 hours ago, MrHappy said:

Building a bell box is 10mins work (if your slow)

 

Rather than make anything I'd rather pay someone else to do it...

 

I guess it is better to have it done, but I just like the idea of knowing what you are doing could potentially save your house, and possessions. I may get one of these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alarm-Bell-Boxes-Sounders-Yellow-/252434247026?hash=item3ac640ed72:g:8yoAAMXQxU9SCiA2 Do they look authentic 80s/90s boxes? 

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2 hours ago, datadiffusion said:

Elmdene Quartz (plebs)

 

Elmdene Rapier (rich poshos)

 

I see. I quite like the Rapier, good looking bell box, I'd have one on my home, however, I'm not a rich posho  I would actually find it fun to build one, using dummy housings, and my DIY SAB bell modules, that would be a fun thing to do. Elmdene make the best bell boxes, I'm guessing..  

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9 hours ago, norman said:

No, they were ****.

 

8 hours ago, datadiffusion said:

Didn't we have someone on here the other day with a drowned Reson8?

 

Wow, there is me thinking they were good for some reason. I thought that they were, because they cost twice the price of a Reson8 bell box. For £10 less than this bell box, you could have a Ventcroft Compact Classic, much better value, and smaller. As professionals, what bell boxes do you like the most, and install? I think for me it is the Novagard, with its comfort LEDs brighter than the strobe. 

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Not very good, especially if it has a thatched roof! I think the Sonade had potential, if they just hid the circuitry inside of a plastic box, inside the bell box. What's worse is they haven't learned from their mistakes, as the Reson8 is just like the Sonade inside, nothing protecting the circuitry, but a conformal coating on the board. Do you have any clue where I could get an SAB bell module? 

4 minutes ago, MrHappy said:

Don't think it was ADE but a co's sent a mail shot to every house in the UK (1995ish) as there sounder(s) had started fires

 

2 minutes ago, norman said:

No, it was Lyntec (sp)

I always thought they were good bell boxes. They are very load, and have a good quality Ni-Cad battery on board, as I hear every time there is a power cut, it can easily go for 45 minutes, none stop! 

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3 minutes ago, datadiffusion said:

Wasn't that the box where they had to send out 'waterproofing kits'?

 

Yep, here are the instructions for it  

3 minutes ago, james.wilson said:

I preffered the fire proofing kits of the older one

there was pictures would be an Instagram meltdown today....

 

Did the older ones catch fire? 

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5 minutes ago, MrHappy said:

 

so they didn't buy any thing decent...

I guess not, although the Accenta 8 was good. The Sonades on the other had aren't so good, I have a few in my collection, I bet they were very cheap bell boxes, like the majority of ADEs equipment  

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1 minute ago, datadiffusion said:

 

They were still listed in a 1998 Gardiner catalogue - the last time I saw then IIRC. About £4 for a polycarb lid (only) AFAIK.

I think by then polyprop wasn't being made anymore, although crappy home catalogues like my gran used to get spammed

featured these styles of dummy boxes well into the mid 2000s. They probably bought all the remaining stock...

 I wonder how many still brand new old CQR bell boxes are around, in stock rooms, and garages. My Granddad was a security engineer for Northern Electric, installing alarm in substations, in his garage he still has about 23 or so Sonade 2000 bell boxes, and lots of Accenta 8s. Weren't the Polyprop ones the ones which warped and lost their colour? £$ is a bargain, I'd but many coveres, and 3D print back plates  

 

14 minutes ago, james.wilson said:

I used to build ss ones and cqr tombstones

both with viper v-foam, castle sab modules, horns I assume kenetic, hilclaire combined strobe and led. Finished with a bit of RS pluggable connector block so the lid could be removed.

I was 13 lol, the hard bit so you didn't get a bollocking was no bubbles or fingerprints on the stickers 

the rest was piss easy.

 

Sounds fun, my first bell box was a Ventcroft Compact, very nice little bell box, seems to be the loudest bell box I have, or maybe that is just the horrible alarm tone it has. I would like a few bell modules, I bet they are very hard to find these days. 

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15 minutes ago, datadiffusion said:

 

The likes of Advantage were still pumping them out until late 90s as kits, but like Mr H says even the guys that installed my parents 9800 in 1991 used an Elmdene Prima

 

I see. Well, I guess I'll just have to use the bulging, grey cover that I have now. Just thought I could give it a new lease of life. How much roughly did a CQR bell box housing cost? Could you get them pre-built too? Or were they all in separate bits?  I like the Prima, nice bell box. 

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MrHappy I guess so, thanks for the replies. I was just curious, since I quite like them. Has anyone taken one down recently? I have just got a brand new Castle Care Tech SAB module, and Lynteck siren with the hopes of being able to build one, like was done back in the 80s/90s. datadiffusion Those little Micromark kits are funny, but they aren't full sized, the boxes are surprisingly small

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Has anyone recently removed a CQR style bell box, or just the cover? I was just curious, because I have a CQR box with 4 vents either side of the box, however, it is the polypropylene version that turns grey, flaky and is bulging at the sides. Looks a bit like this: https://burglaralarmbritain.wordpress.com/2016/02/27/intruder-alarm-wells-2015/ If anyone has a cover which is still in good shape and doesn't mind parting with it, could you send me it? I'd pay for postage... of course. I have the back plate, just not a nice cover. It could be any colour, I don't mind, and after all, beggers cannot be choosers!  Preferably one of the polycarbonate ones, like ths: https://burglaralarmbritain.wordpress.com/2016/01/12/fairfield-security-systems-cardiff-2012-2/

 

Thanks in advance 

[Help Wiring Novagard 2 bell box]

Got it working!!

 

Thanks for the great advice, I seem to have got it working, it is an engineer test feature only available at power up, it now sounds for longer than 4 seconds, so I am happy!  Very good bell box, I recommend a Novagard alarm bell box, very well built, and amazing waterproofing, with rally bright comfort LEDs.