jkno

I completely agree with you, it's a single story detached garage so anything in there is accessible and easy to disable. I had the soundbomb left over from years ago so it didn't hurt to stick it in a corner to throw out 112db at the same time as the main sounder. It would take seconds to disable but it's also a distraction/unexpected to a would be intruder.

This is the bit where I'm struggling. Mimic is perfect in terms of the scenario (and it would be easy to trigger a physical output), but I can't work out how to turn the Mimic into a reported com via the COM-IP/ARC (Configured using SIA codes). Without the 24 hour or using AreaB (separate arm/disarm) I can't figure out how to get the alarm to communicate zone active.

It’s been expanded, had panel/sounder battery replacements and a new PSU over the years but that’s part of general maintenance. I just haven’t touched the com-ip since. The sound bomb is pretty pathetic but to create a decent amount of deterring noise inside a small space (garage) while the main sounder is doing it’s job, it’s one more thing to deter; a master blaster is overkill for this and it would be me or the other half that would be on the end of it than a would be thief. I’ve not seen any alternatives such as a mini sounder. The sound bomb is on one of the outputs. For the config I’m looking at it’s purely notification of the garage being opened when we’re in the house and the alarm is unset. The ideal/long term is a roller shutter door, set the garage to Area B and use an output to prevent the door being opened without unsetting the alarm to prevent FA. But for now, just knowing the sensors has been triggered beyond chime is the next best option.

I’ll need to check in the morning how the com-ip is setup. I haven’t touched it for 9 years (it’s nice when things just work) Would zone mimic be via a custom output? I’ve got system outputs configured for sound bombs and I’m confident on the general premise. It’s getting a distinguishable message sent when it’s activated that I’m drawing a blank.

I'm running a Texecom Premier Elite 24 that I've had installed for 9 years and it's been a brilliant setup (apart from the occasional spider induced FA or washing setting off external sensors). I'm aiming for a configuration on one of the zones that I'm not sure is possible or requires some left field thinking with the ARC notifications on the COM-IP module. The alarm is currently setup and functioning exactly as intended with push and email notifications to myself via the ARC. What I'm after is a zone active notification when the alarm is unarmed on a specific zone. The zone (garage) has a duel tech PIR: I want to be notified when the zone is activated in both an armed and unarmed state; but to only trigger the alarm itself from an armed state. I considered setting it up as Area B that is currently not in use, but I can guarantee I'd set it off by forgetting. The best I've got at the moment is enabling chime 3 on the zone. Is what I'm aiming for even possible?

I've looked at and used Montex and Texebase and need to decide whether I work with them or miss them out completely. I want to step it up a notch combining Email, SMS alert groups via a single service that makes decisions rather than having multiple COM modules performing different or the same decisions. The simplest options would be to write a simple SMTP interceptor on the application that receives the messages from Texbase but that adds more hops and points of failure into the process. Ideally you would have 1 application that handles the response from the COM module, makes the decision based of the applied rules and send the alerts. That application would also need to be monitored to ensure it's responsive for an event.

Your wireless kit looks really impressive (One of the few I would trust if wired wasn't an option). I use your wired systems in my own home and have been really impressed. Just need to sit down and write my own monitoring software for it. I don't question the integrity of the good companies out there developing wireless systems, merely they integrity of the core component hardware available with the progression of technology. You could it's a similar risk plugging any form of com device into a panel.

I completely agree with you. No DIY kit is going to compare but people buy either on price or because they offer bells and whistles not easily available in the professional market. Knowing the software and security industry pretty well it would take a hell of a lot to get me to move from wired to wireless. It wasn't all that many years ago wireless WEP encryption was seen as secure, that got hacked pretty quickly due to the ongoing development of hardware and software, WPA replaced it which also got broken, WPA2 superseded WPA which has also been broken. Nothing is forever with security it's an ongoing arms race and unfortunately some of the best people at security are on the wrong side. Some of the best systems in the world built by the best minds have been broken either by technology, a greater mind or sheer luck. We would be naive to think a grade or a EN standard protects us when they are created by people as flawed as you or I.

Smash and grab, cutting cables, cutting coms etc... are all aspects that can be designed out of a system of a location or made extremely hard (if you're willing to spend enough time, money, knowledge) again cost vs reward. No-ones going to disable a grade 3 system, cut through 10mm plate steel and drill through reinforced concrete to get a £200 TV. However as the cost comes down and you can download a tiny application and run it on consumer hardware that will essentially disarm certain alarm systems with a click of a button. With encryption what's unbreakable now becomes child's play as time passes. It sounds like some of the consumer aimed manufacturers do the bare minimum and can be bypassed with minimal effort/equipment, but the question is how advanced is the technology in the G2 systems and how long before they too become easy targets. I guess your average home is never going to become a lucrative target for high tech thefts and anything worthwhile is going to be on a higher grade system and additional security procedures.

Interesting read from cyber gibbons. However it doesn't cover the effect of technology evolving but the alarm panels remaining in place on the same technology. Un-stealable cars 5 years ago are being driven off peoples drives with a basic laptop and software download off the internet because of wireless keys. How long is it before the same is happening on homes/businesses. I guess it comes down to cost vs value. Crooks aren't going to invest huge amounts of time and money to break protocols that don't guarantee them a high return on investment.

I stumbled across this article the other day (sorry if it's already been posted/discussed) http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-07/24/home-alarm-hacking With computing technology improving at an insane rate and top of the range cars being stolen off peoples drives with nothing more than a laptop. Does anyone question the security of wireless alarm systems and the longevity of the security process in place on these systems? If BMW/Land Rover etc.. spend millions on wireless key encryption methods surely we need to question if any current wireless alarm technology will be hackable by nothing more than a 15 year old kid with a laptop with a fast GPU and internet connection in a few years?

Texecom have confirmed it's a faulty zone. Need to get a replacement board, luckily it's only 6 weeks old so should be covered under warranty. Not looking forward to taking it all apart and putting a new one in. Just glad I have all the config in Wintex.

Getting my head around the initial install took a lot of reading. I did it for the challenge with something a bit more physical/real being a programmer by trade. If I wanted a truly secure system I would always get someone in who really knows what they're doing. Plan is to setup monitoring, sms/email alerts. I mainly wanted the fire alarms monitored, I'd rather be able to react and have a neighbour/family check before a passer by sees flames/smoke coming from my home and phones the fire service. I'll try a full power down/factory reset just incase it just needs a kick when it's a more sociable hour. Sure the neighbours won't appreciate the sounder going off at this time when it picks up the panel tamper.

It's not picking up the 2.2k resistor just registering a fault with >100k oms. The zone has been "Not Active" since install so I can't say whether it ever worked, the knight contact is working 100% now it's in Zone 6. I hadn't made the decision on what contact to use on Entry 1 when I setup the system so just used Zone 2 PIR as the entry/exit on timer.

Just to remove any confusion all zones are FSL the contact circuit I want on zone 1 registers at 2.2 secure 6.9 active. As part of my investigation after ruling out any fault at the contact or circuit I remove the circuit from the zone, bridged and reprogrammed as always closed. The zone isn't registering the bridge and thinks its open/active. I'll try a 2.2 resistor just to confirm but think it will be futile because the contact circuit was confirmed with the multimeter at 2.2 and a basic bridge on always closed isn't registered meaning something isn't right on the zone.