I thought about that and did ask the sales rep a couple of stupid newb questions, but they have a dim view on DIY setups and keep recommending me that I should consult an installer.
Which of course isn't helpful because I don't want it to be installed anywhere apart from a big thick plywood board in the shed.

Ok so why not setup a company and go on training g course and then apply for an account and course with them?

1. this is a side interest I do on top of studying at uni, working and private life.
2. setting up a company is costly and cumbersome here and even after setting up I would have to do a lot of bureaucratic paperwork every year. (tax papers even if I have no income, commerce chamber charges etc.)
and all of this, while I have 0 intention to ever do this professionally or commercially, just to satisfy my curiosity.

On top of all that I think in order to be registered as a company setting up alarms I would have to make a course 1.5 years long, costing around 800 quid and taking up 3 days every week. I looked it up that is the training for alarm technicians.
At least that is the straight way to setting up company related to alarms. Probably there are other ways but I'm not aware of them.
I don't have so much money for it and I don't have so much time for it.
 

Edited May 5, 201511 yr by Arf-Gef

So buy a panel and bits put it on a bench and work on it until it is right, job done end of ?

I agree, that's my plan exactly

(but I still don't know what alarm latch and pre alarm fetures mean

Alarm latch makes the led remain lit after an event. It was designed when controls were small and you couldn't always have only 1 device per circuit.

So if for example you had 2 detectors you could identify which one caused the activation. Not really used anymore

ah, okay
Thank you James