Wireless Backup to Phone lIne Alarm System

[bigleo48]

Hey Guys,

A friend with a wash got broken into last week. They cut the phone line, so the alarm system could not report back.

I can get a wireless backup for $20 plus $300 install fee. Have any of you purchased cellular modems yourselves and just hooked them up? If so can you provide details?

Thanks...BigLeo

 

[mjwalsh]

Big Leo,

Way back in the 1970s, we had envisioned the exact awful scenario that occurred to your friend. The alarm company we were using did not have a true fail safe supervised system. We solved the problem over 25 years ago but our solution involves making sure that other lines are in the cable that the criminal could cut.

You are looking for a wireless solution so here are my thoughts.

It seems like to have it 100% supervised remotely located computer(s) with a specific program running would be needed. The program would be constantly monitoring the interaction from the cellular modem via IP/TCP to all the remotely located computer(s). The program would also send a text message or special ring tone to one or more cell phones. The computer & cell phones would be used for other things so the odds are they would not be down but I know from our Internet Kiosk experience there is such a thing as a watchdog device that will reboot if necessary upon sensing a down situation.

If we don't get too tangled up in our unfinished projects---- that cell modem based key program is hopefully one of our next projects. I do have someone available to me who has proven himself to have written similar programs to interact with cell technology so Good Lord Willing it will happen. If a better or the same approach is available right now off the shelf for a within range price tag we definitely would be interested in it.

 

[Jim L.]

I recently had my security company add a wireless backup (radio) to my monitoring system. My monthly monitoring service went up $18/mo.

 

[mjwalsh]

JimL,

If some gang member scrambles both your regular radio & the backup radio do you have something alerting some cell phones that the connection is actually down? That is the point I wanted to make & showing how alerts should be made as fool proof as possible. Remember the guy who cut the cable was probably worse & more savvy than just a dumb criminal. A guy in the Fargo area several years back who was cutting cables to burglarize turned out to be someone with a lot more advanced electronics knowledge than most of us. John from Whale a Wash might remember him. The new articles at the time unraveled the whole story when the guy was finally caught.

 

[jprb]

We had our phone lines installed underground to the inside of the equipment room. The junction box is inside, also. The lines are not accessible outside, preventing this problem until they get into the equipment room.

JPRB

 

[Louise]

This happened to me, too. I mistakenly thought that if the phone line was cut that in itself would signal the alarm company. WRONG!!!!

I pay an extra $15/month for cell back up and negotiated the install price down from $300 to $200.

I sleep much better at night.

 

[Jim L.]

Mjwalsh,

The primary way the security company does its monitoring is through a telephone line. The radio is there only as a backup. If any part of the system goes down, the security company gets an alert.

 

[Earl Weiss]

about 20 years ago we opened and the phone was dead. Called the phone company for a repair. A couple of hours later the tenant came to open the 4 bay auto repair shop. All the tools had been cleaned out. They had cut the phone lines Come ina nd quickly disbled the audible alarm. They closed th doors when they left, so we did not realize therehad been a break in.

Then we got a radio back up.

 

[mac]

Here's another solution. http://www.stopthecrime.com/default.htm I really love this idea, I would just be a little careful with it though.

 

[Whale of a Wash]

The hack in our town that tried to disable a company's alarm -went to the underground cable in a manhole with a concrete chop saw, he disabled half the town , but the company he tried to disable was in a different hole. The press portrayed him as smart, No (mission Impossible} guy there, he was caught fairly quick. I put the DVR's on computer power supply backups, give about an half hour of power and keeps spikes out of the system. Remember most are smash and grab, any delay is good.

 

[pitzerwm]

99.9% are dumb as post and don't have the brain power to cut the phone lines, but for the money it is worth the piece of mind. In the old days before the wireless, I added a fake phone line and added wiring to the real one so that if either was cut the alarm was screaming, always used a gaint siren, not these little things they give you now. Usually you could hear mine 5 blocks away. Cops and people showed up when it went off. Of course false alarms were a pain, but it spread the word to the low lifes that I wasn't an easy mark.

 

[bigleo48]

Thanks guys,

I am very familar with how it works (from a Telecom/Wireless Background). This already exists and so I was just wondering what worked for you guys?

One of the benifits I have is that my cable pairs also carry a dedicated circuit to a Bank owned ATM, so if the cable is cut, then alarm bells go off.

My alarm system will go off after 30 second loss of -48VDC (telephone power). But that only works within ear shot.

The alarm company's wireless solution is not cellular. They use their own network and wireless signals are wideband CDMA...so in the noise floor and very wide... therefore difficult to jam.

I'm just wondering how paranoid I need to get.

 

[bigleo48]

We had our phone lines installed underground to the inside of the equipment room. The junction box is inside, also. The lines are not accessible outside, preventing this problem until they get into the equipment room.

jprb,

There are two ends to that wire. I too have it underground, but it needs to pop up at a pedestal or pole. That's where they cut it. If it went to a manhole, that could would work, but they don't do it that way.

BigLeo

 

[ECCW]

I had a guy cut my phone line. Watched him do it on the cameras.
We ran the phone line through the back of the j box and put a fake line
In where the original was and wired it to my door switch. My alarm company
Installed a module that would signal them if the phone line was disconnected
At no charge.