Burglar Alarm Signalling

There are essentially two parts to a burglar alarm system; the first is the equipment that is used to detect the presence of an intruder.

Traditionally this has consisted of movement detectors, door contacts, vibration sensors and panic buttons wired back to an alarm panel which if activated would ring a bell on the front elevation of the property.

The failing of traditional systems is that they generally only inform you that the break in has happened and, unless you have very good neighbours, the alarm bell will not attract any help. Due to advances in technology we can now design burglar alarm systems that can pick up the intruder before they have broken in.

We can now incorporate underground acoustic or electromagnetic detection, active infra red beams and specialist external sensors. This is a major step forward in personal security as well as for the protection of commercial sites.

The second part of the burglar alarm system is signalling; essentially who do we notify and how. This starts with the traditional alarm bell and strobe which, even though it may not attract any help, may scare away or deter the opportunist thief.

More often than not even a basic burglar alarm will now be fitted with a text or speech dialler which can contact your mobile telephone not only to acquaint you with the fact that the system has been triggered, but also to transmit useful information that a child has got home safely, a key holder has entered your office or that the cleaner has left early!

We really can monitor just about anything, from freezer temperature, telephone exchanges to the basic activation of a burglar alarm.

These systems are often controlled by the client who can send various alarm signals to different numbers. They can not however be used to request the attendance of the police although we can arrange for a key holder service to attend site for you. Also whilst your building is unoccupied or you are away from your house on holiday we can arrange home and business watch patrols.

Keyways, Altrincham can connect your home or business to an accredited Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) who, after receiving a verified alarm, will request your local police force to attend site. Police response, as this is known as, is often a requirement of insurers when they are looking at larger domestic properties and nearly all commercial properties.

The most basic burglar alarm device that will communicate with an Alarm Receiving Centre is a digital communicator which is best thought of as a telephone call that transmits a digital message, as anything that would prevent a telephone call from getting through will also prevent the digital communicator's signal from reaching the Alarm Receiving Centre.

The advantage, however, is that they are cheap to install and operate and many households have them installed so that they have the peace of mind that should they have cause to press their panic button they will have a police response.

The upgrade from a digital communicator is Redcare which is essentially very similar only it now also monitors the telephone line so that the Alarm Receiving Centre will know if the telephone line has been cut.

With the advent of the new police policies that requires essentially two separate activations on a burglar alarm system to verify that it is a real alarm and not a false alarm prior to police dispatch, it is now recommended to have a secondary means of signalling.

This is because, although the Alarm Receiving Centre will be informed by Redcare that the line has been cut, there is no longer a possibility of a second activation and therefore the police cannot be called out.

By having a secondary means of communication, any additional alarm signals will be transmitted to the Alarm Receiving Centre to verify the alarm. This secondary means of signalling is usually done via the cellular radio network (GSM or GPRS) however for some organisations Local Area Network devices are acceptable.

The two leading burglar alarm products in this field are Redcare GSM and Dualcom GPRS, both of which are available and are specified where appropriate.