darnit, just when I thought it was starting to get somewhat safe around my area, someone tries to break in at 4.30 in the AM. I ofcourse was up on the computer, and thought it was a dog or cat as we have tons of strays and thats the time when they normally come around and drag my garbage down the road ...

Anyway, since the hurricanes I hadnt hooked all my alarm beams back up yet, and only 2 cameras are connected. The burglar was trying to get in the back of my appartment, anyway I heard them right behind me,I thought it was a dog or cat, so I was hissing at it through the window, till I went to the other window and noticed a human body siting on the wall between the road and 10' to my appt.

Wait a sec .... I went for the Ademco Timex Alarm Audible Panic Button as I have 3 loud sirens, but darnit, none worked! havent tested the bugger since the storms! - bad 12v battery connection to start with, siren wires were bad from all the rain and coroded also.

Anyway the low life ran away as I turned on my trucks alarm remotely, and ran outside with some weapons of choice, and called 911 as they normally dont leave and are probably right this second breaking in some one elses house down the street! Yep, the Police came with guns a blazing, they even parked down the road and came up quietly, I never saw or heard them coming ... armed to the teeth - see like me, they also despise burglars.

Spent the last hour reconnecting my sirens and beams and other cameras .... darnit, cant even relax around here.. it is right now 6am. I now have all my camera monitors on and alarms armed and sirens active .. he he. And yes I was actually trying to sleep just before this happened ..

Peace and watch out for strange noises in the night :cop:
There is no room to relax as worst than this is happening in nassau every other night, keeps your eyes open, get an alarm and some cameras. Every one of these burglars need to get taken off the street, and we need to assist the police how ever we can. Im recording everything now, once again... digitally.

Glad you are OK!
I guess the lesson here is, "make sure your alarms work!" ;)

glad you ae ok rory...
my God man, you must be living what they call ghetto fabulous!

you have a security system, two cameras at least, Dogs and bars...
you have to live in a rich part of town, cause no one in the boonies have those tings mon!
and if you have those things....you live in a good area...so what are the chances of someone lurking around in that area anyways??

it just sounds circumspect!
:rolleyes:
glad your ok though!
:cool:

i live in a garage efficiency (cheap) on eastern rd. But yes generally there have not been that many issues over the past couple years, but since it is basically isolated, neighbors not that close and lots of trees, its still not that safe.

Cameras: $80 each, Alarm System, $200. not that expensive and had them a couple years now.

When I said dogs, thats stray dogs, you know the packs of dogs that roam at night in nassau ;-)

i live in a garage efficiency (cheap) on eastern rd. But yes generally there have not been that many issues over the past couple years, but since it is basically isolated, neighbors not that close and lots of trees, its still not that safe.
trees are a problem....ahem, i think you mean "bush"...
:tup:


Cameras: $80 each, Alarm System, $200. not that expensive and had them a couple years now.
well...no one wants to waste money on cameras if they have nothing important to watch...and have lunch money to dish out!
:shhh:

When I said dogs, thats stray dogs, you know the packs of dogs that roam at night in nassau ;-)

ooohhhhh..those dogs!!!
:dunce:

there is plenty to watch - CRIMINALS - and dont forget the dogs and cats come to drag the garbage around - then how about someone that comes to visit you, you can see who it is before you open the door, or look through the window.

the cameras may save your life one day, or at least catch the criminal in the act. Thats why I dont do just alarms anymore, I think they are almost useless without a camera system. I really do not install just an alarm or just a camera system anymore, it has to be both.


Bahamians can sure spend money on other stuff that is basically useless to them. Video Surveillance is never useless, unless you are living in some kind of 'real' paradise.

Bush, but mostly trees, and alot of them, we have so many fruit and spice and other kinds of bush and trees in this yards, I dont even know what they are, but people point them out to me all the time. Alot of dillie trees is all I can recognise. oh yeah and palm trees and coconut trees in the back yard by the beach.

there is plenty to watch - CRIMINALS - and dont forget the dogs and cats come to drag the garbage around - then how about someone that comes to visit you, you can see who it is before you open the door, or look through the window.

the cameras may save your life one day, or at least catch the criminal in the act. Thats why I dont do just alarms anymore, I think they are almost useless without a camera system. I really do not install just an alarm or just a camera system anymore, it has to be both.


Bahamians can sure spend money on other stuff that is basically useless to them. Video Surveillance is never useless, unless you are living in some kind of 'real' paradise.

Bush, but mostly trees, and alot of them, we have so many fruit and spice and other kinds of bush and trees in this yards, I dont even know what they are, but people point them out to me all the time. Alot of dillie trees is all I can recognise. oh yeah and palm trees and coconut trees in the back yard by the beach.

I agree. The more things like cameras and alarms one has the better. Just the sight of them will put some robbers off. I also think that one's alarm system should be monitored by a service so that when they go off they call to see what the trouble is.

Yep, its just a pity that we cant arm security response teams. Unfortunately the criminals know the police have their hands full so they take the chance and do the crime anyway. If they knew there were armed response teams that could meet them at the location faster than the police, Im sure they would think twice, or at least they would get taken off the streets.

Yep, its just a pity that we cant arm security response teams. Unfortunately the criminals know the police have their hands full so they take the chance and do the crime anyway. If they knew there were armed response teams that could meet them at the location faster than the police, Im sure they would think twice, or at least they would get taken off the streets.

When one buys an alarm system one is told how to turn it off and on and that is about it! One is seldom told what to do when the alarms go off! To many people, through experience, think it might be just another false alarm and run to turn the bells off. There is a danger in this, one might run into the bad guys! I am always slow to turn off my alarms when they ring. When I do head out to turn them off, I do so carefully taking notice of anything strange or unusual. My family has been "drilled" in what to do when the alarms sound. They stay put and lock their doors until the "all clear" is sounded. One does not need extra bodies roaming around the house at a time like that - they might get shot! Anymore ideas Rory?

Depends on the scenario and what alarms they are.

CAMERAS - If they are in the yard, such as Yard Beams, or even if it is an exterior door, or window, its good to have cameras around your home, which you can switch to on any TV in the home, especially the one in your bedroom. I have an extra TV just for my cameras, and I leave it on all night, so If my beams go off I dont even have to get out of bed, i just look up at the TV.

FULL ENGLISH KEYPAD - it is important to have a FULL english keypad, that writes out the title of the alarm zone, so when it goes off, you know where it is. Most times these keypads are not quoted because they cost more than the plain numeric ones. I always give my clients options, but from working for a local alarm company for several years, and along with other alarm technicians from other companies, they rarely give their clients more than 1 option. For a small efficieny or appartment it is not generally required.


MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A LOUD SIREN. Indoor sirens are pretty much useless for a home, as time as they hear it they are inside your home!

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A WIRELESS KEYFOB. Anything from a Remote Button, Wireless TImex Alarm Watch, etc, that can turn off your alarm when it does go off in the middle of the night, or any other time. The siren doesnt need to go on and on, once the criminal hears it, he will generally leave. Wait a minute then turn it off. If it is wireless it is much easier especially if you are in bed. Also, make sure an Audible panic is programmed into it incase you encounter the burglar face to face. Have it programmed to turn on outdoor or indoor lights if possible, or even a couple flashing strobe lights. Turning the alarm off when it is tripped doesnt mean the signal wont go through. The alarm will dial and dial until it goes through, or times out. Only turn it off once so it stays in memory, that way if you are using a Remote Keyfob you can still go to the keypad and see what zone was tripped. Or buy a 2 way Remote Keyfob that tells you the zones tripped in english.

BEAMS BEAMS BEAMS - I would not sleep (as if I do anyway) if I didnt have Yard Beams. This catches the burglar before they enter your home or damage windows/doors. You will ofcourse deal with the occasional false alarm from birds, dogs, etc, depending on the beam used and the location - But its worth it.


....

Once you have a keypad in your bedroom, and whether or not you have cameras in the yard or even in the main living room/area, once you have another detector in your living room/area, watch those and see if they go off also, before going out of your bedroom/home. The burglar is not going to normally just trip one alarm zone, and if they do and do not trip anymore, its safe to say they have run away.

Generally you can specify to the alarm company to only call if there is more than one zone tripped or specific zones are tripped. In other words, if you have a store for example, with a front door, a motion inside near the front door/windows, Glass breaks at the front windows, a motion in the center of the store, rear of the store, etc. It is unlikely that only one of those zones will trip, if it were an actual burglar, as geanerally travel all through the store. Especially if only the door or glass breaks tripped, there is still the motion detectors which once installed properly and tested regularly, are unbeatable.

You can also purchase a phone dialer, which can be installed to any alarm panel. It will dial phone numbers with prerecorded messages, and works with cell phones and pagers. It is not as detailed and not a replacement for a monitoring service, but is being used more and more in the US these days, for DIYers, as an addition to a monitoring service, or simply those that dont want to sign a 3 year contract. It is generally triggered by the siren output, though using additional relays and depending on the alarm panel type, it can also do more.

Hope this helps, any more questions let me know.