Seeing the Robbed thread made me think about Home security alarms. Who has one and do you think its worth it? Do you know anyone that had one and was still robbed or are they really effective? Personally, I just put an ADT security sign I got from a friend in front of my house and keep my alarm inactive. Its wired and ready to go, but I'm of the opinion the impression is a deterrent
ADT is very nice and effective... low cost monthly.. they cover all your doors/windows and it's an easy system to use... highly recommended.
Here's the message I posted in the other thread: The alarm wailing scares the flip out of people...I've yet to hear the story about the family that was murdered while the alarm was wailing. It's disconcerting, even when you know it's gonna go off. My parents had someone kick in their backdoor one day...the alarm went off....he ran away. There was nothing to suggest he ever even walked in the door once the alarm went off. Also...if you're going to have an alarm, make sure it calls the proper authorities. If you have a constable patrol your neighborhood, THAT IS WHO YOU NEED TO HAVE THE ALARM SCHEDULED TO CALL. We had a false alarm one time and the constable who patrols our neighborhood was pulling up at my home about 5 minutes after. IF YOU HAVE A CONSTABLE PATROLLING YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND YOU CALL HPD....HPD WILL NOT COME! Someone deadset on getting in YOUR home and no one else's will find a way in. But most break-ins aren't that way, unless you're running a narcotics enterprise on the side. The average yoo-hoo trying to break in a house is going to choose the one without the alarm over the one with the alarm.
We have one and my wife is very ADD about making sure it's set, which I appreciate after reading that robbed thread. I feel even better about it since I set it off by accident last fall and 2 cop cars showed up at my house 5 minutes later.
alarm system plus dog FTW. i've had an instance where my alarm went off at 1:30 am. it initially freaked me out. but after about 10 seconds, i realized my dog wasn't barking at all. it turned out the back door was closed (forgot to lock it) just enough for me to set the alarm, but it opened in the middle of the night to set OFF the alarm. still, it was quite a rush as i grabbed my bat and was ready to break someone's head.
$19.99/mth with omni fire and security when they directly draw from an account. i love it....peace of mind. i strongly recommend it. honestly, i'd cut cable before an alarm system.
The 3 year contract and hard and negative selling was a real turn off. One guy randomly dropped by after I didn't return his phone calls. I guess he couldn't take the hint so I had to tell him in person.
btw, I never understood the need for a constable and a sheriff. It was my understanding that sheriffs patrol unincorporated areas of the county and the city police patrol within the limits.
A few months ago someone posted about an alarm company that was local to Texas. From what I remember they had good prices, great reviews, and you could use cell service at no-extra charge? Anyone remember who it was?
Thanks man, yeah that was it. Here is the company I was looking for: http://smiththompson.com/smiththompson/
^^^ Wow that sure beats the heck out of ADT. With a USAA discount it still was gonna be about 500 for installation (for a wireless package) and 35 a month. Irongate Security was looking for "model" homes to install their system in my neighborhood, and they wanted my business so bad they were willing to come down to a 200 install and 38 a month. And that Smith Thompson system comes with no long term contracts too. I might just look into that, especially since the 16.95 a month should be negated by the saving in insurance.