The LCD keypad display on my burglar alarm is missing some characters so called a local company, who I have used before and found to be very reasonable, for a quote to replace the keypad.
However they have been taken over by a well known lock manufacturer and was quoted £216 + vat to come out and 1 hrs labour then £96 + vat for any additional hrs. I only live 10 mins from their depot so the first visit will be costing around £200 an hour for somebody who is paid less than 1/10th of that!
Needless to say I will not be taking up their offer as I suspect that for over £200 I will be told my burglar alarm display cannot be repaired as it is over 10 years old and I need one of their new all singing all dancing wireless systems.
i too am in need of a new key pad by my side entrance door as its too small and awkward , sometimes running out of time before the alarm goes off
I had a telephone quote for replacing it but was told id need the main control unit changing too … £300 +
And avoid wireless security like a plague ridden bull. It’s so easy to blind them a child could do it. And they are unreliable without other people’s help. Wireless CCTV is even easier to get past. You can buy wireless CCTV jammers on amazon for a tenner.
If you do decide to swap the whole system go for a Texicom Veritas R8. Reuse your existing wiring and sensors. You can add auto dialers and all sorts easily and they are as reliable as night followed day.
Many thanks Mrbarry for the advice, you obviously know what you are talking about. Can I ask where you can obtain the lcd panel from and how easy are they to change.
Swapping the display isn’t hard it’s just fiddly. You can buy them from places like farnell but these days amazon and eBay often come up trumps. You’ll need a fine tipped soldering iron and a steady hand.
I’ve installed 8-10 veritas R8 alarms for my self, friends and relatives. I’ve installed others too but I like texicom. Im an electrical engineer by trade so don’t do house bashing but I know quality electrical and electronics when I work on them. Their customer support is top notch too, free UK call tech support etc.
Mrbarry is right. If you’re going for a swap of the alarm panel and keypad and reuse the existing wiring to the detectors etc, I’d agree it’s quite possible. If you’ve got a bit of wiring skill, then just work logically and carefully. These modern panels are very flexible to suit a wide range of installations and the thing that takes time first time round is learning how to wire up and programme the panel to suit your system. Study that before you start. It takes a bit of effort because these are written with professional alarm installers in mind. I’ve changed the panels on a couple of systems, installing Scantronic units. The two I’ve fitted recently had the option of using non-contact ‘tags’ for users. These are much easier to use than having to enter a code into the system on entry and exit. If you fit a new panel, install a new back up battery rather than reusing the old one and ensure a few years without problems.
JS
To be fair most alarms will work out of the box for most installs. You don’t need to set leading and trailing edge triggers or use it to communicate over IIC bus systems for a house. Always set zone 1 as your entry because it’s the only zone that can be set to delay on first trigger (set as default). Other zones will all be monitored when on only and instant trigger. You can easily set permanent monitor zones etc if you have a garage you rarely use and want to monitor it even with the alarm off and then you have to use a secondary code to access that zone. Other than that, set the timer and date and user/engineer codes and you’re away.
£60 and it’s a 1 hour install for a DIYer as a swap over.
I never wire tamper for domestic use. You don’t need to worry about people interfering with sensors in your house like you would in a shop, pub/bank/public area. The keypad and bell will auto trigger on tamper you don’t have to wire it as such, if you tinker it looses comms and the main panel will go into alarm trigger. And when your alarm is set no one can tamper with the sensors or wiring, they are all in doors and to get to them you’d have to trigger the alarm first.
I’d perhaps go for a system with RFID fobs if that’s the case. My self I don’t like them, but only because I don’t want to carry the fob around. I prefer to use a code entry. You can get a keypad with RFID build in as well.
You can even have the RFID tags set on individual time windows so for example a cleaner can only gain access on a Tuesday between 11am and 1pm, but another tag for the gardener is only active between 2:35 and 4:10pm on fridays. And the cleaner needs to go in every room but the gardener only the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea and the garage for tools, so it picks what zones different tags get to access by ‘part setting’ the system dependant on what tag is used. It monitors tags in and out and alters set levels along the way in the case of overlapping times and dates and multiple persons entering.
Veritas do these systems I have used them. Some have a phone app. Some don’t. You can make programming more complex routines easier by setting it up on a laptop and downloading you routine to the alarm, easier than doing it on a LCD screen and pushing up, left, 6012, full… for a hour.
In the case of family members who dog sit you just set a tag and hand it over, no need to time disable it in that case. And you can either use a code or your own tag.
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