All:
I am looking for some advice and opinions on how best to avoid future false alarms from a motion sensor by using the cross-zone pool in the Elk M1G.
My Installation: Elk M1G, 28 wired zones, Ethernet, Wireless for keyfobs only. Most perimeter rooms and great room have pet-immune Dual Technology motion sensors (Rokonet Cosmos Pet DT) and Glass Break sensors (Visonic Glasstech). All exterior doors and ground-accessible windows have magnetic switches.
What happened: Yesterday, while at work, I received the automatic voice call from the system announcing burglar alarm activation. (I do not have a monitoring service at this time). As soon as I acknowledged the alarm I checked e-mail and found the e-mail alert message from the M1XEP announcing the alarm. I called neighbors who graciously offered to check the house. They reported that all was secure, no evidence of break-in. (wonderful neighbors). They reported no sirens (but time-out is only ten minutes), but that the strobe light was flashing, indicating that Elk had truly decided there had been an alarm.
To make a long story short, the log shows motion detected in a ground floor room, that set off the alarm, a "false" alarm I am certain. We do have a cat, but in the 10 months that I have had the system running she has never set off a motion sensor before. It may have been that she some-how managed to trip the sensor this time, perhaps in concert with late winter afternoon sun, or it may have been a sensor or Elk malfunction. Does anyone have opinions or comments on that?
I would like to reduce the chance of future false alarms, and am considering the cross-zone and / or self-verify functions in the M1G. I would like to know if anyone has comments, advice, or "best-practice" guidance on the pros and cons of self-verification versus cross-zone verification. I do not have more than one motion sensor in any given room, so cross-zone would require an intruder to go from room to room to set off an alarm. Self-verification would remove that limitation, but might miss an intruder who left a room and managed to avoid any other room with a motion sensor.
Thanks for any comments or advice!
Regards,
Rod Harris
I am looking for some advice and opinions on how best to avoid future false alarms from a motion sensor by using the cross-zone pool in the Elk M1G.
My Installation: Elk M1G, 28 wired zones, Ethernet, Wireless for keyfobs only. Most perimeter rooms and great room have pet-immune Dual Technology motion sensors (Rokonet Cosmos Pet DT) and Glass Break sensors (Visonic Glasstech). All exterior doors and ground-accessible windows have magnetic switches.
What happened: Yesterday, while at work, I received the automatic voice call from the system announcing burglar alarm activation. (I do not have a monitoring service at this time). As soon as I acknowledged the alarm I checked e-mail and found the e-mail alert message from the M1XEP announcing the alarm. I called neighbors who graciously offered to check the house. They reported that all was secure, no evidence of break-in. (wonderful neighbors). They reported no sirens (but time-out is only ten minutes), but that the strobe light was flashing, indicating that Elk had truly decided there had been an alarm.
To make a long story short, the log shows motion detected in a ground floor room, that set off the alarm, a "false" alarm I am certain. We do have a cat, but in the 10 months that I have had the system running she has never set off a motion sensor before. It may have been that she some-how managed to trip the sensor this time, perhaps in concert with late winter afternoon sun, or it may have been a sensor or Elk malfunction. Does anyone have opinions or comments on that?
I would like to reduce the chance of future false alarms, and am considering the cross-zone and / or self-verify functions in the M1G. I would like to know if anyone has comments, advice, or "best-practice" guidance on the pros and cons of self-verification versus cross-zone verification. I do not have more than one motion sensor in any given room, so cross-zone would require an intruder to go from room to room to set off an alarm. Self-verification would remove that limitation, but might miss an intruder who left a room and managed to avoid any other room with a motion sensor.
Thanks for any comments or advice!
Regards,
Rod Harris