Just wondering if anyone has any ideas about how to protect the telephone and cable wire coming into the house. It seems the installers just ran it up from a conduit (from the pole) and shoved it into a sealed part of the house. I don't think I can put a conduit in because there's no where to put it, and I don't think pulling the wire and rerunning it in would be possible either. Does anyone know of a good way to make sure these don't get cut?
Protecting wire without conduit
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mustangcoupe
Senior Member
making sure it doesnt get cut? no
notifying when it gets cut yes... if you have a spare pair (and you can get to both ends...) on that cable you can connect it to a zone input and either put an eol resistor at the other end or short it out and detect a cut. but once it's cut unless you have a backup (cellular, ABN, ect...) how do you call out?
notifying when it gets cut yes... if you have a spare pair (and you can get to both ends...) on that cable you can connect it to a zone input and either put an eol resistor at the other end or short it out and detect a cut. but once it's cut unless you have a backup (cellular, ABN, ect...) how do you call out?
Quixote_1
Active Member
I think you may have just made your own response redundant with the last question you asked yourself
Only teasing.Doesn't the Elk already watch the phone connection? Are there rules that you can use for a notification based on the phone line status?
I've been pondering the same questions because my new home that I am moving into mid-April (new home, not a new house) has a pathetically exposed phone wire junction at waist-level. It occurred to me that the first line of attack when burglarizing a home with an alarm system would most likely be disabling the phone line and possibly the cable line.
While I doubt there is any way of cost-effectively guaranteeing that these lines would not get cut, I think that we might be able to come up with a work-around.
Two ideas that I've had so far are:
1) Decoy lines that do nothing but are made to be much more conspicuous that the real ones.
2) Talking to a neighbor (that trusts you and that you trust) about using their wireless internet connection should yours go down. It would be possible to set one of your computers that is on a UPS to connect to their wireless network if it is unable to find yours, and then send out a distress message.
Just a couple of ideas.
Neurorad
Senior Member
You can buy split conduit, to be installed around exisitng wires/cables.
Here's split metal conduit
But someone with a sledge will get rid of it easily.
Your best bet is to monitor that phone line with the alarm controller, or add a tamper sensor of some sort. I agree, the only way to prevent tampering is with a wireless backup.
Or figure out how to make some concrete forms, and enclose it permanently.
Here's split metal conduit
But someone with a sledge will get rid of it easily.
Your best bet is to monitor that phone line with the alarm controller, or add a tamper sensor of some sort. I agree, the only way to prevent tampering is with a wireless backup.
Or figure out how to make some concrete forms, and enclose it permanently.
You can buy split conduit, to be installed around exisitng wires/cables.
Here's split metal conduit
But someone with a sledge will get rid of it easily.
Your best bet is to monitor that phone line with the alarm controller, or add a tamper sensor of some sort. I agree, the only way to prevent tampering is with a wireless backup.
Or figure out how to make some concrete forms, and enclose it permanently.
This looks kind of promising, I'd need to put a bend of some sort into it though - which may be difficult.
My car was stolen a few years ago, and when talking to the insurance agent, he told me "Time is of the essence to thieves. Anything that takes just a little bit longer makes stealing from someone other than you just a little bit more appealing. If someone really wants to steal your car, they will. Your best bet is to eliminate the people who just want to steal from an easy target." My house can't withstand an Oceans 11 type crew, but it would be nice to be able to withstand anyone with shears
The description of what you have now is not clear to me. You mentioned them (the utility company) running conduit somewhere...
"ran it up from a conduit (from the pole) and shoved it into a sealed part of the house"
Often the phone cable is protected by a PVC conduit if it is underground or on older installs I have seen a metal U channel put over the cable. Usually the protection doesn't extend very deep. Am I guessing that your services are underground. In my area (and I think this is pretty standard for the past 10 - 20 years) there is a "demark" box on the outside of the house. All the person has to do is open that and pull the handy plug provided inside. Older installs are anyone's guess. I had a house built about 1970 that had the telephone come up and through the rim joist into the basement with no outside box - connection block in basement. Unfinished basement so I drilled a hole about a foot below ground level and buried everything outside.
The other suggestions are good. It is difficult to harden a phone or cable line much but if you make it a bit more difficult they may move on.
"ran it up from a conduit (from the pole) and shoved it into a sealed part of the house"
Often the phone cable is protected by a PVC conduit if it is underground or on older installs I have seen a metal U channel put over the cable. Usually the protection doesn't extend very deep. Am I guessing that your services are underground. In my area (and I think this is pretty standard for the past 10 - 20 years) there is a "demark" box on the outside of the house. All the person has to do is open that and pull the handy plug provided inside.
Older installs are anyone's guess. I had a house built about 1970 that had the telephone come up and through the rim joist into the basement with no outside box - connection block in basement. Unfinished basement so I drilled a hole about a foot below ground level and buried everything outside. The other suggestions are good. It is difficult to harden a phone or cable line much but if you make it a bit more difficult they may move on.
The description of what you have now is not clear to me. You mentioned them (the utility company) running conduit somewhere...
"ran it up from a conduit (from the pole) and shoved it into a sealed part of the house"
Often the phone cable is protected by a PVC conduit if it is underground or on older installs I have seen a metal U channel put over the cable. Usually the protection doesn't extend very deep. Am I guessing that your services are underground. In my area (and I think this is pretty standard for the past 10 - 20 years) there is a "demark" box on the outside of the house. All the person has to do is open that and pull the handy plug provided inside.
The other suggestions are good. It is difficult to harden a phone or cable line much but if you make it a bit more difficult they may move on.
I wasn't very clear, they didn't run the conduit, the builder had left it since its all driveway down to the pole. Our demarc is inside the house. Of course at the pole, it's a similar situation, so maybe I have two battles on my hands. Can I add some sort of retrofit conduit to a pole even though it's not technically my property?
With regard to the siren, I do actually have one sitting on my desk that I was going to put right there I guess I'll use that little crack to pull the wire too
Quixote_1
Active Member
How about this device?
http://www.uplink.com/Technology/New-Uplink-2540__2540.aspx
I think that it may be able to be connected to a serial expander on the Elk.
http://www.uplink.com/Technology/New-Uplink-2540__2540.aspx
I think that it may be able to be connected to a serial expander on the Elk.
ncpalehorse
New Member
Curious to know if anyone has implemented the Uplink 2540 CDMA communicator and if so, how has it performed? I am wanting to get some type of wireless backup for my system, but GSM reception in my area is marginal at best and will probably not provide a consistent and reliable backup solution. Verizon service (via CDMA) while not 5 bar reception, is much better at my location and should provide sufficient signal strength for this purpose which is why I'm so interested in the Uplink 2540.
I had been thinking about trying to use a high gain antenna with a GSM backup, but I've heard mixed opinions on the effectiveness of the high gain and that some people did not really experience any significant improvement in signal strength.
Other option I'm looking at is trying to find a local long range radio network that would work, but would rather go with cellular if possible.
I had been thinking about trying to use a high gain antenna with a GSM backup, but I've heard mixed opinions on the effectiveness of the high gain and that some people did not really experience any significant improvement in signal strength.
Other option I'm looking at is trying to find a local long range radio network that would work, but would rather go with cellular if possible.
pete_c
Guru
I purchased one (Uplink - don't recall which specific model) and returned it.
I found out you have to pay a monthly for the service. So you would have two monthly charges for your alarm service. Some folks like the ability at the "out of band" management of the device.
My service entrance cabling / telephone is in PVC conduit. As the phone terminates in the box and the cable terminates at a lighting arrestor you "could" disconnect and wire it thru conduit if you had a box. Its unusual that there is no D Mark as is typically used for service. You could ask to have one installed as it should have been. The Dmark using has a "placehold" for various sizes of conduit.
I found out you have to pay a monthly for the service. So you would have two monthly charges for your alarm service. Some folks like the ability at the "out of band" management of the device.
My service entrance cabling / telephone is in PVC conduit. As the phone terminates in the box and the cable terminates at a lighting arrestor you "could" disconnect and wire it thru conduit if you had a box. Its unusual that there is no D Mark as is typically used for service. You could ask to have one installed as it should have been. The Dmark using has a "placehold" for various sizes of conduit.
