X-10 Security...bad idea?

A

aslamma

Member
This X-10 stuff is so darn cheap that I cannot resist. They have a full security system for $100. Of course it will probably be real cheap, but let me ask this. If my goal is just to have a siren and flashing lights, would it do the job? Ultimately, I will upgrade at some point...but for the time being, I was thinking I could just slap on an X-10 security and go. Unfortunately, I have not been able to get a hold of the guys at automatedepot. So even though I am just a few minutes away from them, no idea how long it will be until I come up to speed with a good system like the M1 gold.

Anyway, yeah..the X-10 stuff is cheap, but seems to be working OK for now. Is this just a bad idea though?
 
I will answer it very easily. If it's for a 'science experiment', sure, go for it. If you are considering it for an actual perhaps life safety security system, well then, put nicely, I would seriously reconsider. Ok, I can't help it - THAT'S NUTZ!!! In all seriousness, if it is for non critical just very basic better than nothing monitoring then it will work, but if it for real security of premises and occupants then you really need to look at a more professional system.
 
I agree, it is kind of a toy. I have a single point of entry/exit (1 door in a high rise). Right now there is zero protection...so I was just thinking of a simple alarm system. I am probably just more attracted to the price point than I should be. I should probably just get the M1 gold and call it a day.
 
aslamma said:
Unfortunately, I have not been able to get a hold of the guys at automatedepot. So even though I am just a few minutes away from them, no idea how long it will be until I come up to speed with a good system like the M1 gold.
Click to expand...
Do you mean AutomatedOutlet.com? I know they are busy, but they shouldn't be that hard to get on the phone. Ask for Martin or Brandon or whoever is available and they will help you out. They are a stocking distributor, you you could also drop by.
 
Still a lot to understand about this M1G and it may be too much for me...but I will probably give it a try. Met with Brandon at automatedepot and that guy knows his stuff. He seems really into the stuff and spent a lot of time explaining things to me about the Elk and UPB. Really good experience so far.
 
My bad...I keep confusing the two for some reason. My mind also wants to say something other than UPB as well.

As far as the M1G goes...it really looked like a quality product.

Couple questions....

How is the wire to the siren connected such that it cannot be cut? I was initially expecting the siren to be self powered via battery backup. Perhaps the siren can be placed right next to the unit such that the wire cannot be accessed? Otherwise it seems you would have to cut into the wall and since I am renting I am not too fond of that.

Also, do most people have to cut into the wall to feed the CAT5 cable to the keypad? If I run it such that the cable is visually exposed, that seems pretty cheesey.
 
I'm also need an advice, too.

I'm also not too fond of drilling a hole in the wall just to mount a keypad and a siren.

It'd be nice if Elk develops a wireless transceiver (Honeywell has one for Vista line of security systems), wireless keypad (I also want a display -- a wireless version of M1KP is good! :rolleyes:), and wireless sounder. Having a wireless sounder (bulky or not, along with a battery backup and that it plugs into a wall outlet) is better than nothing...

Oh, and by the way, read this:

http://forum.homesecuritystore.com/index.p...y;threadid=4626

I'm not going to stop you from buying X10 Protector Plus, but I advise against it... :rolleyes: To summarize what is said in the Home Security Store forum, it's just a toy, and shouldn't be called a security system.
 
This seems to be one of my biggest concerns about choosing the M1. My main line of defense will be the siren since I may not even hook it up to the land line, at least initially. Since I am still very new to this, I was thinking the M1 communicated via RF (at least to either the keypad or siren).

So I was dissapointed to learn you need a CAT5 cable to hook up the keypad. So this basically forces me to put the main unit near the entryway and easily accessible to intruders. If the keypad was RF then I could just put the main unit and siren in a more remote location that would make it very difficult to mess with. Then for the siren it must be hard wired to the main unit, thus allowing a cable cut to kill it. So this would leave me with a situation where the main unit is near the entry way, the siren is easily accessible, and since I am relying on the siren...it would seem my system could be breached with relative ease.

So I am still wondering if the M1 is really what I need. I am really looking for "improved" security over what I have, which is zero. But if I go to the opposite end of the spectrum, but not all the way (do not hook it up to a monitoring service), then maybe that is not very useful either. It is looking like if I go with the M1, then I would really want to hook it to a land line (which I do not have). Brandon did mention that Elk is supposed to come out with a module that you can use with a simcard, but he was not sure when that would come out.
 
aslamma said:
This seems to be one of my biggest concerns about choosing the M1. My main line of defense will be the siren since I may not even hook it up to the land line, at least initially. Since I am still very new to this, I was thinking the M1 communicated via RF (at least to either the keypad or siren).

So I was dissapointed to learn you need a CAT5 cable to hook up the keypad. So this basically forces me to put the main unit near the entryway and easily accessible to intruders. If the keypad was RF then I could just put the main unit and siren in a more remote location that would make it very difficult to mess with. Then for the siren it must be hard wired to the main unit, thus allowing a cable cut to kill it. So this would leave me with a situation where the main unit is near the entry way, the siren is easily accessible, and since I am relying on the siren...it would seem my system could be breached with relative ease.

So I am still wondering if the M1 is really what I need. I am really looking for "improved" security over what I have, which is zero. But if I go to the opposite end of the spectrum, but not all the way (do not hook it up to a monitoring service), then maybe that is not very useful either. It is looking like if I go with the M1, then I would really want to hook it to a land line (which I do not have). Brandon did mention that Elk is supposed to come out with a module that you can use with a simcard, but he was not sure when that would come out.
Click to expand...

If you have a broadband connection you can use Nextalarm and their ABN which hooks up to your router and hte ELK and communicates with the Central Station via the internet.
 
Digger said:
If you have a broadband connection you can use Nextalarm and their ABN which hooks up to your router and hte ELK and communicates with the Central Station via the internet.
Click to expand...

Hey, thanks for the tip. This is another option to consider. Maybe I have totally misunderstood something though. If I have a land line can the Elk call me directly or does it still have to go through a service like nextalarm?

Really my goals are:

1 - Siren as a first defense
2 - Alert me (hopefully without a monthly fee) as to an event and allow me to remotely disarm the system.
3 - Learn about security systems and have a little fun along the way.

To be honest, I am in a pretty low risk area with difficult access and not much really to steal. So I think the full up monitored alarm system is really too much for me at this point. I originally started thinking about it after having fun with HA and thought I would just "improve" my situation. But now I fear I am going overboard on this one.
 
Check out Skype with subscription. It's very cheap.

I did a quick search in Google to find a USB phone adapter and I found the product that allows you to hook up Elk to Skype.

But there's a catch: You must have your computer on (with USB connected) and stay connected to the Internet.
 
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