Powermax+ Questions

[dickys3]

Hi,

I have just purchased a Powermax+ system and have a couple of questions while I'm waiting for it to arrive.

The panel uses a plug in transformer to get its power, and also has a backup battery. Should I try and hide this panel somewhere, or is it ok to leave out on display? I suppose the question is how secure is the system if an intruder gets physical access to the control panel? Can it be easily compromised?

I was planning on setting up the system to work purely off the keyfobs. I thought this would be better as I can arm/disarm the system from outside the property. This way, an alarm would trigger immediately if any of the sensors were triggered. This way, I wouldn't use an entry delay, so if someone did break in they wouldn't have 30 secs or so grace time to get to the panel and try to compromise it. I support this goes back to my first question on how secure is the control panel?

As for arming/disarming the system from outside the house via the keyfobs, how good is the range? How far away can you be from the control panel to arm/disarm? Also do the alarm siren activation/deactivation chirps drive you/your neighbours mad after a while? Would it be better to rely on the visable notification from the siren?

Many thanks

Rich.

[iSTORM]

I'v istalled a couple of these, Very easy to program, and the panel is very secure although i did run the power cable through the back of the panel thrugh the wall so you cant see where the power is coming from anyway! As for distance i was setting and unsetting the system walking up and down a customers drive...... I also program the system to just use the strobe to omit set/unset instead of the sounder! Hope this helps Iain

[dickys3]

Thanks Iain for the info.

Would you recommend just using the keyfobs to arm/disarm? If I allow arm/disarm from the panel, then I will need to have a delay zone. I was hoping to avoid this.

Rich.

[Smoke Screen]

Thanks Iain for the info.

Would you recommend just using the keyfobs to arm/disarm? If I allow arm/disarm from the panel, then I will need to have a delay zone. I was hoping to avoid this.

Rich.

From memory (we have used a few Visonic bits and bobs in our smoke generators from time to time), you get 60m line of sight from the standard wireless kit (be that PIR's, door contacts, or in your case, keyfobs).

Any structure coming between you and the reciever will have an impact on the effective range (concrete walls for instance).

The panel itself has an integrity test feature in the engineer menus that will allow you to determine the effective range of your fobs from outside the property. You will need a helper either pushing the button, or standing at the panel so you can see the signal strength between the two devices (it will give an indication from Poor to fair to good to excellent from memory).

With regards to overall security of wireless systems, you will find that on this site, the jury is somewhat hung. Some people believe that the risks associated with wireless systems are minimal, while others have strong views in the other direction.

Personally, I would recommend making yourself aware of any products capabilities and also weaknesses, be that hard wired or wirefree. Perform your own critical risk assessment from the point of view of what could be the worst thing to happen, and then take steps to minimise that risk.

Certainly from an installation point of view, I think that you will find the Visonic product easy to fit and configure (I have fitted one to my house) and from a DIY point of view, it is a nice bit of kit.

Don't be surprised though if people don't all think it is the way to go .

Best regards,

Matt

[Alarm Protection]

When your saying that you dont want a time zone where are you planning on locating the panel and how many detectors are between the entry/exit route and the panel?? Normally you have your entry exit and then access zones when you enter the premises. I would advise you to have entry exit as a back up if the remote fob fails.

[Smoke Screen]

When your saying that you dont want a time zone where are you planning on locating the panel and how many detectors are between the entry/exit route and the panel?? Normally you have your entry exit and then access zones when you enter the premises. I would advise you to have entry exit as a back up if the remote fob fails.

QFA

[dickys3]

I understand what you are saying about setting up an entry zone.

Although I was going to use the telephone system to dial in and disable the alarm if a problem occured with a keyfob.

And if the worst came to the worst, I could always go in and turn the alarm off via the keypad (with the siren going off) if it ever came to it?

Arming wouldn't need an exit delay as it will be armed from outside via the keyfob.

Disarming wouldn't need an entry delay as it will be diarmed outside via the keyfob, and backed up via the telephone system if needed..

What do you think?

..

[Alarm Protection]

Sorry but why would you want to disable the system via telephone when you can by walking in through the designated entry route and using the keypad???

Remembering that all access zones will be 12 hour if an intruder came in not via the entry route.

I do understand where you are coming from as i have a Gardtec 490x wirefree panel with 2 remote fobs but there is no chance the wife would remember to cancel the alarm before opening the front door but after the entry tone she has the choice of disarming through the fob or keypad.

Do you plan on arming the system at night??? Just using the keyfob can cause a lot of false alarm activations being half asleep etc going downstairs.

Not being funny but keeping the system simple will make the ease of use simple and reduce false alarms while having enough protection of your house.

[iSTORM]

When your saying that you dont want a time zone where are you planning on locating the panel and how many detectors are between the entry/exit route and the panel?? Normally you have your entry exit and then access zones when you enter the premises. I would advise you to have entry exit as a back up if the remote fob fails.

Sorry got called out and wasn't able to carry on, i completely agree, you will need an entry route! What about setting at night?

[dickys3]

Sorry but why would you want to disable the system via telephone when you can by walking in through the designated entry route and using the keypad???

Remembering that all access zones will be 12 hour if an intruder came in not via the entry route.

I do understand where you are coming from as i have a Gardtec 490x wirefree panel with 2 remote fobs but there is no chance the wife would remember to cancel the alarm before opening the front door but after the entry tone she has the choice of disarming through the fob or keypad.

Do you plan on arming the system at night??? Just using the keyfob can cause a lot of false alarm activations being half asleep etc going downstairs.

Not being funny but keeping the system simple will make the ease of use simple and reduce false alarms while having enough protection of your house.

Hi thanks for the help on this.

I agree with what you are saying regarding the entry/exit time.

I installed the system on the weekend (very happy so far) and set the system with a exit delay and entry delay. Now when you open the front or back door, you get the countdown beeps warning you that you need to switch off the alarm.

We also have the system armed at night, using the HOME arm option. This allows us to move about upstairs but when we go downstairs we need to turn the alarm off via the keyfob before, otherwise one of the perimeter PIR's picks us up and sounds the alarm instantly. I may change this to give us the warning countdown beeps incase we forget to disarm the system....

Thanks

Rich.