Looking For A New Alarm

[TheGovernor]

Hi

After my Galaxy 8 has gone steadily mental over the last few months I've decided to replace it. I was looking at the home page and saw this paragraph on the front page:-

"I regularly come across systems that a burglar could silence within a few seconds with only a little basic knowledge of how an alarm system operates, and unfortunately from alarm systems I have been called to I'd say this probably applies to almost 15% of you."

Could the other (or someone?) expand on this a bit? In what way were they beasy to disbale? Was this as a result of physical errors in the install?

[james.wilson]

its usually install and programming errors. As long as you use decent equipment (which the galaxy is) then it wont have any inherent weakness's

[TheGovernor]

Thanks, sorry for my terrible typing in the OP by the way

I tend to think the Galaxy is a sledgehammer to crack a nut really - it's been glitching for a good few months now and even though I have the engineer codes etc I think it's past its best.

To get it going I think I'd need two new keypads, a PCB and probably a power supply to be sure I've eliminated all possible sources of the faults, which I imagine would costa bit and then I'd need to configure it from scratch. Looking at the install manual this is quite a convoluted task (I'm pretty handy being in IT so it isn't like I don't have the techncial skill necessarily, just the time to jiggle it all about til it's right).

Someone has recommended Veritas R8 Plus as a possible substitute, they look pretty cost effective. Are the existing PIRs I have for the Galaxy likely to be compatible?

I'm still interested in whya new installation could be flawed though, if only to make sure that when I get quotes I know what to look out for... are we talking poorly placed PIRs and the like (which would be easy to spot to be honest)

[magpye]

I'm still interested in whya new installation could be flawed though, if only to make sure that when I get quotes I know what to look out for... are we talking poorly placed PIRs and the like (which would be easy to spot to be honest)

I would suggest that your original quote was pointed more at the DiY area than a professionally installed alarm system

[alterEGO]

Thanks, sorry for my terrible typing in the OP by the way

I tend to think the Galaxy is a sledgehammer to crack a nut really - it's been glitching for a good few months now and even though I have the engineer codes etc I think it's past its best.

To get it going I think I'd need two new keypads, a PCB and probably a power supply to be sure I've eliminated all possible sources of the faults, which I imagine would costa bit and then I'd need to configure it from scratch. Looking at the install manual this is quite a convoluted task (I'm pretty handy being in IT so it isn't like I don't have the techncial skill necessarily, just the time to jiggle it all about til it's right).

Someone has recommended Veritas R8 Plus as a possible substitute, they look pretty cost effective. Are the existing PIRs I have for the Galaxy likely to be compatible?

I'm still interested in whya new installation could be flawed though, if only to make sure that when I get quotes I know what to look out for... are we talking poorly placed PIRs and the like (which would be easy to spot to be honest)

use an approved installer [sSAIB/NSI] and you won't need to worry about it.

PS: my PC is simple [plug and pay], my alarm isn't.

[TheGovernor]

PS: my PC is simple [plug and pay], my alarm isn't.

I'm not so ure about that, the electronics and platform of an alarm is fairly rudimentary, it's only their menu structure and mnemonics that are obscure, rather than genuinely complex.

A PC is an order of magnitude more complex than any alarm, it's only the bit at the user layer that looks easy to use, much like an alarm looks simple if all you do is set it on and off

[alterEGO]

given no instruction and the parts only for both, to someone with no knowledge of either, my bet is the pc would be up and running first.

[lawandorder]

given no instruction and the parts only for both, to someone with no knowledge of either, my bet is the pc would be up and running first.

To be honest I think it's a pointless argument, it's a bit like saying which is better, chocolate or Thursday.

To the OP I very much doubt that there is any need to replace 2 keypads, a PSU and the main control PCB in order to eliminate a problem, a decent engineer should be able to diagnose the problem with a little more focus than that!

What actually are the symptoms?

The Galaxy is unlikely to be past it's best as such, alarms don't really wear out as such, they either work or they don't in general.

If you do decide to replace Texecom equipment is good in my experince but if I were in your position I wouldn't be writing the Galaxy off just yet.

[alterEGO]

To be honest I think it's a pointless argument, it's a bit like saying which is better, chocolate or Thursday.

To the OP I very much doubt that there is any need to replace 2 keypads, a PSU and the main control PCB in order to eliminate a problem, a decent engineer should be able to diagnose the problem with a little more focus than that!

What actually are the symptoms?

The Galaxy is unlikely to be past it's best as such, alarms don't really wear out as such, they either work or they don't in general.

If you do decide to replace Texecom equipment is good in my experince but if I were in your position I wouldn't be writing the Galaxy off just yet.

thats my point, if my laptop stoped working i wouldn't just get a new one, i'd have it repaired by someone who knows.

9/10 faults on a basic domestic intruder alarms can be sorted within in 1 hour of an engineers time, OP you may be daft enough to swap them out and have a fault with a detector or cable so it could also cost you again.

Get an approved firm in.

[lawandorder]

thats my point, if my laptop stoped working i wouldn't just get a new one, i'd have it repaired by someone who knows.

9/10 faults on a basic domestic intruder alarms can be sorted within in 1 hour of an engineers time, OP you may be daft enough to swap them out and have a fault with a detector or cable so it could also cost you again.

Get an approved firm in.

Have to agree, it's highly unlikely that four seperate components have all failed, especially on a Galaxy which are very solid units.

Alarms are pretty simple when it comes to swapping random parts but a good engineer with Galaxy experince will probably save you a lot of money by being able to diagnose the problem a little more specifically.