Information

[jmh474]

Yes i am a sparks but as i said iv done all different jobs from fitting large panels and building on site, pumps, house bashing, fitting fire alarms NOT just your 3c linked house alarms lol, fitting large generators,fitting intruder alarms on large scale,cctv systems for town and anglian water fault finding on all these systems, so yes i guess i'm a jack of most electrical trades the reason i like intruder alarms is that i've pretty much involves everything

[PeterJames]

So Jim

 

What do you know about EN50131 or BS4737 or BS 8243?

[datadiffusion]

Matt - I am a fully qualified spark too; but I now don't advertise that separately, esp. as I don't have Part P anymore. It was more

than helpful to me though doing Commercial and Ag work when I was starting up. So I am sure the same will apply for Jim and
any 'former' sparks out there. I still do have one very good Commercial customer who I do absolutely everything electrical for.

 

I previously played the combined 'Security and Electrical' game, with Part P, and TBH found it very hard; I never made SSAIB/NSI because I was

too busy with the electrical side, and having paid for Part P, found it hard to turn down electrical work; which culminated in accepting

a very large project  at the near total expense of my Security side.

 

Actually, now I am even more focussed, such that I won't touch Fire as I see it quite rightly as a specialism in itself, once you get past

the 3 core interlinked pure domestic scenario! So my current offering is Intruder and Access; with a soft start in CCTV, which is ironic

as I did quite a bit of CCTV in the MOD, and in fact have my only formal training in CCTV, but like h said just goes to show it doesn't

mean a thing in the real world.

 

I can only speak for myself, and don't know what you've worked on before Jim, but I'd have a play with a couple of old systems off of fleebay

in your shed / garage before you go out and install. Something like a Scantronic 9651 would be a good starter; cheap and supports EOL,

not too daunting for a first timer but a whole lot more professional than the usual trade counter specials. Then move on to something a bit more

complex that supports expanders etc... and again have a play in the 'safety' of a non contract environment!

 

And don't forget, just because you aren't in the SSAIB/NSI, doesn't mean you can't offer proper ARC based monitoring. I use EMCS and they

have been great so far. Perhaps this is something to look at after your first few bells only installs?

 

Finally, although it has its flaws, this book is quite good for the money - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/ref=as_li_qf_sp_sr_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&index=aps&keywords=0750681675&linkCode=ur2&tag=worldwidemusicre

 

Some of it is getting a bit long in the tooth but I actually found it helpful as there is still a lot of old kit out there!

 

Good luck!

 

Stu.

[jmh474]

i don't really feel the need to prove my self to you and whatever i say will be put up for judgment as i have the internet at my fingertips so whatever i say will be wrong

[matthew.brough]

Guys,

      Just to be clear. Sparks who also progress to doing alarms properly I have no issue with at all.

 

Dave the local sparky who fit an A1 special for his mate once  and then thinks he is in a league to be able to install a 500 zone Galaxy properly is what I was getting at.

 

The amount of these characters who try and compete with us as professional companies doing intruder / fire / cctv and make a complete balls of it because they don't know what they are doing are the characters I was refering to.

So Jim

 

What do you know about EN50131 or BS4737 or BS 8243?

I think his comment would translate to knowing nothing about the above.

Yes i am a sparks but as i said iv done all different jobs from fitting large panels and building on site, pumps, house bashing, fitting fire alarms NOT just your 3c linked house alarms lol, fitting large generators,fitting intruder alarms on large scale,cctv systems for town and anglian water fault finding on all these systems, so yes i guess i'm a jack of most electrical trades the reason i like intruder alarms is that i've pretty much involves everything

With such pedigree you should be doing my job

[PeterJames]

i don't really feel the need to prove my self to you and whatever i say will be put up for judgment as i have the internet at my fingertips so whatever i say will be wrong

Not asking you to prove anything just improve something. Dont get me wrong I am not trying to judge you, just help you get you to the right place. I have done several electrical works around my house including a fairly complicated boiler rewire for home automation, but I dont claim to be a sparks but I did make myself familiar BS7671 and Iee regs and I had my work checked by a qualified electrician. You are right anyone can install alarms and CCTV but just because you have instyalled something that works doesnt mean you have done it properly. If you are not familiar with the standards then how can you tell that you have installed it properly, and if you dont know if its installed properly how do you expect to get accreditation. You may say that well if it works then who cares but you could use alarm cable to rewire a house and it will work for a while

[Scotmod]

For a man of your skill set, putting it all on intruder is just asking for hassle. Intruder/CCTV/Fire should all be arrows in your quiver so to speak.

 

However, for a one man band there isn't actually a lot involved. Find a system your comfortable working with and run with it. Peter is right in asking if you know or have at least read the briefs for standards to give you some form of idea as to what your potential clients may ask you to do. Alarms are simple. Programming is a pain. Customers are the worst.

 

Not to be crass and don't take it this way but you are right in your original statement. Most what you say will be wrong. We know our stuff and we are happy to help. Every inch of the industry is covered on this board.

 

If you want my honest advice for now, Start trading as JMH474 Electrical Services and get 30-50 installs under your belt then decide if your going to get enough recurring work in to justify your time researching and venturing in to this place.

[Oxo]

 

If you want my honest advice for now, Start trading as JMH474 Electrical Services and get 30-50 installs under your belt then decide if your going to get enough recurring work in to justify your time researching and venturing in to this place.

 

Have to agree here.

[arfur mo]

Jack of all trades, master of none? I wouldn't want a spark fitting anything more than an r8 for me.

As for seasonal work I expect work all the time from my sales team. I don't pay a monthly salary to get 3 months of work.

Lol! The mans a qualified sparks (assumed), so he is a jack of that trade at least.

Alarm trade seasonal, early days i was rarely at home from September, as intruders have started their own xmas 'shopping', January - March often flat as a pancake as many pay of credit card bills.

Then March through to mid june incase turned over while on main holiday.

Some are happy for you to install during school holidays - especially schools, other's book holidays at those times.

[arfur mo]

I'm a spark too Matt,the game is full of sparks doing security fire cctv etc

I was trained by qualified sparks who had moved into this trade as pay was better than jib rate.

idea being they were paid well to keep them from straying, in truth on 'special installs' it was required to be able to run mineral and conduit neatly, who better than an indentured sparks?

On sites, he often took real stick for being a trade 'traitor'.

What a strange world we live in