Considering New Panel - Update Veritas R8?

[Charles Middleton]

Afternoon all, 

 

First time here, so firstly "Hi!" and secondly, please be gentle!

 

Ok, so when I first bought this house, some 16 years ago, it had a basic security system installed - c4 PIR's, control box, Texecom Veritas R8 control panel. 

 

Since i've moved in, I've :

 

- taken the control box off to redecorate

- taken the PIRs down

 

The parts have been sat in the attic for some years, and of course I have no idea what the original code is! 

 

All units are wired (wiring's still in place), and we have the internal buzzer and external alarm / strobe still in place - the main control box is above the false ceiling in the downstairs loo. 

 

When the power cuts off (power cut etc) the alarm and strobe outside still go off - its definately all still there and seems to be working in that respect. 

 

So - I've now started thinking about putting it back together (namely for insurance purposes). 

 

Looking on line, these R8's seem quite cheap, and it does look rather "cheap" all round (I think the full kit for these is like £160 at B&Q...). 

 

I definately dont want to have to redo all the wiring. 

 

So, question for you guys - do I 

 

a) Put it back together myself - how easy / anyone got a manual?

b) Pay an installer to put it back together, or 

c) It's so old and cheapo dont bother - pay (a bit!) extra and get a modern one while you're at it! 

 

One last - when I spoke to installers about this general idea today, they said that the "control panel needs to match the control box manufacturer" etc. 

Is this true - or are they standard, and I could just put a "better" control pannel / keypad on the existing control box and wiring?

 

Thanks for any advice  

 

 

BTW - one reason I took this system out was that I was given a "BT Home Monitor VP1000" through work. 

 

AFAIR, this was some wirless system, that had a direct line to a BT monitoring service. 

 

I beleive this product was cancelled by BT themselves? 

 

As I now have Virgin phone - is this worth bothering with, or worth any thing, ££? 

[datadiffusion]

The Home Monitor is still usable (they sold the rights for monitoring to a 3rd party) but is a very old, basic Visonic based panel AFAIK

And it uses a digi/modem so it's long term future is bleak, plus the monthly charges are not cheap for a very basic 'self monitor' system.

You can get them on ebay for pennies new as BT dumped all the stock, so it's basically worthless to boot.

 

I don't believe you can buy Texecom at B+Q, so must be another product.

 

If you are thinking about insurance, be aware that it must be installed by an NSI / SSAIB approved company and any insurance discount

may be negligible, plus the issue that you will then be responsible for setting it every time you leave the house or risk insurance being invalid.

 

I would be looking for a quote to replace the control box and renew PIRs if it's that old, if you want to stick with Texecom then the Elite

series is probably more what you should be considering.