SECURITY

Had reason to check my security system this morning.
A spate of firearms thefts had me thinking it was a while since I checked the system.

Well that proved interesting, my system has logged 105 security events.......most of them in the last two weeks????

The problem.....phone line cuts.
Well, that had me going, why hadn't my security company contacted me, surely this would have been obvious, and what was the cause???

Well, it seems I can thank the Government and the nation wide NBN system, since it has been installed, my computer has dropped out 103 times, as the phone now is a voip system that means my phone drops out too........great! and guess what, it will cost me an arm and a leg to fix it.

The Security crowd are overwhelmed with false alarms created by the new system, they are trying to find a workaround, but no luck without expense.

The big problem is that the line cut requirement is a legal one, so there are a lot of people currently in breach of the regulations, the registry are burying their heads in the sand, as are the connection providers.

It will be interesting to see how this requirement pans out.

Muffet,
Absolutely right to always review security, especially when it surrounds the holding of precious weapons.

Not sure what the score is in Australia, but certainly in this country, if you are paying for a monitoring service by an authorised and approved security provider, you have recourse with them, because as soon as power is lost or the line is cut, they should automatically recieve an alarm code for your premises and tell you.

If of course you live out in the boonies, not sure what they have in place for you in terms of a response force or secondary call to you or your nominated reciever on the mobile to make you aware of the alarm activation.

We get quite a few power shortages around where I am so I have invested in a backup generator, so everything stays live once it detects a voltage drop, even the computer, and most importantly the Kettle!!
.
Lots of options including microwave transmission signals but they all hinge on electriciy or battery backups including your house alarm of course.

The town i live in got broadband several years ago and the droping out thing has been an issue since day one.

The plan with broadband was to shut the copper system (though this may have changed with the change of government) so there is no long term relief going back to the copper network.

Another thought is what happens in a blackout? The telecom system still worked without the power. Blackouts are nowhere near as common as 25 years ago but they still happen.

Is the alternative some sort of mobile based system that calls out if the alarm activated?

It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Henry,

I am in this field and can say there are so many variations on the same theme, but it all comes down to cost.
You can easily at low cost ask for all your home alarm settings to be pushed to you on mobile telephone as well as video motion detection. So in short put a box around your home and as soon as someone enters that box, you get an image and an alarm notification.
Its as simple as that.
But as I say, there are too many variants to list, as everybody wants something different, but in the UK the Police Firearms Licensing do ask if your home is alarmed, and of course Section 5 dealers etc have greater security for obvious reasons!

I know Australian alarm companies do follow some of the UK bits they like and place them on their systems.
Get your alarm company back and reappraise it all.

The hiccup here is the requirement for a phone cut connection on a landline.
I do monitor the premises by mobile, but that is not accepted by the Firearms Registry, the premises is Solar Backup with all systems running solar and Battery backup.

Basically, the system is pretty good, but currently in breach of a legal requirement.
So the balls in their court, come out of their closets and catch up with the rest of the world, or drag us all kicking and screaming through the courts.