c/alarm-system-installers

Question about the push for wireless everything in residential installs

I just hit 50 hardwired systems installed this year, which surprised me because everyone says wireless is the future. Doesn't a wired system still give you the most reliable signal, or am I just old school?

Had a client last week who wanted his motion sensor to ignore his 80 pound bulldog

He said, 'just make it smart enough to know it's him.' I tried to explain pet immunity settings, but he was sure I could program it to recognize his dog's face. Has anyone else gotten a request that wild?

Got called for a simple keypad swap that turned into a 3 day crawl space adventure

Honestly, the job was just to swap an old 6160 keypad in a nice house. Took the old one off, went to put the new one on, and the whole zone list went nuts. Spent a full day just tracing wires back to the panel, no luck. Ngl, I finally found the issue on day two. The original installer, maybe 20 years ago, had run a single zone wire through the attic, down a wall, and into a completely different crawl space to hit a motion sensor first. Took me another day to re-run a clean line. Has anyone else ever found a hidden junction like that buried in insulation?

PSA: I just found out my whole way of testing glass break sensors was useless

For the past 8 months, I've been using a key fob jingle to test them because the old guy who trained me said it worked. Did a job in Tempe last Tuesday where the homeowner's cat knocked a metal bowl off the counter and the alarm didn't go off. Turns out the frequency of that jingle is way off from actual breaking glass. I've probably installed over 50 sensors that wouldn't have caught a real break-in. What's the right tool to use for a proper test, a specific tone generator?

Update: I ran a job with a standard 2-wire versus a 4-wire smoke detector setup.

The 4-wire let me separate power and signal, which meant no false alarms from voltage drops on a long cable run. Anyone else run into this on a big house install?

The week I had to rewire a whole house because of a single bad splice

Found a junction box in a 1920s bungalow where someone used electrical tape instead of wire nuts, and the whole zone kept faulting. Took me three days to trace and replace every run from that point. Anyone run into something this messy in an old retrofit?

A homeowner in Dayton said my wire runs looked like a toddler's scribble

I was finishing up a panel install last Tuesday, feeling pretty good about it. The guy just stood there, pointed at the bundle coming out of the wall, and said, 'Son, that looks like a toddler got into a box of spaghetti.' It stung a bit, honestly. So now I've started using a cheap plastic comb from the dollar store to group and straighten the wires before I zip-tie them. It adds maybe five minutes to the job, but the difference is huge. Anyone else have a weird little trick for making your installs look cleaner?

Had to choose between a wired and wireless setup for a big old house in Savannah

The client wanted a full system but the plaster walls made running wire a real pain. I went with a hybrid approach, using wireless sensors for most doors and windows but hardwiring the main panel and keypads. It added about two days to the job but the signal is rock solid now. Anyone else find themselves mixing tech on tricky old builds?

Appreciation post: My 8-year-old nephew asked if the keypad beeps were the alarm's secret language

He said 'it sounds like it's trying to talk to you, like a robot friend', and now I can't help but hear a little personality in those tones during my installs in Boise last week, anyone else ever get a weirdly charming take from a kid on the job?

Rant: Did a service call at a 1980s bank building in St. Louis and found a total mess

I was out in St. Louis last week fixing a motion sensor at an old bank they're turning into lofts, and when I opened the main panel I found a rat's nest of about 50 unlabeled, spliced wires from three different old systems. The new owner wants to keep the original fire alarm horn for looks, but it's wired into this mess. How do you guys handle a retrofit when the client wants to save a historic piece but the existing wiring is a safety hazard?

A homeowner in Denver told me I was wrong for running wire through his attic

I was doing a full system upgrade on a house in the Cherry Creek area, and the owner, a guy named Mark, kept looking over my shoulder. I was pulling 22/4 for the new contacts through the attic space above his garage, which is pretty standard practice in my experience. He stopped me and said, 'You know, the last guy said you should never run alarm wire through an attic because of the heat. It'll cook the jacket and cause false alarms.' He was really sure about it. I explained that modern wire is rated for those temps, and that running it inside the walls of his finished basement would mean a ton of drywall repair he didn't want to pay for. He wasn't having it, and made me run a single line his way as a 'test'. Six months later, that line is fine and the attic lines are fine too. Has anyone else run into this kind of fixed idea from a past installer that just isn't true anymore?

I thought those wireless glass break sensors were just a gimmick for lazy installs.

For years, I refused to install them, convinced the wired ones were the only reliable option. Then a client in a historic building downtown insisted on no new wires. I put in a set of the wireless ones as a trial, fully expecting callbacks. That was about 8 months ago. Not a single false alarm, and they caught an actual break when a kid threw a rock through a basement window last month. The signal strength has been solid, even through the old brick walls. I still prefer wired where I can, but I have to admit the tech has gotten good. What's the longest you've had a set of wireless sensors hold up without an issue?

Had to choose between running a new wire or using a wireless sensor on a tough second floor job

I went with the wireless sensor to save two hours of work, and now I'm getting a random low battery alert every three days. Anyone know a more reliable wireless contact for old brick houses?

Update: I compared taping a motion sensor to the wall for testing versus using the actual bracket in a 1970s house with plaster walls.

The bracket won because the tape gave out after 20 minutes and the sensor fell into a bucket of joint compound, so maybe it's just me but has anyone else had a simple test go totally sideways?

Just spent an entire afternoon on a single motion sensor that kept giving false alarms in a finished basement.

PSA: I ran a job with 16 wireless sensors on two different frequencies and the difference in signal drop was huge.

Just realized I've been crimping my RJ31X jacks wrong for like 8 years, a customer's intermittent line fault finally showed me.

I swapped out a customer's old glass break sensor for a new shock sensor last Tuesday

The old one kept going off from a neighbor's dog barking, but after the swap, the false alarms stopped completely. It was a simple $45 part that took me about 15 minutes to install. Has anyone else had a case where switching the sensor type fixed a chronic false alarm problem?

Just realized my old trick for testing PIR sensors was actually making them less reliable

For years, I'd wave my hand real fast in front of a sensor to test it, thinking a quick motion was the best check. Last week on a job in Spokane, I had a sensor keep giving false alarms after I'd 'passed' it. A senior tech told me to walk slowly across its field instead. Turns out the fast motion was missing the sensor's proper detection pattern, and slow walks are the real test. Anyone else have a basic habit they had to unlearn?

A customer in Phoenix told me his dog was setting off the motion sensor

I was checking a false alarm at a house last Tuesday and the owner said his big German Shepherd kept walking past the same spot every night at 2 AM. I moved the sensor up by 8 inches and angled it down a bit, and it fixed the problem right away. How high do you guys usually mount pet-immune sensors to avoid this?

My trip to a Swiss bank gave me ideas for secure panel locations.

Hidden panels prevent tampering and look neat.

PSA: I swapped to lower motion sensor spots and it fixed everything

Used to mount them high thinking it was best for range. Putting one at waist level in a house with cats totally stopped the false triggers.

Getting a silent panel to talk with a multimeter check

I was working on a new install and the control panel stayed quiet. I almost thought I had a bad unit. Then I remembered to use my multimeter on the data wires. I found a low voltage reading at one connection point. After securing the wires, the system came to life right away. It felt great to solve it without a callback. What's your favorite troubleshooting step?

I mean, I skipped testing the backup battery and the alarm died during a blackout.

Yesterday, I solved a recurring false alarm caused by a swinging ceiling fan.

Turns out, the fan's shadow was tripping the infrared sensor.