Melbourne Alarms only install high quality security alarm systems that have been thoroughly tested by our in-house team.
After more than 35 years in the security installation and repair business we’ve seen lots of alarm products (and installation companies) come and go.
There are cheaper systems available and if they were reliable and dependable we would use them. We test most new systems as they are released to ensure we are always offering the very best systems at an affordable price.
That’s all you’ll find here: innovative, easy to use systems that WILL reduce the risk of having your home violated by an intruder.
Installed to Australian Standard 2201 by our small team of neat, qualified professional installers.
Experience Counts
Hello. I’m Steve Corless, the owner of Melbourne Alarms & Monitoring.
You’re probably here because you need information and advice on getting the best quality security system for your home or business, installed properly, for the best possible price.
I know because I’ve ….
Let me start by saying all home alarm systems, no matter what brand, whether they be hardwired or wireless, essentially do the same thing:
You turn the alarm on when you leave your home. If someone enters your home and doesn’t turn the system off (an intruder, for example) the sirens will activate inside and outside your home .
If you have alarm monitoring of any kind, someone (either you in the case of a self-monitored system or a monitoring centre if you have back-to-base monitoring) will be notified and the necessary action can be taken.
Most systems have the ability to be set up for ‘Night Mode’ so while you’re sleeping the sensors in the living areas can remain active while those in the sleeping areas are turned off.
That’s it!
Any home security system you choose does that.
What you need to decide on are the following 3 things:
1 – Do you need a Hardwired or Wireless system?
2 – What style of codepad do you need?
Seems like an odd question to have to consider, but the codepad is the component that determines the features and nice-to-haves of the system.
· A Basic codepad?
· Advanced codepad?
· Remote controls?
· An App?
3 – Monitoring type. What happens when the system detects an intruder in your home? Do you want to receive alarm notifications yourself using your mobile phone? Do you require a professional monitoring service to handle any alarm response for you? Perhaps you don’t need any sort of monitoring at all.
Lets look at the choices in a bit more detail to help you decide
A professional, conscientious installer will make sure you don’t see any wires at all, will use drop sheets and will sweep up when the job’s completed.
I still recommend hardwired alarm systems over wireless in situations where there is a choice.
That’s because you don’t need to replace batteries in the sensors. (although the batteries in the Bosch wireless sensors only need to be replaced every 5 years, and the system constantly monitors there performance and flashes up a warning on the codepad when it detects a low battery)
Examples of Melbourne homes with a pitched roof
A wireless security system should be used in homes where there is no roof space
Of course if you’re building a home, the alarm system cabling can be installed during the frame stage of construction including those home types mentioned above
I also recommend wireless systems if you have decorative cornices such as illustrated below.
The problems that ‘old technology’ wireless systems suffered from (poor battery life, large ugly sensors, unreliable signalling to the control panel) have been overcome.
The battery life in the Bosch sensors for example is 5 years and the system tests the battery and the communication to the panel several times a day.
This is not a problem in most homes and the installer will spend some time determining the best place for the control panel so that the cables can all be installed discretely.
So we know that any home alarm system will detect intruders and activate the sirens and provide an off-site notification function. But to get some extra features or nice-to-haves we need to choose a system that has a codepad with the features we are looking for.
Basic Codepad: The early codepads were pretty awful. They were sort of chunky boxy things with too many lights and buttons and just didnt look good in a home.Thankfully things have changed tremendously and even the basic codepads are discreet, stylish and very easy to use.
As well as using the codepad to arm and disarm the system you’ll also use it when you want to add or delete a user code, check on fault conditions and change the telephone number that the system uses to alert you of an alarm. This is where you’ll notice the main difference in codepads. The basic codepad doesnt give you any visual feedback when you want to do these other functions such as change codes, read the event history or change the phone numbers for self-monitoring – it uses beeps to indicate a succesful operation such as a code change.
Information regarding the current status of the system (armed, disarmed, low battery etc) is displayed on the screen using icons or numbers. The information is quite clear easy to understand.
Information regarding the current status of the system (armed, disarmed, low battery etc) is displayed on the screen using icons or numbers. The information is quite clear easy to understand.
But remember 99 percent of the time you’ll just be using the codepad to arm and disarm the system and even the most basic modern codepad does this very well. The Bosch 880 codepad, for example has a back-lit LCD displayand buttons making it easy to use in lowlight conditions and has a built in panic button.
The Bosch 880 has a Basic codepad but a brand new Touchscreen has just been released which I am testing – more on this soon.
The next step up from the Basic Codepad is what I will call the Intermediate codepad.
These codepads generally display more detailed information about the status of the system.
You don’t need to interpret what a flashing icon means – all the information is displayed using plain English which definitely makes the system more usable and allows you to operate the system with confidence.
Adding and deleting codes, checking on the alarm history and changing the phone numbers for mobile phone monitoring are all straight forward and can be done quickly.
The third type are the latest Advanced codepads and touchscreens These type of codepad will display a greeting on the display when you enter your code and provide prompts for any of the operations your code has permissions for – not essential but it’s a nice touch. It provides step-by-step instructions on the display to make things like changing codes, telephone numbers (for self-monitoring) and reading the event history very easy – you really never need to refer to the manual. The Bosch Solution 6000 uses an Advanced codepad and has an option to use a contactless swipe tag to arm and disarm the system so you never even need to enter a code.The Bosch 6000 also displays the room temperature.
Mobile Phone Apps.
We receive a lot of inquires from customers wanting to control their security system using an app on their smartphone.
Several systems now offer this option so you can easily arm and disarm your system from anywhere in the world. If the alarm is triggered, the information is sent to your phone telling you exactly which sensor(s) caused the alarm.
The system also sends ‘system messages’ such as mains fail, low battery and panic alarm.There are lots of other great features available too. Depending on the system you choose the app can:
Bosch Solution 3000 – free app however optional comms module needs to be added
Risco Agility 3 – free app included with system – nothing else to buy
NOTE: The App communicates to your smartphone using your home internet router which operates from your 240 volt power. If someone opens your meter box and turns off the mains power to your home the router will lose power and you won’t receive any alarm notifications. This shortcoming (and it’s a fairly major one) can be overcome by fitting an Uninterrupted Power Supply to run the router for a few hours during a mains fail. I have used this one from Jaycar Electronics. At the time of writing it cost $149.00.
Melbourne Alarms & Monitoring has earned a strong reputation for being fussy installers. We treat your home the same way we’d like our home treated by tradespeople.
We provide installations, repairs, upgrades and consultancy services to all Melbourne suburbs
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