Took a risk with this alarm system w/o knowing much of the seller and the few technical specs provided. Well after receiving and testing a while it has met my expectations...especially for the price.
Some things to note which the seller forgot to mention. It comes w/ 2 horns which is essential for any alarm system (one outdoor for your neighbors to hear and one indoor for yourself). The installation instructions are sparse and seem hand made in a personal computer but it is clear enough so I haven't needed to contact them.
Of all the 30 plus components I received, 1 of the 5 motion detectors wasn't working. I didn't contact the seller to replace it since 4 is more than enough.
Programming the unit took less than an hour. Because all the units are wireless, you will need to replace batteries on everything which will be a real pain. The instructions don't say how long they last. But its better than running wires all over the house.
All in all, its everything I expected to provide a good deterrent from your opportunistic thieves. One of the reviewers here gave it only 1 star since it isn't foolproof. Well what do you expect from a $320 system? Yes, if a thief breaks a window and the alarm sounds, he can start searching the house for the keypad and horns and disable them, but I'm guessing they'd just split instead of taking the chance of getting caught (unless you live in the boondocks where neighbors will not here the alarm). You also get a phone call from the system that the alarms went off, so you can take appropriate action. Yes a pro will be able to disable it but i bet he can disable most of the other alarm systems out there as well... AAS 600 Wireless Home Security Alarm System Kit DIY (R)
I purchased the AAS-500 system, which appears to be the same as the 600, but with fewer sensors. The installation instructions were perfectly clear. All the door sensors came with the batteries already installed, which was nice. The motion detectors came with the (9v) batteries, and were easily installed. I got this system to replace a 1996 system from Radio Shack which had failed. A major difference with this system (in addition to the much better quality) is that the outside siren can be mounted without worrying about physically connecting it to the console.
Prior to installing sensors I read the entire instruction manual then made a list (map) of what was going to be installed, and where, and numbered each sensor per the instructions. I wrote the numbers on each sensor. I then activated each one and tested them, one by one to make sure everything worked properly. Then, I mounted each sensor per the map I had made. One of the door sensors failed to work. This is when I discovered that the magnet must be placed on the right side of the sensor containing the antenna. I removed the sensor and replaced the backing with one of the extra sensors and mounted it with the antenna pointing down. I should have tested this aspect before actually mounting it and ruining the sticky tape.
The motion detectors have a one page instruction sheet, which really does not need to be read. If you do read it, you will find it pretty choppy; very poor English.
In summary, this is an excellent product, very good quality, good instructions and a major step forward in terms of technology over the system I was previously using.
I purchased the AAS Wireless 600 as a cost effective method of protecting my property without the cost of a monthly charge and to get the components I really wanted. I got enough components to have some spares, should they be necessary in the future. The system arrived in a timely manner and I made a general map of where I wanted the components installed. I laid the system out on the kitchen table and labeled them so that I knew exactly where they were to go. The programming of the controller was extremely easy and the installation was straightforward. The system performs better than I expected and I am more than satisfied with my purchase. I really like the fact that the system will call my cell from the land line in the house and tell me that something has set the system off. The American Alarm System rewards customers for a 4 star or 5 star rating, but I am truly satisfied with system and recommend it to my friends and family. I think it is every bit as good as the expensive systems, without the monthly charge and contracts..
New Updates Added 4/14/11 at bottom.
Main reasons for getting a system:
1. New renters next door are apparently into meth. Google "meth crime"
2. U.S. dollar collapse in the next 36 months (possibly by end of June). Google "Most Predictable Financial Calamity in History"
My thoughts about this system:
I have mixed feelings. It seems a good value overall, but there are some significant drawbacks to it.
The Cons:
1. Cordless phone interference. I now have a buzzing on all the phones in the house. The phones auto-select the channel they operate on, so I can't change that manually. Also, I have two sets of cordless phones and it happens on both sets so it's obviously not because they are on the same frequency. The support person suggested removing the DSL filters on the lines, which I was OK with as we no longer use DSL... but I tried it and no luck. She said if that didn't work that there was no way to fix the problem (outside of getting all corded phones, I suppose). This, I think, is something everyone should know ahead of time, as the buzzing is pretty bad. And, when I put someone on speaker phone as I often do for work, it's REALLY bad. I can't use my speaker phone anymore and I used to use it all the time. Cell phones are fine, though. No interference there or with my wireless Internet.
2. The double-sided tape on the window/door sensors is the foam type. You know, that kind that once you stick it to your beautiful new windows, walls or door trim, it will never come off again without leaving clumps of foam behind. So, thinking ahead... (SO GLAD I DID THIS!) I decided to buy "UGLU" from Wal-Mart and use that instead. So, installation took much longer as I removed every one of the foam tapes from both sides of the 25 door/window sensors, and used UGLU instead. The UGLU is great, as you can remove the sensors without damaging anything - though paint can sometimes come off a bit if you don't remove it as per the instructions and just try pulling it straight off; and you can reposition and re-stick the sensors if you'd like. The ability to reposition them is great for the motion detectors while you work out the best positioning for them. Use the bigger pieces of UGLU for the heavier motion sensors, not the tiny ones, as they will come loose and the sensors will drop to the floor and likely damage the antennas. Incidentally, I was told that unless you live in a huge house, you don't need to extend the antennas, which I like. If you don't want to risk them coming loose, use screws.
3. There is an on/off switch right on the control panel. This seems positively STUPID to me. Essentially, this could defeat the purpose of the entire system. If the alarm is sounding, or if it's beeping when entering the house indicating you have to enter the code to avoid the alarm going off... well... all I had to do was turn off the switch and the alarm was completely shut down. This is probably the dumbest thing I've ever seen unless I'm missing something. Definitely a question I'll be asking support next time they get back to me.
4. The instructions are unclear. I could rewrite them much better after the support person answered my questions. My questions were pretty basic and they probably should have been spelled out in the instructions in the first place in order to cut back on the number of calls their support line gets. With fewer calls, maybe they could get back to the remaining customers faster. I'll probably update this review later on with additional tips on installing so you can continue moving forward with installation while you wait for support to call you back.
5. The recording microphone for the auto-dialer is very poor. I practically had to shout into the microphone to get a half-way decent recording, else you couldn't hear it when it called the phone.
6. Slow technical support. I had to leave 3 messages until I finally got service to call me back and help me install it. I called again a couple days ago due to either a malfunctioning wireless smoke alarm or a control panel issue. I'm not sure which yet. I'm sure they'll get back to me eventually, but this isn't service where they'll get back to you in 24 hours. But, if they revised their installation manual with better instructions, they probably could handle all requests in 24 hours.
7. Wireless smoke detector problem. Upon testing the smoke detector right after installing it, the system kept triggering over and over again for that sensor -- even long after I removed the battery -- and it kept calling the phone numbers I set up for it to call. There's no apparent way to deactivate that one sensor or to reset the system so that it can stop thinking the smoke detector is being triggered -- at least not without deactivating all the sensors (that's what the manual says). I'm not sure if that would mean I'd have to reprogram them all (seems possible as I don't see anything in the instructions about "reactivating" them), but it would certainly mean the system wouldn't work if the sensors were all deactivated. So, I can't even set the alarm until someone gets back to me. Fortunately, I rarely go anywhere. I left a message with support three days ago regarding this issue. Still waiting. Glad I don't have to head out of town. But, to the company's credit, the woman I spoke with the one time was very knowledgeable and answered my questions very well. She said she was doing support for the system for eight years. She's a professional.
Pros:
1. Very loud indoor alarm (I haven't tested the outdoor one yet). This siren will scare the dickens out of anyone breaking in. It's very hard on the ears, and on any animals' ears, so you will want to put pets in a separate room with the door shut when testing, else you could probably damage their hearing some.
2. System dials up to 6 phone numbers, so you can have it call yours and your spouse's cell or work phones, along with a neighbor or two, and an alarm monitoring service if you wish.
3. Overall good value for the money. Comes with a bunch of sensors (25 door/window, 5 motion detectors, 1 glass break sensor, 1 smoke detector) so you can cover a mid-sized home quite well with the basics. We got a quote from ADT and the equivalent system would have cost around $2-3k for all this stuff -- plus they would have locked us into a 3 year contract for expensive monitoring service. You can get a cheaper service (as low as $8.95/mo) without any contracts that will work with this system. Also, I found ADT window stickers and an ADT lawn sign on eBay that you could get as a deterrent if you'd like. As the ADT guy explained, a survey of criminals was done and nine out of ten would not even bother burglarizing a home if they saw it had an alarm system. The odds of a break-in drop to an average of around 1 in 10,000 when adding just the stickers.
4. Installation and programming was actually quite simple once the instructions were clarified for me by support. Again, the most time-consuming part was putting UGLU adhesive on all the sensors, as I didn't want white sticky foam on everything if I needed to move or remove the system. UGLU was only $10 for the box and I used about a third of it. You can Google UGLU to order it. Amazon might carry it, too.
5. Comes with four keychain remotes. These are cool. If you hear someone in the house at night that shouldn't be there, just click the "panic" button on the keychain to sound the alarm and have the system start dialing out. Any intruder will undoubtedly freak out with the blaring siren. Also, each remote has a home and an away button you can activate, just as you can from the main panel, so you can set it from bed at night, putting it into "home" mode with the click of a button, or click the "away" button if you're heading out the door. Then, just click the disarm button when you are ready to turn it off.
6. Remote monitoring function. I haven't tested this yet. It could be great, or it might be junk if it uses the same microphone I used to record the outbound phone message. If that's the case, I don't have high hopes of actually hearing anyone in the house through my phone if the system calls me.
Conclusion:
I'm not 100% sure if I'm keeping it yet so I can't recommend it for everyone. It'll probably work OK for some, but some won't like it. The on/off switch on the side is - and forgive me if I'm repeating myself here - STUPID. It makes no sense to me whatsoever. I'm thinking of Crazy-gluing it permanently in the on position so it can't be turned off by an intruder. If I need to shut it down in a hurry then - and the pass-code doesn't work for some reason - I'll just use a hammer :) Currently I put duct tape over the on/off to hide it a bit - as if that'll help. Even if it didn't have the on/off switch, it'd probably be easy enough to just UNPLUG the siren from the control panel to silence it, and take out the phone cord so it doesn't call anyone. But, maybe a criminal won't be thinking so logically.
Maybe I'll keep it, as something is better than nothing. Also, it keeps me on track with my security plan (next comes the moat with crocodiles and motion-sensing paintball sniper rifles on the roof), and it provides at least a little peace of mind if we head out of town. The system will, very conveniently, call us if anything goes awry, and then we can call our really awesome neighbors (not the renters) and have them check things out. Actually, the system will call them for us. As we have pets, I appreciate the wireless smoke detector, too, knowing if ever there's a fire, we might get a call that will help save them.
Installation Tips:
1. Make a diagram of your rooms and where you'll put the sensors and number what sensors are in what room.
2. Label each sensor by number after programming it -- writing each zone number on the plastic pouch they come in so you know what's what when installing.
3. If you install all the sensors on the doors and windows, not realizing you actually needed to test them once everything was programmed, no worries - you can take the control panel (with battery backup) around the house with you as you test each one. Just take it off the wall and arm it when you reach the next sensor, then open the window or door or trip the motion detector. If the sensor is working properly, it will show the sensor number on the panel and the red "alarm" light will be lit until you disarm.
4. Again, use UGLU clear adhesive to stick the sensors if you ever think you might want to remove them without leaving ugly foam behind on the windows, doors or walls. This company should probably consider including a half-box of this stuff in every alarm kit. It would cost them an extra $5 per kit and I'm sure folks wouldn't mind paying that in order to not damage their home.
5. Be patient with support. They'll get back to you eventually. If all else fails, mention on their VM that you want to leave a positive review for them on Amazon, but can't do so until you speak with them.
I'm happy to amend this review if support contacts me and tells me how I can resolve some of these issues.
I'll add additional installation tips when I have more time. Those will be the answers I got from the support rep. You will probably have the same questions when you install it.
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UPDATES 4/14/11
Update on actually reaching tech support:
I finally spoke with their tech support after posting my initial review. After leaving 2 messages, they never got back to me. I had to call in again and reach someone live. They told me if I ever don't reach someone, that I was to just keep calling back instead of simply leaving messages, that this would get me support faster. So, this is what I'd recommend. Call until you reach someone live.
Update on smoke detector that would not stop tripping the alarm system:
I was informed that I accidentally tripped a motion sensor while in the middle of setting up the smoke detector. This is why the smoke detector got triggered once and kept triggering, to the point where I could not even use the system. So, this was my error because I had the motion detectors on the walls already activated when I had set up the smoke detector much later. Still, the instructions were not very clear in warning against this or in the consequences of tripping a motion detector while in the middle of setting up other sensors. As I set up the smoke detector after the fact, and I have motion detectors in the kitchen where I was doing this, I can see how this happened.
The CONSEQUENCES of this?
I was told I had to REDO the sensors in the ENTIRE HOUSE. I now have to reassign every single sensor on every door and window and every motion detector! What a pain in the rear! I haven't even done this yet, as it was so time-consuming the first time that I'm resisting taking the time to do it again; but I'll get to it eventually. For now, I have no working alarm system. Perhaps getting a doberman would have been easier. So, don't make this mistake!
If you're assigning/activating ANY sensors, make sure that you have your motion detectors OFF THE WALLS and FACE DOWN on a table where they can't get activated!!!! And set up all sensors at once. Don't wait until later to activate any of them.
But, if you accidentally do what I did, you can go around the house with the battery operated control panel and reassign all the door/window sensors without removing them. You will still, however, need to remove the motion detectors (putting them face down on a table).
IMPORTANT UPDATE ON UGLU:
While initially thought to be a brilliant idea (and it still is, partially), the UGLU is not strong enough to hold the motion sensors. Eventually, they fall off the walls and this can damage the antennae and perhaps even the inner electronics; though, so far, the electronics seem quite durable. The antennae did not do so well and several got bent, and one broke. So DON'T USE UGLU for putting up the motion detectors! Use screws only!
However, for the door/window sensors, which are much lighter, the UGLU is working PERFECTLY and will keep you from destroying your windows/doors when you remove them. You won't leave behind that foam residue, or any residue for that matter.
UPDATE ON SWITCH ON MAIN CONTROL PANEL
I was told it is best to not have the 30 second delay, but instead to have the system set to "instant" and to activate/deactivate the system using the remote control instead of the keypad on the control panel.
While not my first option, this makes sense, as this will make sure alarm goes off immediately upon entry and the fact that the on/off switch is on the control box is less consequential.
Regarding the on/off switch being on the box, the tech lady actually suggested what I had suggested to everyone in my initial review. That is, to put Crazy Glue on it, lol. Glue it in the ON position so a burglar can't come in and turn it off. Sure they can still smash the unit, but maybe it's a bit more secure. They can also rip the phone line out, but maybe won't have time before a call is sent out.
So, when using the remote control to activate/deactivate, the system's outdoor siren will supposedly make a chirp or something indicating it is activated/deactivated. This would indicate to any problem neighbors (on meth) exactly when you're leaving the house without activating it. They can listen for the activation. If they don't hear it, they can safely assume it's OK to break into your house when you're gone.
Not a perfect system by any means, but for the price, maybe not entirely bad. Depends on the level of protection you want. If you can afford it, I'd say get another system. If not, I guess something's better than nothing. Just be sure to read through my tips above before setting it up, as you may have to redo the entire thing.
For now, I'm lowering my rating from a 3 down to a 2 because of customer support not returning my calls, the aggravation this has been in setting it up, the poorly written and inadequate instructions, and the inherent weaknesses in the system itself.
A 1 rating would have meant to me that it's worthless, but it's really not. Once set up right, it should provide some modicum of protection, which is better than nothing, and could provide some peace of mind when you're not at home.
MY NEXT UPDATE
I'll post a new update again after I get it all set up and will let you know how it's working. Hopefully in a month or two I'll get that set up. With my Mom in ICU, this isn't exactly a priority for me at the moment.
Hope all this is clear. Feel free to post any questions or comments in the comments section. I will get an e-mail alert and will respond to you. - Home Security - Security System - Home Securtiy - Home Security Systems'
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