Keypad or touchscreen
You arm and disarm with a code at the door. DSC keypads come as a touchscreen or with buttons, wired or fully wireless. The Qolsys IQ Panel 2 is panel and touchscreen in one.
Alarm systems that are simple to live with
Andy fits and services alarms for homes and small businesses on the Northern Beaches and lower North Shore. One panel, the sensors your place needs, and an app that shows what is happening at home.
- Installing alarms for
- 30 years
- NSW Master Security Licence
- 000102708
- App and smart home
- Alarm.com dealer
- Your price
- Fixed after an inspection
One system, three settings
You set the alarm at the panel, with a key fob or in the app. Choose a setting to see which sensors are on guard.
You are home and the doors are in use. Door contacts and motion sensors stand by. Smoke detectors and the panic button keep working.
For the night. Doors and windows are guarded, the motion sensors inside stand by. You can walk to the kitchen without setting anything off.
Nobody is home, everything is on guard. The motion sensors ignore pets up to 27 kg, so the dog can stay in.
- Doors and windows On guard Standing by
- Motion sensors inside On guard Standing by
- Smoke detector Always on
- Panic button Always on
What goes on the wall
An alarm is a handful of parts. Andy picks them for your floor plan, so you pay for what the place needs.
Sensors
Wireless sensors run on batteries and need no cable. Which ones you need depends on the doors, windows and rooms.
- Motion sensor
- Ignores pets up to 27 kg.
- Door and window contact
- Reports the moment something opens.
- Glass break detector
- Listens for breaking glass within 5 m.
- Smoke and heat detector
- With its own 85 dB horn.
- Flood detector
- Reports water on the floor.
- Shock sensor
- For doors, windows, garage doors and safes.
Key fob
Four buttons on your key ring, one of them a panic button. You switch the alarm from the bedroom or the driveway. Ness fobs are waterproof and open the garage door or gate as well.
The app
With Alarm.com you arm, disarm and check every sensor from your phone, and you hear about it when something opens. Andy sets the app up on your phones. Cameras, locks, garage doors and lights run in the same app if you add them.
Systems Andy installs and services
Which one fits depends on the building and on what is already in the walls.
-
Qolsys IQ Panel 2 with Alarm.com
Suits: Units, shops, offices, rentals and heritage-listed buildings
Wireless, so no cables go through the walls. Touchscreen, siren, glass break detector and 4G module sit in one panel. It reports over 4G and your internet at the same time.
-
DSC PowerSeries Neo
Suits: Houses and businesses that already have alarm cabling
A hybrid: it keeps the wired sensors already in the walls and adds wireless ones where no cable can go. The radio link is encrypted, sensor batteries last up to eight years. Runs with the Alarm.com app.
-
Ness D8 and D16
Suits: Houses with a gate or garage door
Alarm, access control for three doors and home automation in one box. The key fob is waterproof. An optional app opens the gate or the garage.
-
Bosch Solution 16i and 880
Suits: Smaller homes and shops
A code pad with plain icons that shows at a glance what the system is doing. The 16i splits into areas such as upstairs, downstairs, garage and granny flat, and can text you when the kids come home and switch it off.
No phone line since the NBN? The alarm can stay.
Older alarms report over the copper phone line. Where the NBN has replaced that line, the alarm can no longer call out. A 4G communicator goes into the existing panel and gives it a mobile connection of its own.
If the panel itself has had its day, a DSC Neo takes over the wired sensors already in place.
- The SafeDial communicator connects to any alarm panel that speaks Contact ID. The panel, keypads and sensors stay where they are.
- It reports over 4G and over your internet connection. If one path fails, the other carries the signal.
- You arm and disarm from your phone with the Pocket Secure app.
- It reports to any monitoring centre. The Ness 4G dialler can call your own number instead and has a back-up battery for power cuts.
With monitoring, the alarm reports to a monitoring centre that is staffed around the clock and acts on your instructions.
What it costs
Two starting points for the wireless system, installed and ready to use. Your own price is fixed after an inspection, or after you send photos by SMS.
-
Wireless alarm for a unit, shop or small house
One pet-friendly motion sensor and one door or window contact
from $1,399 incl. GST, installed
-
The same system for a larger home
Two pet-friendly motion sensors and two door or window contacts
from $1,595 incl. GST, installed
In both
- Qolsys IQ Panel 2 with 7-inch touchscreen
- Siren and glass break detector built into the panel
- Power pack and back-up battery
- 4G module for the Alarm.com app
- Installation, and the app set up on your phones
The app service and monitoring are separate. Andy states the running costs in your quote.
Questions about alarm systems
Will my dog or cat set it off?
The motion sensors Andy fits ignore pets up to 27 kg. In the Stay setting the motion sensors inside stand by anyway.
What happens when the power or the internet goes down?
The Alarm.com panels have a mobile connection of their own and a back-up battery. They keep reporting when the phone line is cut, the power is out or the internet is down.
I rent, or the building is heritage listed. Can I have an alarm?
Yes. The wireless systems need no cables through the walls and go in quickly and without mess. They suit units, shops, rentals, Airbnb and heritage-listed buildings.
Can I keep my old alarm?
Often, yes. If the panel still works, a 4G communicator replaces the phone line. If the panel needs replacing, a DSC Neo can take over the wired sensors already in place.
Does it suit a shop or an office?
Yes. With Alarm.com for Business every employee gets a code of their own. You see when the premises open and close, and you manage several locations in one app. When someone leaves, you remove their code.
How do I get a price?
Call or text Andy. He comes out for an inspection, or you send photos by SMS. Then you get a fixed price.
Fixed price after an inspection
Or send photos by SMS.