Wireless Burglar Alarms

If you have decided to do a little DIY and install your own wireless burglar alarm you might be feeling a little overwhelmed.

Sure the alarm comes with instructions, but they might be written by a foreign technician that doesn’t speak English!

So to make things just that little bit easier on you, I’ve listed my top eight tips for installing your home wireless burglar alarm.

1. Before you go mounting any devices in place, check the signal strength and background noise levels from each of the locations you’re thinking of putting anything. If you can’t do a signal strength test, try doing a few tests manually with the alarm just to make sure the control panel is receiving the signal before you fix anything into place.
2. Try to keep your transmitting and receiving devices away from anything metallic. This includes metal window frames, doors and metal lintels. The metal could interfere with your signal.
3. Make sure you mount all transmitting and receiving devices so their aerials are vertical. You will get the best range with the aerials pointing straight up in the air.
4. If you have to run any wiring, then keep in away from the aerials. The metal in the wiring will adversely affect the aerials performance.
5. Don’t cut or change the aerials on any of your devices in any way. If an aerial needs to be replaced, make sure you replace it with a manufacturer approved aerial. Aerials are tuned to certain frequencies by altering their length, so if you cut your aerial down you may not be able to transmit or receive with the other alarm devices.
6. Try not to mount the alarm receiver next to electronic equipment such as televisions or computers as these can generate background noise which interferes with the alarm signal. You should also steer clear of large metal objects like water tanks and radiators.
   
   photo credit: akeg
7. The higher you mount your receiver aerial the better your signal will be, especially if you have thick walls as the signal will have trouble passing through them. So if you have an attic space it may be a good idea to mount the receiver in there.
8. Make sure your detection sensors are placed correctly so they will pick up movement from the area they are covering. Test this by walking around the area. If the sensor is not picking you up, you may need to adjust the position.