New Ring Alarm System 199

FYI, after some research I am thinking a decent glass break sensor may be the best solution to my problem in the main living area.
 
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hmjgriffon said:
FYI, after some research I am thinking a decent glass break sensor may be the best solution to my problem in the main living area.
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Why not use both? Try a pet PIR and glass break sensor. If the pet PIR still triggers with your dog, then try angling it up so it's above the head of the dog everywhere in the room eg 3 ft minimum. Yes that will leave low level blind spots that burglars could simply crawl under, but 1. They'd need to suss that before entry - unlikely unless high end professionals in which case unless you own precious paintings or artefacts, it's unlikely to be your door they're coming to (!) and 2. it's most likely most will just come through a door or window and so anything detecting say 3 ft from the floor at the lowest point, will still catch them. A glass break is alright, but it's little use if they come through the door. Door reed sensors will help here, but again if they come through the panel instead of opening the door, you'll fail to detect them as the reed and magnet will never separate. You can't cover every eventuality, but sometimes it's best to double up if 1 solution alone isn't ideal.
 
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CCTVCam said:
Why not use both? Try a pet PIR and glass break sensor. If the pet PIR still triggers with your dog, then try angling it up so it's above the head of the dog everywhere in the room eg 3 ft minimum. Yes that will leave low level blind spots that burglars could simply crawl under, but 1. They'd need to suss that before entry - unlikely unless high end professionals in which case unless you own precious paintings or artefacts, it's unlikely to be your door they're coming to (!) and 2. it's most likely most will just come through a door or window and so anything detecting say 3 ft from the floor at the lowest point, will still catch them. A glass break is alright, but it's little use if they come through the door. Door reed sensors will help here, but again if they come through the panel instead of opening the door, you'll fail to detect them as the reed and magnet will never separate. You can't cover every eventuality, but sometimes it's best to double up if 1 solution alone isn't ideal.
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yep, already got the contact switches on doors and windows, planning for motion covering every door and window, and or glass break, because, why the hell not, buhahaha, also I got tasker last night, and set it up so that if I get a notifcation from my HA app with certain text in it, it cranks my phone volume up all the way and blasts whatever sound I want, woohoo.
 
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I've got home assistant integrated with blue iris, contact switches, motion sensors that can do temp, humidity, lux, UV, seismic, can use them for security and controlling lights and things, awesome system, great documentation and a great and helpful community.
 
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Late to the party, but I just got an email from Ring announcing Ring Alarm since we have a Ring Doorbell. Have to admit it sounds like a possible game changer. I'm certainly considering it due to the low monitoring price, especially considering I already pay $30/year for our Ring Doorbell. I know several people have pre-ordered, have they shipped any yet? Curious to hear some additional first hand experiences.
 
Mark Frank said:
Late to the party, but I just got an email from Ring announcing Ring Alarm since we have a Ring Doorbell. Have to admit it sounds like a possible game changer. I'm certainly considering it due to the low monitoring price, especially considering I already pay $30/year for our Ring Doorbell. I know several people have pre-ordered, have they shipped any yet? Curious to hear some additional first hand experiences.
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I have tested it. It works as promised.
 
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I've had the system for a week - seems reliable so far. Imho, just needs some small tweaks like an app option for 15s (or less, but not zero - currently it's either 30s or 0s) delay before the alarm goes off, a NG sensor (for stovetops), a legacy fire-alarm listener (incoming/promised), and a good quality PoE camera.

It's $100/yr for 24/7 monitoring, and we get $70 off our home insurance. Nets out to $30/yr for professional monitoring, including built-in cellular (AT&T) and 24h battery backup. To me, $30/yr is a no-brainer, but if you want to go super-cheap, you can pay nothing extra and suffer no crippling - you'll still get notifications on your mobile app.

For the equipment itself, the Costco deal for $239.99 (6 contact sensors, 1 base, 1 motion sensor, 1 keypad, 1 extender) is the best deal I have found, if you can use the extra sensors. I bought 6 more contact sensors for a total of 12. Of the 12, only 1 wouldn't talk to the base. I gave ring a call. They gave me instructions on how to factory reset the unit - worked great after that. Easy-peasy lemon squeezy.

BTW, if you pay the $100/yr Protect Plus Plan, you also get 10% off from their online shop, and the warranty of the system is basically extended indefinitely, as long as you continue with the plan. According to the ring representative, they'll replace dead parts without charge, going forward, as long as you didn't do anything malicious, like take a hammer to that part or pour water on them.

Oh, one other note: in our county, the police department requires a permit (initial $35, renewal every 2y for $30), but the fee's waived for seniors (if you have one living at your residence). So do google your local county's sheriff's office for alarm permit applications so you can understand what rules and fees apply in your particular jurisdiction.

Overall, it's a game-changer - if you dig a bit, you'll noticed that amazon has bought out ring not too long ago. Given the propensity of amazon to act as a disruptor, it's not that surprising they are pressing hard here - the typical $30-40/mo for monitoring and hundreds to thousands for a typical install is nothing less than downright avarice. As demonstrated by ring, it can be done much more efficiently at a much lower price.
 
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hmjgriffon said:
Been using home assistant for a few weeks now, best home automation/security system in existence right now.
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except it cannot be monitored...want a keypad? got to build your own...its a cute automation system...nothing more.
 
fenderman said:
except it cannot be monitored...want a keypad? got to build your own...its a cute automation system...nothing more.
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You are wrong. You don't have to build the keypad, you can display it on anything with a browser, you can monitor it yourself, just as good as any monitoring station, tell me how many people don't have their phone with them 24/7 and it's more flexible than that legacy crap will ever be. I can have it notify 15 different people if I want, people put too much stock in monitoring stations, the cops aren't giving them any higher priority than if you call, and possibly even less, if you call and tell them you are looking at thieves on a camera, they know it's real. You obviously know nothing about it. The ONLY thing something like ring is good for is people who get confused using their TV remote, in fact, systems like that are the cute little alarms, who gives a shit about some physical panel on the wall? I disable the alarm from my phone before I get out of the car and the bonus is one click also turns on my lights, the fan in my bedroom, and anything else I want it to haha.
 
hmjgriffon said:
You are wrong. You don't have to build the keypad, you can display it on anything with a browser, you can monitor it yourself, just as good as any monitoring station, tell me how many people don't have their phone with them 24/7 and it's more flexible than that legacy crap will ever be. I can have it notify 15 different people if I want, people put too much stock in monitoring stations, the cops aren't giving them any higher priority than if you call, and possibly even less, if you call and tell them you are looking at thieves on a camera, they know it's real. You obviously know nothing about it. The ONLY thing something like ring is good for is people who get confused using their TV remote, in fact, systems like that are the cute little alarms, who gives a shit about some physical panel on the wall? I disable the alarm from my phone before I get ito of the car and the bonus is one click also turns on my lights, the fan in my bedroom, and anything else I want it to haha.
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exactly you need to put up something on the wall that can display a browser and hope it doesnt crash, then power it (the ring has a rechargeable battery that lasts for months or a power option). You are a fool if you think self monitoring is reliable. Every single person has times when that are not reachable on their phone. Yeah, sure you have 15 people that will love getting your alerts and will certainly call the cops to your house...you certainly wont get an insurance discount that pays for the ring. Alarm systems are designed with reliability at its core. How long can your home automation system stay alive after a power outage (yeah yeah, you have 15 car batteries in your basement because you built your own UPS because the store bought units are for chumps who get confused using their tv remotes)...get real. The ring alarm has a built in battery backup for 24 hours...add a small cheap ups and it can go for days. How is ring, which was just released and supports the zwave protocol, legacy? Im certain you also pay for and have a cellular backup connected to your dual wan router....i get your position though....you need to justify your sill choice...There are other options outside ring that are way better...my point was that ring is by far the cheapest. Home assistant is not an alarm system and should not be confused with one.
 
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Actually, a keypad is actually quite convenient. Sometimes, I forget to check my phone to see if someone engaged the alarm or not. In that case, no need fumbling or looking for the phone - just PIN the keypad that's always in the same place. Also, for any visitors, I can give them their own PIN without forcing them to download the ring app. Furthermore, the keypad is optimized to sip power - the battery in the ring keypad will last 6-10mo before needing an AC Adapter charge.

I don't know about your jurisdiction, but the sheriffs in my county have already figured out how to deal with false alarms - they'll charge increasing fees for each subsequent false alarm (1st one free, if registered). As a consequence, they actually have no qualms responding quickly to alarms going off, whether it comes from an individual or a company.

The 24/7 monitoring is just an additional safety layer beyond phone monitoring, one that home insurance companies like. I expect that most of the time, I will be aware and respond to any alarms more quickly than the monitoring company. However, with the option, being away on vacation or forgetting to charge my phone pose no problems. For a net $30/year (after subtracting the insurance discount), it'd be almost stupid not to pay.

The ring alarm system is good enough, easy enough, and cheap enough for 99% of the consumers out there. I'm sure there will always be tinkerers who prefer to do homebrew - I've researched a bit myself, but it was either not reliable enough (need to add cellular backup, or batteries, etc...), too complicated getting parts to work together, or too expensive (either initial layout or monthly payments).

For something like an alarm system, I prefer to pay as little as I can, and basically, just set it and forget it. ring got this part right.
 
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