Unmonitored home alarm - and need for ongoing copper connection?

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taless

23 posts

Geek

#231950 21-Mar-2018 23:10

Hello

Enable (Christchurch) will be installing Ultra Fast Broadband in my property soon, so will be making the move from ADSL to UFB.

I have a Home Alarm (DSC LED5511). Currently, my Home Alarm is not centrally monitored. Every now and then, due to low battery or time/date error, my DSC LED5511 will emit an annoying beep until the problem is fixed. Pressing *2 will review problems like 1 for low battery or 8 for date error.

Currently, despite not being centrally monitored, there is never a fault for 3 "Telephone Line Fault".

I am worried that if Enable were to cut the Copper Line to my property, I will then end up with this annoying beep from my Home Alarm.

Is my worry justified? If cutting the Copper Line is going to cause the annoying beep in my property, how do I ensure that Enable does not cut the Copper line? Do I go through Enable, or my broadband provider - 2degrees?

Thank you.

Tinkerisk

4227 posts

Uber Geek

#1981293 22-Mar-2018 00:40

They'll cut the copper line and if you don't want annoying alerts, you have to ensure it will be treated the same way as you will do it with your plain PBX phones (when planned not to drop them due to mobile phone usage). If phone line monitoring isn't needed, there might be a disabling switch within the home alarm station you could configure.

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froob

692 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1981306 22-Mar-2018 07:08

You could try physically cutting the phone line to the alarm now and see what happens. I did this with a DSC alarm a few years back and it didn’t cause any errors on the unit, but YMMV.

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phantomdb

583 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1981671 22-Mar-2018 17:58

as an ex alarm installer and now a fiber installer

1. DSC alarms have phone line monitoring enabled by default so i could assume that if it has never been monitored to a central station or cellphone you should be able to get away with it not beeping.

2. Copper cut over is only really done if you plan to re-direct the VoIP service over the internal wiring to liven all the phone jacks, this would in tern supply voltage to the existing phone lines and also the home alarm IF it was ever connected to the phone line. ( This phone line monitoring "FEATURE" was generally at the discretion of the installer at the time it was installed as to weather it was disabled or not )

3. You could open the ALARM BOX not the KEYPAD and see if there are any wires coming from R T R1 T1 bottom right side of the PCB this was the phone connection terminals. ( NOTE in doing so the tamper would more than likely go off IF programmed as 24 Hour, IF this is the case calmly proceed to the keypad enter your DISARM SEQUENCE and the noise should stop.)

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toejam316

1466 posts

Uber Geek

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Lifetime subscriber

#1981681 22-Mar-2018 18:54

phantomdb:

as an ex alarm installer and now a fiber installer

1. DSC alarms have phone line monitoring enabled by default so i could assume that if it has never been monitored to a central station or cellphone you should be able to get away with it not beeping.

2. Copper cut over is only really done if you plan to re-direct the VoIP service over the internal wiring to liven all the phone jacks, this would in tern supply voltage to the existing phone lines and also the home alarm IF it was ever connected to the phone line. ( This phone line monitoring "FEATURE" was generally at the discretion of the installer at the time it was installed as to weather it was disabled or not )

3. You could open the ALARM BOX not the KEYPAD and see if there are any wires coming from R T R1 T1 bottom right side of the PCB this was the phone connection terminals. ( NOTE in doing so the tamper would more than likely go off IF programmed as 24 Hour, IF this is the case calmly proceed to the keypad enter your DISARM SEQUENCE and the noise should stop.)

Also regarding point 2 - don't rely on that voltage existing forever. At any point after a certain period (if I recall correctly it's like a month?), that line goes from a reserved intact line to a breakable intact line, which means at any point it could be allocated for another service or disconnect for other various reasons, and no longer receive exchange voltage.

Anything I say is the ramblings of an ill informed, opinionated so-and-so, and not representative of any of my past, present or future employers, and is also probably best disregarded.

phantomdb

583 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1981683 22-Mar-2018 19:01

toejam316:

phantomdb:

as an ex alarm installer and now a fiber installer

1. DSC alarms have phone line monitoring enabled by default so i could assume that if it has never been monitored to a central station or cellphone you should be able to get away with it not beeping.

2. Copper cut over is only really done if you plan to re-direct the VoIP service over the internal wiring to liven all the phone jacks, this would in tern supply voltage to the existing phone lines and also the home alarm IF it was ever connected to the phone line. ( This phone line monitoring "FEATURE" was generally at the discretion of the installer at the time it was installed as to weather it was disabled or not )

3. You could open the ALARM BOX not the KEYPAD and see if there are any wires coming from R T R1 T1 bottom right side of the PCB this was the phone connection terminals. ( NOTE in doing so the tamper would more than likely go off IF programmed as 24 Hour, IF this is the case calmly proceed to the keypad enter your DISARM SEQUENCE and the noise should stop.)

Also regarding point 2 - don't rely on that voltage existing forever. At any point after a certain period (if I recall correctly it's like a month?), that line goes from a reserved intact line to a breakable intact line, which means at any point it could be allocated for another service or disconnect for other various reasons, and no longer receive exchange voltage.

Sorry i was implying that if copper cut over was done the voltage from the VoIP setup would suffice the alarm for line monitoring.

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taless

23 posts

Geek

#1981705 22-Mar-2018 19:45

Thank you so much guys for your very helpful reply. I've learnt lots just by reading your comments!

phantomdb:

as an ex alarm installer and now a fiber installer

1. DSC alarms have phone line monitoring enabled by default so i could assume that if it has never been monitored to a central station or cellphone you should be able to get away with it not beeping.

2. Copper cut over is only really done if you plan to re-direct the VoIP service over the internal wiring to liven all the phone jacks, this would in tern supply voltage to the existing phone lines and also the home alarm IF it was ever connected to the phone line. ( This phone line monitoring "FEATURE" was generally at the discretion of the installer at the time it was installed as to weather it was disabled or not )

3. You could open the ALARM BOX not the KEYPAD and see if there are any wires coming from R T R1 T1 bottom right side of the PCB this was the phone connection terminals. ( NOTE in doing so the tamper would more than likely go off IF programmed as 24 Hour, IF this is the case calmly proceed to the keypad enter your DISARM SEQUENCE and the noise should stop.)

For as long as I owned the property, my alarm was never centrally monitored, and I never have an error with regards to "Telephone Line Fault". I guess my logical mind thinks of there being 3 possibilities (hope it makes sense!) -

- that either the central monitoring was disabled; or

- that there had always been a connection with the Alarm Monitoring Company, just that as we haven't paid any subscription fees if there was an alarm they will just ignore it; or that

- the DSC alarm is satisfied with having some 'voltage', regardless of whether there is an established connection or not.

In the near future, I may end up renting out the property as will be moving to a new city, so wanted to minimise any potential problems that my tenants may have.

1. Would you suggest that I perform the Copper cut over, and re-direct the VoIP service over the internal wiring to liven all the phone jacks? I guess there is a benefit in case my future tenants wants a landline with their UFB.

2. If I want a Copper cut over, do I speak to Enable, or 2degrees Broadband?

3. Am I correct that if, for some reason, my DSC is not set to "Disabled", me asking for the Copper cut over would not end up causing the annoying beep sound to happen?

My aim really is to keep the Home Alarm as an unmonitored alarm, with the desired effect of potentially scaring off any intruders, without paying monthly fees etc.

Appreciate your advice.

raytaylor

4014 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1982545 24-Mar-2018 14:03

Why not just get the alarm reprogrammed to not monitor the telephone line?

Then it wont have an error if there is no line voltage.

Ray Taylor

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