Das NX4 problem

[RedXT]

I have one of these units in the shed and has been ok for over six months, the other night the alarm went off but after checking I couldnt find any reason. There are no animals inside not even a mouse that I know of. There are only 2 "PIR" sensors connected, is it possible for a spider crawling across one to set it off (I have seen a couple of huntsmen around 50mm in size).

Any ideas would be appreciated

Thanks thomo

[watchdog]

What type of PIRs ? PIRs will also respond to a negative IR signature. So after a nice warm day a cool draft blowing through WILL set it off. For a shed you nees dual techs at the minimum

[RedXT]

Not sure Watchdog I dont do this for a living, is there any easy way to tell what I have

[downunderdan]

Upload a photo and I'd say someone would recognise it.

Otherwise, when you walk in front of it how many lights come on and what colours are they? SOME 'Dual Tech' i.e. PIR and Microwave often have three lights on them e.g. PIR, Microwave and ALARM (both of them together).

False alarms are a major problem for the industry. It still saddens me how many installers put in rubbish sensors to save ten bucks (roughly the difference between nasty and nice). Our distributor have learned to stop asking which ones we want and simply send 'the good ones'.

[RedXT]

I will get a pick later, can't blame the installer as I did that and the system is pretty old I got it for nothing, I removed it from a workshop my son was renting. This is the first false alarm since I set it up six month ago, but of course it was three o'clock in the morning which is a pain

thanks

[watchdog]

False alarms are ALWAYS at 3am

[downunderdan]

On systems we install, we consider one false alarm per site every four years to be an acceptable benchmark.
Roughly 70% of false alarms are caused by user error, for which the only solution is user training, sensible entry-timers and so forth. We give installers a lot of reading material on common pitfalls and it is often 'news' to experienced techs who haven't considered these issues. It's not hard though.

It frustrates me when people say they don't want an alarm monitored because they dislike all the wake-up calls they used to receive from [Brand X]. In effect, we were being punished because of someone else's incompetence or disdain. Invariably it would turn out that they were the wrong detectors or poorly programmed systems. We would prefer customers that appreciate the immediate action on an alarm activation should be to despatch a patrol or the cops. Not try and ring a dozen people to save wasting money on responses to false alarms that shouldn't have happened in the first place.

One of the nice advantages of non-phoneline monitoring, is that you can immediately contact the premises (or they can contact our monitoring station) without the phoneline having been seized by a panel.