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Where past meets present

Of the approximately 2,1 million serious crime cases reported to the police during 2010/2011, 156 346 involved aggravated or common robbery. Of these, 16 889 were robberies at residential premises, mostly committed between 10 pm and 4 am when owners were forced – often at gunpoint – to open safes and hand over valuables and cash.

“These are frightening statistics that underpin the importance of having a good, reliable alarm system at home,” says Valerie Bingham, product manager for Elvey Security Technologies.

All well and good for home owners with the financial wherewithal to install the latest security technology, but what of the many families with limited budgets who are living with legacy hardwired systems dating back years?

“On the back of rising crime in South Africa during the 90s, anxious home owners in increasing numbers had burglar alarms installed in their homes,” says Bingham. “These were closed loop configurations designed to trigger an alarm if the magnetic circuit was broken. There are still many of these systems in use today, hence the need for a product that could be integrated with them to enhance performance and reliability.”

A hybrid alarm solution provides the home owner with hard-wired reliability and wireless flexibility that allows for the addition of devices such as wireless keyfobs, smoke detectors and outdoor detectors at a later stage. Wireless adds flexibility to a hard-wired control panel in that arising concerns can be addressed quickly and with minimum effort by installers. In addition, wireless can be installed without chasing walls or making other structural changes to hide unsightly wires.

According to Bingham, the DSC PC1808 is one of the leading hybrid systems on the market today, supporting both wired and wireless applications. By simply adding a wireless receiver module to the control panel, the user opens up to 32 wireless zones. The system boasts eight partitions, making it possible for users to decide how they want their alarm peripherals grouped. This, she says, is an extremely useful feature for those wanting to arm only the outside detectors while enjoying free movement within their homes or offices.

Signal quality can be improved with the addition of wireless repeaters to the system, she adds. These extend the range of the DSC wireless devices from the control panel/receiver to compensate for interference sources. Retrospectively compatible with existing DSC security systems, including ALEXOR, PowerSeries and MAXSYS, these wireless repeaters allow for significant savings since no costly modifications are necessary by installers.

Up to four wireless repeaters can be installed on to one control panel, to extend the range between the devices and the receiver, which can transmit a signal up to one kilometre line of sight.

For more information contact Elvey Security Technologies, +27 (0)11 401 6700,  tasha.smith@elvey.co.za,  www.elvey.co.za

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