Home Security Systems?

[RevRay]

So here's a question I haven't seen on here, or found in any searches ...

Do any of you guys or gals have home security systems that you installed yourself? Both my wife & I are very heavy sleepers, and I'm thinking that now that I have a gun in the house, it would be helpful if I was actually able to be awakened if somebody did break into my house. I'm not looking to spend a small fortune, which is why I asked for people who had done a self-installation. If you have a system that you really like, I'd appreciate hearing about what is has in it, and how much it cost. I'd especially like to hear about one that might even call my phone (which is always right next to me when I'm sleeping) if the alarm is triggered.

[ripley16]

I installed one myself. it consisted of hard wired magnetic sensors, glass breakage sensors, two key pads, the control panel and an alarm horn. I did not install the dialer to alert anyone by phone, but it would have been simple to do. The horn was very loud. No sleeping through it.

The system did in fact save me from being robbed twice. Once with the house wide open, the flashing light on the key pad must have scared them off. The other time I think we arrived home and they ran off... leaving tools at a rear window.

Depending on how much you want to spend, the control panel can be programmed to do many things when tripped. Zones are a good idea too, so one area can be left open and another protected, say when having a backyard event. Doors inside the house can be wired too, but that can turn into a pain and much discipline is needed to remember to turn it on and off. Battery back-up is a must.

For a fairly simple system, with say 3 entry points and a dozen windows and a dialer will run about $2000. Each option adds cost, but I think a professional system is a great sales feature.

[crazymailman]

I've been hearing about this system and am thinking about switching myself (though I haven't decided to drop my current one yet).

http://simplisafe.com/start7

[Alfonse]

I put in my own system. My insurance company give us a big break on our homeowners insurance with it. It has 4 zones, each with fire and motion detectors. It auto-dials and can use cell phones. The best deal is the monitoring. Buying through these folks and installing yourself, the monitoring is something like $20 per year! Installation took maybe three hours. That was 4 years ago.

http://www.homesecuritystore.com/c-68-alarm-systems.aspx

I installed a DSC system, but there may be better ones now.