Two days ago, I was on the way to the grocery store when my cell phone rang. Now, my cell phone is not the primary way people normally communicate with me so I thought "Hmm... I hope this is not the alarm system calling me." Anyway, after I had parked (no driving and fiddling with a cell phone at the same time!!!!!!), I checked my phone and saw that my wife had called me. I called her back to learn that our alarm system had called her. (Somehow I missed the call to my phone.)

So I turned around and went back home... because well, maybe someone tried to break in. More likely though, I thought the cats had tripped a motion detector. The system was installed a little before Christmas so it is still relatively new and could have needed a bit of calibration. I was concerned about the neighbors being disturbed by the siren. When I arrived, I found the front door locked. I entered, disarmed the alarm system and checked its memory. I found the only zone tripped was the front door. Oops... my cat theory went out the window. I spent a good five minutes there wondering what to do next. Was I going to walk around the house only to come face to face with a burglar? It would have been unlikely that someone came, bypassed the locks on the doorknob and the deadbolt somehow, tripped the alarm and then locked behind themselves. I eventually also reasoned that if someone had come in the house and was still in the house, they would have tripped the motion sensors. They have been strategically located and tested so that it is impossible enter the front door or move from one floor to another without tripping them. I still went around the house just in case to check but everything was normal. (Except the cats, who did not appreciate that the siren went off.)

I later figured out why the front door contact was tripped. I was closing the door too fast for the magnetic contact. It was not registering that the door had closed (so the alarm would automatically go off after the exit delay and the entry delay had expired.) I found that if I close the door slowly, it works fine.

One thing I should have done but did not do is check the system status remotely before entering the house.

This is full of fail.

What you ought to have done after turning around to go home, is to have screeched to a halt on your driveway;
-Taken your Benelli M4 with the Desert Camo finish, EOTech and laser sight from its rack in your car's center console;
-Kicked the front door in yelling "Come get some, motherf&*#$^%!";
-Cleared the house by blasting a couple of rounds in each room before looking inside then yelling "Clear" to yourself;
-Then waited an hour crouched in your living room with shottie on shoulder in case you missed a bad guy hiding in a cupboard or closet; and
-Then after dusting the wall plaster off yourself, called the wife and tell her to bring home some spackle and spatula.

Don't you know anything about home defense?

^^^^^

AdAstra wrote:This is full of fail.

What you ought to have done after turning around to go home, is to have screeched to a halt on your driveway;
-Taken your Benelli M4 with the Desert Camo finish, EOTech and laser sight from its rack in your car's center console;
-Kicked the front door in yelling "Come get some, motherf&*#$^%!";
-Cleared the house by blasting a couple of rounds in each room before looking inside then yelling "Clear" to yourself;
-Then waited an hour crouched in your living room with shottie on shoulder in case you missed a bad guy hiding in a cupboard or closet; and
-Then after dusting the wall plaster off yourself, called the wife and tell her to bring home some spackle and spatula.

Don't you know anything about home defense?

Nice!

lemur wrote:Two days ago, I was on the way to the grocery store when my cell phone rang. Now, my cell phone is not the primary way people normally communicate with me so I thought "Hmm... I hope this is not the alarm system calling me." Anyway, after I had parked (no driving and fiddling with a cell phone at the same time!!!!!!), I checked my phone and saw that my wife had called me. I called her back to learn that our alarm system had called her. (Somehow I missed the call to my phone.)

So I turned around and went back home... because well, maybe someone tried to break in. More likely though, I thought the cats had tripped a motion detector. The system was installed a little before Christmas so it is still relatively new and could have needed a bit of calibration. I was concerned about the neighbors being disturbed by the siren. When I arrived, I found the front door locked. I entered, disarmed the alarm system and checked its memory. I found the only zone tripped was the front door. Oops... my cat theory went out the window. I spent a good five minutes there wondering what to do next. Was I going to walk around the house only to come face to face with a burglar? It would have been unlikely that someone came, bypassed the locks on the doorknob and the deadbolt somehow, tripped the alarm and then locked behind themselves. I eventually also reasoned that if someone had come in the house and was still in the house, they would have tripped the motion sensors. They have been strategically located and tested so that it is impossible enter the front door or move from one floor to another without tripping them. I still went around the house just in case to check but everything was normal. (Except the cats, who did not appreciate that the siren went off.)

I later figured out why the front door contact was tripped. I was closing the door too fast for the magnetic contact. It was not registering that the door had closed (so the alarm would automatically go off after the exit delay and the entry delay had expired.) I found that if I close the door slowly, it works fine.

One thing I should have done but did not do is check the system status remotely before entering the house.

Glad everything was (relatively) OK. We learn and adapt...quickly.

Xela

glad it was just a fault with the system.

From odd encounters like that it helps us think through our plan of action in case of trouble.

Now for what you shouldn't do:

years ago a friend of mine and his wife came back to their apartment from going out to eat. They went to the bathroom and saw a cigarette in the toilet. Neither of them smoked. Nothing had appeared amiss until then. Eventually, they figured out the guy was hiding in the bedroom closet. The wife freaked quietly. My friend just opened the front door and called out..... "Look, I have opened the front door.... I don't care why you are here .....just come on out and get the hell out of here and we can both go to sleep in our own beds tonight." He was a brave soul. Or stupid. But the guy opened up the bedroom closet and sprinted for the front door. They closed the door behind him and locked it. When I asked if he called the police he said "why, what the hell were they going to do?" I say he was lucky.

Living in the Ghetto in the East Valley of Phoenix, I've learned that the best home security system that has faults that are generally easy to live with is actually Chinese in manufacture:

A well fed Chow Chow who gets lots of love from owners, but knows that the house belongs to "her".

Combine a ridiculous fear people have of Chows (undeserved, since they are lovable and kind if not inbred-stupid pups) with the fact that a 75lb (Yes, I know Mao is fat...) canine breed that is known for not only amazing bite strength but also beating prey into submission kind of takes the fight out of unwelcome houseguests. True, Chairman Mao cannot Twitter or text me when there is a break in, but at least I know if I am not around or not as aware as I should be, she's got it covered.

Usually in excess dog hair, but she's got it covered.

neotrotsky wrote:Living in the Ghetto in the East Valley of Phoenix, I've learned that the best home security system that has faults that are generally easy to live with is actually Chinese in manufacture:

A well fed Chow Chow who gets lots of love from owners, but knows that the house belongs to "her".

Combine a ridiculous fear people have of Chows (undeserved, since they are lovable and kind if not inbred-stupid pups) with the fact that a 75lb (Yes, I know Mao is fat...) canine breed that is known for not only amazing bite strength but also beating prey into submission kind of takes the fight out of unwelcome houseguests. True, Chairman Mao cannot Twitter or text me when there is a break in, but at least I know if I am not around or not as aware as I should be, she's got it covered.

Usually in excess dog hair, but she's got it covered.

Two words: sedative, bologna

neotrotsky wrote: A well fed Chow Chow who gets lots of love from owners, but knows that the house belongs to "her".

Yeah, we should have gone with a chow chow. We got a tactical cat and then a backup tactical cat, just in case. But I think the door-to-door salesman lied to us.