Instalments

(We reported on a new deterrent against vehicle theft and tampering...)

"A potential thief approaching a vehicle fitted with Stop-A-Thief's Invisibeam is likely to change his mind when a voice tells him to 'Bug off!', or perhaps even if the message were something more polite. If not, a second warning should do it and if he still persists, the alarm will sound. The system works by means of a vehicle perimeter protection using microwave emissions from a transceiver unit inside the vehicle. An additional advantage is the elimination of false alarms, since the warning logic contained within the Unit's 8-bit microprocessor determines that ignoring two warnings signals an intent to break in."

Welcome 185

(A feature by examiner Michael Taplin introduced a new series based on The City and Guilds 185 Part 2 qualifying examination...)

"'Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer' – so said Charles Colton in 1820. I have set questions and been the examiner for City and Guilds Certificate 185 in Security and Emergency Alarm Systems since the scheme's inception in 1984 – and I hope I'm no fool!

"Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, in the absence of any more specific course of study, apprentices and trainees in the alarms industry would have undertaken the City and Guilds Course A in Electrical Installation Work which, interestingly enough, was known as Certificate 185.

"The course covered both craft theory and practical activities in all aspects of installation work, and was therefore reasonably appropriate to the work of the alarm technician, particularly before the real advent of complex electronic security devices. Apart from the compulsory core studies, at least one special study would be undertaken, from a range including subjects as diverse as electrical appliance servicing and marine electrical plant. In addition there was provision for 'college-devised' courses of study, where a small group of colleges would set papers on a co-operative basis, perhaps in association with a regionalised industrial training programme. One such college-devised syllabus was in the special subject of Burglar Alarm Installation, the forerunner of today's Certificate 185 in Security and Emergency Alarm Systems."

Throwing light on the subject

(Terry Hack, principal of Safeguard Security Consultants, recounted a story about another use for permanent lighting ...)

" A new client for whom we were installing an alarm system telephoned the office to advise that his wife would not allow a bell box on their expensively refurbished retirement home. After friendly disagreement and assurances that his wife would eventually agree, I was invited to persuade her. Twenty minutes of explanation on the deterrent value of having a bell box followed, after which she said: 'If it is that important, why don't you light it up?'

"A very valid point and one that we immediately took on board. What worth is a deterrent if it cannot be seen when it is most needed?"

False economy

(Philips' Colin Child warned against scrimping when installing an access control system...)

"Always remember that saving money in the short term by purchasing cheap door hardware is very likely to cost far more in the long run. It may not even last out the system's warranty period, and subsequently the installer will be called out regularly to install, for example, new locks, electric strikes and door closers. Take good advice and spend as much time considering the door hardware as is spent on selecting the electronics."