Instalments

"Any person wishing to install security systems should have to apply for a licence. Before it could be issued they would be vetted by the police and have to show that they were fit and proper persons to be the holders of such a licence and that they are technically competent to install and maintain security equipment in the category for which the licence was applied.

"The system could operate with different grades of licensing; for example, with intruder alarms the lowest grade of licence would only allow the installation of domestic audible only systems. A middle grade could also allow installations in commercial premises in general with a top grade for banks and government installations etc. with the cost of each licence being reflected in the type required. An inspectorate would need to be part of the system in order to keep standards high and look into any complaints.

"Any person or company not fulfilling their obligations in a proper manner could have their certificate revoked and be faced with a forced sale of their business at a knock down price as it would be illegal to operate without it."

Realigning inspectorates
(The NSCIA aligns itself with the LPC as an independent approval and certification body after splitting from the BSIA…)

"Announcing the decision Alan Needham, Director General of the Council, said: 'I greatly welcome the approval for the NSCIA to be brought within the Loss Prevention Council. It marks a new era and will ensure the future of the NSCIA as a truly independent organisation well equipped to serve the needs of security firms, their customers, the police and insurers in the rapidly growing security industry.'"

Overlooking the glass
(We focus on the selection of camera lenses as the most overlooked, although most important, part of a CCTV system…)

"To improve light transmission qualities the best CCTV lenses are coated with a good anti-reflection material such as magnesium fluoride. It is generally accepted that if lenses were not coated or 'bloomed', light losses could be of the order of 20 or 30 per cent. But by using magnesium fluoride this light loss is reduced to about 6 or 7 per cent.

"One of the main requirements of today's security CCTV systems is the ability to function over a wide range of lighting levels from bright sunlight down to semi-darkness. The latest high sensitivity cameras are capable of operating in very low light levels indeed but cannot handle bright light without some form of attenuation. Standard CCTV lenses cannot 'stop down' sufficiently to overcome this problem so special methods have been developed, namely lens spotting and neutral density filters."

Sleeping on it
(An installer passed on a juicy bit of gossip on a company's method of alarm testing which prompted the editor to include it in the Backchat column…)

"One well known company's method of testing their alarm systems consisted of wiring 4 core cable to the control panel and then walking round the site with 200 metres of cable trailing everywhere! Very unprofessional – and hardly worth the bother.

"I don't think I could sleep peacefully at night if I used this method on my own installation – and certainly my neighbours wouldn't get much sleep either with the constant false alarms!"