re-using motion sensors

[hmjgriffon]

The place I rent used to have an alarm system and all it has left are a few motion sensors and the wall panel, could I re use these motions sensors any alarm system? Landlord doesn't want them.

 

[fenderman]

Depends on the model of the sensor and the new system you will be using.... you can certainly reuse any wired contacts....was it a wired system? What system are you replacing it with?

 

[vector18]

Yup, if they are wireless, they need to be compatible with the panel. If they are hardwired motions, you can use them on any panel.

 

[hmjgriffon]

Depends on the model of the sensor and the new system you will be using.... you can certainly reuse any wired contacts....was it a wired system? What system are you replacing it with?

They are the basic wired kind, the whole system was wired, looks like an older system, forgot what the panel says, there is a box in one of the closets with tons of wires going into it and a small rechargeable battery, I haven't pulled one off the wall yet but I wasn't sure if it's just a basic sensor that can connect to anything like does it just send an electrical signal when it detects motion or does it actually need to do higher level communication.

 

[vector18]

Standard motion detectors use 4 wires. Two for power and two for the relay. The relay tells the alarm panel if there is motion or not. It does not send electrical signals or anything like that. It's a dry contact. I hate to be so blunt, but that is who I am and I will not change for anyone, and probably the reason I got banned from the other forum, but this is extremely basic burglar alarm knowledge. What are you gong to do when the hard stuff comes up? Is this your first alarm system project or do you have some experience?

 

[hmjgriffon]

Standard motion detectors use 4 wires. Two for power and two for the relay. The relay tells the alarm panel if there is motion or not. It does not send electrical signals or anything like that. It's a dry contact. I hate to be so blunt, but that is who I am and I will not change for anyone, and probably the reason I got banned from the other forum, but this is extremely basic burglar alarm knowledge. What are you gong to do when the hard stuff comes up? Is this your first alarm system project or do you have some experience?

I have thick skin haha, I am not an installer, a professional, or anything like that, I am a computer nerd by trade, I have some decent IP camera knowledge, I've never done anything with burglar alarms before so yeah, I'm kind of retarded on the subject. This is for my own personal stuff, I plan to get into some home automation once I have a decent amount of cameras up. I was burglarized not too long ago now and that is what really got me into this. I am a do it yourselfer and I pick up on things pretty quick, thanks for the good information.

 

[vector18]

Glad to hear about the skin. I tried not to be rude, but blunt is a good word, lol. Anyway, here is a good diagram to maybe help you understand. You doo not need the tamper unless your going for
overkill.

 

[hmjgriffon]

Glad to hear about the skin. I tried not to be rude, but blunt is a good word, lol. Anyway, here is a good diagram to maybe help you understand. You doo not need the tamper unless your going for
overkill.

View attachment 262

Nice! That looks extremely simple, can't wait to yank and re-use those babies. I'll be out of my current place in about 5 months. So I am assuming you do surveillance camera and alarm system installs? I'm thinking about going with a vera control or insteon system. Hope to integrate whatever I recover from this place in it. What systems do you prefer to use?