The question first:
How to determine what I need to buy? The intention with this first post is not to put the cart before the horse and request specific product/service recommendations. Rather, I want to try to get a 'big picture' understanding of what components/systems I need and what my options are. Y'all probably will have questions for me first.
The situation:
My weekend home is a mobile home on 30 acres in a rural area. Never had any intruders in 46 years - until recently. They cut the phone and siren wires and made off with a fair amount of loot.
Now I want a system that can call out via cellular. The property is at the end of a decrepit POTS line and it (phone and internet) fails regularly.
Out in the boonies like that it's unlikely thieves would be caught in the act so I guess the point is to scare them off and hopefully get some photos.
Basic features/functionality I want:
Note: I already know I do not want ADT or Brinks, for the cost and contracts and I do not want Vivint or Ring Alarm due to their proprietary components.
1. Monitoring via cellular (signal is marginal so I need to determine antenna options)
2. Monitoring service like Alarm Grid perhaps?
3. A few cameras to start with and the ability to add more later
4. Ability to access and control from anywhere via mobile device
5. Ability to add smart home accessories - I currently have a Honeywell WiFi t-stat
I can do any installation work myself but my big concern is being able to have someone I could call to ask any technical questions that come up. I would probably need some help with set-up, programming, etc. (I would gladly pay someone for this service.)
I appreciate any and all replies...
How to determine what I need to buy? The intention with this first post is not to put the cart before the horse and request specific product/service recommendations. Rather, I want to try to get a 'big picture' understanding of what components/systems I need and what my options are. Y'all probably will have questions for me first.
The situation:
My weekend home is a mobile home on 30 acres in a rural area. Never had any intruders in 46 years - until recently. They cut the phone and siren wires and made off with a fair amount of loot.
Now I want a system that can call out via cellular. The property is at the end of a decrepit POTS line and it (phone and internet) fails regularly.
Out in the boonies like that it's unlikely thieves would be caught in the act so I guess the point is to scare them off and hopefully get some photos.
Basic features/functionality I want:
Note: I already know I do not want ADT or Brinks, for the cost and contracts and I do not want Vivint or Ring Alarm due to their proprietary components.
1. Monitoring via cellular (signal is marginal so I need to determine antenna options)
2. Monitoring service like Alarm Grid perhaps?
3. A few cameras to start with and the ability to add more later
4. Ability to access and control from anywhere via mobile device
5. Ability to add smart home accessories - I currently have a Honeywell WiFi t-stat
I can do any installation work myself but my big concern is being able to have someone I could call to ask any technical questions that come up. I would probably need some help with set-up, programming, etc. (I would gladly pay someone for this service.)
I appreciate any and all replies...