House Alarm Adventures, Part 1: My New House has an Old Alarm System.

My new (to me) house has an old wired alarm system. The alarm isn't completely ancient, but it is about 20 years old. It definitely isn't modern. It uses an analog phone line to report alarms, has wires running everywhere, and certainly is not internet connected. The keypads look like they are from the early 2000s.

This is not what I want. So I immediately said to myself: I need to rip this old alarm system out and modernize!

A Slow Deconstruction

Instead of just blindly ripping things out, I wisely decided to take my time. After all, its good to have a plan before blowing things up. Since the house needs a lot of re-work, I decided that I can slowly remove the bits that are in my way. At some point, I'll have enough of an understanding to replace the whole system.

The alarm system has 3 keypads, several motion sensors, and a whole bunch of other sensors on doors and windows. They are all of the "wired" variety, and there is a lot of wiring that I don't understand.

Picking it apart

My very first move was to completely turn off the system. I don't need to do something to trigger a siren and then not know what I did. I disconnected the backup battery that was in the panel, and then I unplugged the panel. System off! Now I don't have to worry about it.

Next was removal of two of the keypads and one of the motion sensors. I removed these in preparation for work improving the walls.

Then I took a look at the smoke detectors.

And then I asked myself: why am I ripping this stuff out?

I was ripping out the old system because I didn't understand it. But as I started to understand it, I figured out that it is a pretty comprehensive system that was fairly well put together. Maybe it will be far cheaper, easier, and better to keep it.

The next set of posts are about how I am modernizing my home security system. Stay tuned!

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, part 1: Disassembly Guide

I've had my SodaStream Jet for years, and once in a while something has gone wrong. Disassembly is the first step to repair. Start with this article to see how to disassemble the SodaStream, and then once you have that down, scroll through my other articles to see how I repaired specfic SodaStream problems. SodaStream Jet Disassembly Guide Tools Required Flat head screwdriver Phillips head screwdriver 1. Remove the Carbonator. Duh. 2. Remove the black panel lever The front big black tilt lever needs to be removed first. Removing this panel is tricky, but it isn't impossible. Looking up at the bottom of the black panel, there are two tabs, one on the left and one on the right. These tabs fully secure the panel in place. The trick is to use a flat-head screwdriver under the plastic to gently lever the tabs out of the way. Note in the pictures how I approach these tabs with my screwdriver. I usually release the left side first, and then I release ...

Fixing my Wahl 9918 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer

Not everyone would bother repairing a $25 beard trimmer, but why not fix something for under $5 instead of spending another $25? My Wahl 9918 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer has admirably performed its beauty duty for many years, but the time came when the battery just wasn't holding a charge any more. Most people would just put the trimmer in the trash and buy a new one, but I figured I could repair my otherwise excellent Wahl and save some money. In fact, even high priced trimmer and rotary shaver brands, like Norelco and Remington, can be easily repaired using a process similar to the one I used to fix my Wahl. Read on to find out how. I opened up the Wahl by popping off the black plastic faceplate with a tiny flathead screwdriver, which revealed two screws. By removing the two screws I was able to easily open up the unit, revealing the guts of the device. Backplate off, Revealing the screws The internals are rather simple: a motor, a...

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, Repair #2 - Broken Fill Button

My Soda Stream Jet's fill button broke, which means I can not longer carbonate water by pressing the pushbutton. This caused all sorts of grief in my household. Here is how I managed to repair my Jet to give it another 10 years of life (hopefully). First, a look at the button The fill button on the top of the SodaStream is actually a simple lever. Pressing down on the button moves a pin that does the actual work of pressing open the Carbonator's valve. Unfortunately, the axis point is fairly thin and can see a lot of stress. That's where my Soda Stream button cracked. [ I think the usage tip here is "don't over-press the button like a gorilla, it doesn't do anything but put high stress on the button."] Cracked levering point of the button The Pesky Lever Retaining Pin The Fix It was pretty easy for me to replace the button: Take off the back of the Soda Stream and remove the carbonator. Push out the the button lever's steel retaining pin. This takes qu...

Sodastream Carbonator Leakage, Usage, and Weight

SodaStream 60L "Carbonator" CO2 cylinders have a specific weight when empty, plus about 410 or so grams for the CO2 they should have when they're "full". A little while ago I went to buy a replacement Carbonator from my local hardware store. The dealer pulled a new Carbonator out of the box and sensed it was lighter than usual. He put the "light" Carbonator in the "empty" pile and sold me a different one. At that moment I concluded that it would be smart of me to weigh both new and empty SodaStream carbonators. Here are the results. Weighing a SodaStream Carbonator - for both Science and Consumer Protection. The dealer told me that sometimes the carbonators leak after they leave the SodaStream filling facility. That means there could be an opportunity for customers like me to get ripped off! The SodaStream cylinders I buy claim to have a net product weight of 410 grams - and that means that a full Soda Stream Carbonator shou...

Modernizing old house network wiring - Part 6 - Assessing my Coaxial Cable TV Cabling

My prior blog entries were all about converting my house's telephone lines for Ethernet use. Today I started to address my old home's coaxial cable tv cables. Cable TV was a huge thing from the 1980s until the 2000s, but it is a dying concept. Still, the one thing I've learned is that you need to understand something before taking out an axe. Almost every room in my house has a cable TV outlet (some rooms have more than one). In my basement, a cluster of 9 cables appear in the telecom panel, with some connected to a giant splitter and some just hanging loose. Half the cable seems to have been run properly: inside the walls of the house. The other half was sloppily strung up on the outside of the house. It looks like most of this cable was installed 20 years ago. So without further ado, I'm going to assess what I have. Identifying and Testing each cable My first order of business was to figure out where each cable was going to, as only one cable was labelled ("att...

Robust Installation of an HDHomeRun Networked TV Tuner. 64 OTA channels!

I added an HDHomerun (HDHR) over-the-air (OTA) streaming box to my home network, bringing over-the-air broadcast TV to my computers, phones and tablets. The HDHR is a big upgrade from my previous setup: using a simple "window mount" antenna directly connected to my TV. A TV-attached antenna is good for watching some TV for free, but the HDHR offers so much more flexibility. Figure 0: HDHomeRun on my basement wall My original OTA TV setup was haphazard at best. It was finicky, ugly, and hard for other people at home to use. I would actually tape my antenna to a window whenever I wanted to watch OTA TV. Plus, it only worked on my TV and not with my other devices. I wanted a cleaner and more modern OTA setup. After looking at possibilities, I developed two goals: (1) bring my OTA TV into the modern Internet-connected era, and (2) set it up in a reliable and pretty way so that other family members wouldn't have to fool around with the antenna or anything else. With that,...

The Lance J. Technoweb

Search This Blog