Magnetic or Roller Ball
AirMngr1
Hi all, For a door that gets used a lot, what's the preferred method of
bugging.
A magnetic or a roller ball. Either way, installation time is the same.
In advance, Thanks for your responses!!
Thanks, Peter
Fightcrime
airm...@aol.com (AirMngr1) wrote:
>Hi all, For a door that gets used a lot, what's the preferred method of
>bugging. A magnetic or a roller ball. Either way, installation time is the
>same.
In my opinion, a magnetic contact would always be my first choice, we
generally use pushbutton/roller types only when we have to. Most often
the problem with rollers or plungers is that they will get "sticky" and
not work well all the time.
David J. Rosso - Affordable Home Security Systems
Now offering long distance services, pagers and more!
>> http://members.aol.com/fightcrime <<
Snalespace
>airm...@aol.com wrote:
>Hi all, For a door that gets used a lot, what's the preferred method of
>bugging.
>A magnetic or a roller ball. Either way, installation time is the same.
>
>In advance, Thanks for your responses!!
>
>Thanks, Peter
I would prefer magnetic because it's more reliable.
Installation time is not the same in my experience. I can install a rollerball
in most instances in much less time. A rollerball means I only have to drill
into the frame, not the window or door. In addition a rollerball can be
mounted low on the hinge side for easier access from the basement.
..........................actually, I just had an
epiphany..................................
I haven't done residential installations in awhile. I always assumed that the
proper placement for contacts and magnets was the top of the door opposite the
hinge because that is the "way it was done" in commercial installations.
Imbedded contacts didn't exist when I started. There is actually no reason I
can think of not to install imbedded magnetic contacts low to the floor on the
non-hinge side.
Magnetics still require additional drilling but drilling into a door or window
and imbedding a magnet takes little time.
An old dog
Mark Leuck
Definatly magnetic contact, roller balls stick or wear out easy
AirMngr1 wrote in message <19980305194...@ladder02.news.aol.com>...
Greg
AirMngr1 wrote:
>
> Hi all, For a door that gets used a lot, what's the preferred method of
> bugging.
> A magnetic or a roller ball. Either way, installation time is the same.
>
> In advance, Thanks for your responses!!
>
> Thanks, Peter
Roller balls are not anything more than a future service call or lawsuit
waiting to happen.
They tend to stick, first time a customer paints...they are
ruined...Stay away from them.
hol...@heselectronics.com
In article <19980305194...@ladder02.news.aol.com>,
airm...@aol.com (AirMngr1) wrote:
>
> Hi all, For a door that gets used a lot, what's the preferred method of
> bugging.
> A magnetic or a roller ball. Either way, installation time is the same.
>
> In advance, Thanks for your responses!!
>
> Thanks, Peter
The magnet would probably last longer verses a mechanical plunger or roller
contact. The only problem is you have to install the contact and the magnet
on the door.
hol...@heselectronics.com
www.heselectronics.com
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George Heraghty
hol...@heselectronics.com wrote:
>
> In article <19980305194...@ladder02.news.aol.com>,
> airm...@aol.com (AirMngr1) wrote:
> >
> > Hi all, For a door that gets used a lot, what's the preferred method of
> > bugging. A magnetic or a roller ball. Either way, installation time is the same.
> > In advance, Thanks for your responses!!
> >
> > Thanks, Peter
>
> The magnet would probably last longer verses a mechanical plunger or roller
> contact. The only problem is you have to install the contact and the magnet
> on the door.
>
> hol...@heselectronics.com
> www.heselectronics.com
Magnetic contacts are also available in recessed models ...
Gets you the best of both.
Its often amazing how people react to "seeing" things, even in
commercial enviroments !
Regards,
George
MSIAlarms
>Subject: Magnetic or Roller Ball
>From: airm...@aol.com (AirMngr1)
>Date: 5 Mar 1998 19:47:39 GMT
>
>Hi all, For a door that gets used a lot, what's the preferred method of
>bugging, a magnetic or a roller ball?
Our company does not use roller or "Ping Pong" ball switches for any new work.
Both are prone to sticking - either paint, or dirt will foul them to the point
where they will begin sticking occasionally. When this happens, your customer
has the potential of becoming an enemy. Here's a scenario.
Customer comes home on monday. Rollerball works fine. Opening door starts
entry delay cycle. Interior motion detectors "honor" the entry delay. Owner
disarms system and has a nice evening home.
On Tuesday, however, the roller ball sticks closed when customer opens the
front door. Entry delay does not begin. Customer walks in from on foyer
motion detector and it promptly sets the alarm off. Customer (a woman alone)
is terrified and thinks someone is in the house with her. Does not respond to
call from Central Station. False police dispatch. She calls son who comes and
stays with her that night. We call the next day but don't reach her & we
leave message.
The following night, the system works just fine so she doesn't return our call.
However, she is still a bit confused by what happened the night before and
doesn't exactly trust the system any more.
The next night, she comes home and the same thing happens. She is now ready to
leave the country. Another night of unexplained terror for her. We call
immediately after the dispatch and she asks for service. We go over
immediately for emergency service, put the system in chime mode and find that
the door rollerball sticks about every third or forth time it's opened. She
didn't have the door painted; however, it's not very good construction and the
door "leaks" air around where the switch is. The switch is also very low in
the doorframe and it is obvious that a mixture of moisture and dust have
contaminated the switch.
This could have been avoided if the original installer (long since departed)
had taken the time to install a proper hermetically sealed reed switch and
magnet in the door. We almost never have trouble with these units, and we
almost always have trouble with the roller/pingpong/pushbutton switches in the
frame.
P.S. Here's a hint. You can replace a rollerball with a reed/magnet switch
quite easily. Simply insert a 3/8" "shorty" mag switch with screw terminals
(GRI makes some very good ones) in a 3/4" plastic carrier, hook the zone to it,
put some RTV or 3M sealer and push this assembly home where the rollerball used
to be.
Now drill a 3/4" hole in the door opposite the switch, making sure it is plenty
deep. Then insert a 3/8" magnet into another 3/4" carrier, (Sentrols work best)
only don't push it all the way in. Insert this into the door and try it for
"throw". Keep pulling the mag back in the carrier until the switch "throws"
with the right amount of movement of the door. You may end up with the mag
back about a half-inch in the carrier.
When the switch is throwing correctly, pull the carrier and mag out, glue the
mag in the carrier, replace the carrier and mag and glue/seal the whole works
into the door. Test it again for the same throw. If it's a metal door, use a
1" carrier and a "super mag" because the metal in the door tends to diffuse the
lines of flux from the magnet. The 1" carrier puts more air around the mag so
it works better. Be especially careful if you have a metal door with
"refrigerator magnet" weather- stripping because this further influence the
magnetic switch.
If anyone is listening and can think of a really good application for
rollerballs I would really like to hear it. They look great and "sexy" but we
find them marginal and a big pain in the ass for customers.
Hope this helps
Allan
W. Allan Edwards
Monitor Systems, Inc.
Great Falls, VA
la...@flash.net
> If anyone is listening and can think of a really good application for
> rollerballs I would really like to hear it. They look great and "sexy" but
we
> find them marginal and a big pain in the ass for customers.
>
> Hope this helps
>
> Allan
>
> W. Allan Edwards
> Monitor Systems, Inc.
> Great Falls, VA
>
I always have roller ball switches available, but but usually go with the
recessed reed contact and magnet. However on a recent project involving a new
home I was confronted with 8 separate 10' high oak sliding doors. The roller
ball(s) were perfect at the top on the opening side. Not much chance for dust
or moisture to "invade and corrupt". Having the opportunity to install and
adjust each switch before connection to the home run wire was a plus as well
as not having to remove each door (approx 150lbs) to drill for and set a
magnet. I also decreased the odds of a drill bit comming in contact with
the glass which happened on 1 of the 48 windows (opps, ching-ching-ching).
Thanks for the blow-by-blow scenerio of your experience. Been there
(or close by) before. I believe that having the van stocked with a little of
everything nakes for a better installation.
Don F - SoCal Alarm Dealer
Douglas Hagler
>
>If anyone is listening and can think of a really good application for
>rollerballs I would really like to hear it. They look great and "sexy"
but we
>find them marginal and a big pain in the ass for customers.
>
>Hope this helps
>
>Allan
>
>
>W. Allan Edwards
>Monitor Systems, Inc.
>Great Falls, VA
One good use for roller ball switches I have found is installing in the top
of desks under computers to activate a 24 hour alarm, if anyone attempts to
remove the unit, even during business hours.
I did this for one customer, that had employees leaving the building with
equipment(it was a state office).
However we also inspected the system every two months to make sure it
continued to work, and the customer gladly paid for the service.
Doug Hagler
Royal Protection Group, Inc.
Houston, Tx
AFisher604
I would tend to agree with everyone, use the Magnetic, will last much longer.
Roller-balls in my opinion are only good if your out of options
markv...@xtra.co.nz
the company i used to work for installed alarms in computer suites at a large
uni we used to put conatcts on the metal covers to prevent the theiving
beggars from pinching the hard drives, but had move to putting contacts on the
plastic drive bay fill in's to stop them reaching in and pinching ram!!!
>
> One good use for roller ball switches I have found is installing in the top
> of desks under computers to activate a 24 hour alarm, if anyone attempts to
> remove the unit, even during business hours.
>
> I did this for one customer, that had employees leaving the building with
> equipment(it was a state office).
>
> However we also inspected the system every two months to make sure it
> continued to work, and the customer gladly paid for the service.
>
> Doug Hagler
> Royal Protection Group, Inc.
> Houston, Tx
>
>
MSIAlarms
>One good use for roller ball switches I have found is installing in the top
>of desks under computers to activate a 24 hour alarm, if anyone attempts to
>remove the unit, even during business hours.
>
>I did this for one customer, that had employees leaving the building with
>equipment(it was a state office).
>
>However we also inspected the system every two months to make sure it
>continued to work, and the customer gladly paid for the service.
>
>Doug Hagler
>Royal Protection Group, Inc.
>Houston, Tx
>
>
Doug:
You might be interested in a product developed by Minatronics,
Inc.(Minatronics.com) that uses a fibre optic loop for asset protection. Their
products are now being marketed by ITI under the LightGard name. You can
literally thread these fibre loops around and through computers, keyboards,
peripherals and laptops (to name a few). Anything you don't want to "get
legs".
When you cut the fibre loop a tamper protected transmitter module sends a
wireless signal to an ITI receiver alarm panel which can then dial a central
station or a receiver located in a guard facility.
Hope this helps