WolfKeyDave

Hi, I'm Dave. I'm new to the intruder alarm industry but looking to learn and gain experience installing, maintaining and fixing intruder alarm systems in the domestic market.

I come from an IT background, having worked in IT for the best part of 20 years. I have lots of experience from building computer systems to configuring networks, coding software, building websites, configuring phone systems etc. To that end I am very technically minded.

I undertook electrical training a few years back, with the aim of becoming a qualified electrician. That sadly did not happen due to some personal circumstances at the time, which prevented me from finishing the course, but I gained a lot of knowledge and experience regarding how to competently wire consumer units, lighting and mains circuits. Also gained vital knowledge of the principles of working with electricity, calculating current, resistance, voltage, power draw etc in various circuits.

Whilst I currently work full time as Head of IT for a company, I'm looking to enhance my skillset in a field that is still technical, but gets me off my backside and doesn't involve sitting in front of a computer screen the whole time. Having recently spent a successful afternoon reviving an old intruder alarm system for a family friend, I decided this was a field I could get into and began reading and researching.

I have spent many hours trawling through this and other forums, reading guidance and information provided by seasoned professionals with years of experience in the field. I don't want to be seen as one of these upstarts that thinks they know everything from day one. I know guys on here have built up their knowledge over many years and I have 100% respect for each and every one of them.

I was advised to start off by focusing on a single manufacturer and to learn their products inside out. Gain experience installing one line of products and expand later. I have chosen Texecom. I know there are others out there and people will have their preferences and I totally respect that. Texecom make it very easy to access their free product training and I have sat a number of their free online training sessions from beginner to advanced level.

My first full install is on my own home, replacing an old Honeywell Domonial system that was a pain to use. Due to the way my house is constructed I've gone with a hybrid setup - a Premier Elite 24 control panel with a riccochet 8XP-W expander unit. Riccochet Capture P15-W motion detectors for the kitchen and living room, with a wired CQR door contact for the front door and a wired Capture P15 motion detector for the landing at the top of the stairs. Flush mount remote keypad wired back to the control panel and a wired odyssey X-BE sounder for the front of the house. Oh and a SmartCom unit so I can control it from the app and monitor it from the cloud. This set-up allows me to play with both the wired and wireless (Riccochet) side of Texecom's product offering as well as their cloud based remote management infrastructure.

At this stage I'm really just looking for opportunities to gain experience outside my full time job. Whilst it would be nice to earn decent money eventually I'm happy just to offer my services for next to nothing as the opportunity to gain experience is the most important thing right now. I will charge for any parts at cost and maybe a small fee to cover my petrol and as long as that's all covered I'm good.

I reside in Bradford but I'm happy to travel around nearby areas within West Yorkshire. If you stumble across this blurb and think you might have a job for me to look at, drop me a message. Whether you're considering having an alarm fitted, or you have a technical issue with an existing set-up, reach out and give me a shout.

Also happy to hear from any seasoned professionals if they have any sound advice for somebody just starting out.

Cheers,

Dave.