Hi I am new to x10 and am considering getting the advertised 19 piece security deal (hopefully with the newer parts rather than old) but I have a few general questions about it. (Please bear with me because I have not used any other alarm systems either and do not know how they exactly work, but will be moving to a big city in a couple of months so I desperately need one. So this post is NOT about comparing it to other systems, but merely comparing it to how an alarm system should be in my head)
From what I have read, this is what I got, please correct me if I'm wrong. If the system is armed in away mode, all you need to enter the house is either:
1) Push disarm on the keyfob, and that way there is no need to enter the pin.
OR,
2) Enter the house (as long as an entry delay is set) and enter the pin on the console within the delay.
The problem with this setup is that, if I set a 1 min entry delay, that means when an intruder comes in, the alarm won't go off for 1 minute. That gives him enough time to barge in, grab whatever he sees, a laptop, a purse, etc., and run before even the alarm is set off. (A lot of robberies where I will be moving to happens that way, quick snatch and run) I thought the purpose of an alarm system was to shock the intruder as soon as they break in, so they decide to run before having grabbed anything.
A second problem is that if someone steals my fob, the alarm system is useless.
I guess in my head, an ideal solution would be a system where:
1) There is no entry delay when alarm is tripped, and
2) Remote fob starts an entry delay rather than disarming
That way, the intruder would be shocked immediately, and the theft of a fob does not render the alarm system useless, since you would still need to enter the pin.
Can this system be set up that way??
Also another question I have is, since the x10 communication is not secured, (meaning going up to somebody's house with an x10 remote, and as long as you set up the same house code, you can control their devices) can this security system be taken advantage of with another x10 remote or fob? (I am guessing not, since you have to program/install each fob/remote, but I just wanted to make sure)
Thanks