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Had to decide between a wired and wireless retrofit for a big old house in Oak Park
I got a job last month to upgrade an alarm system in a 1920s brick home. The owner wanted full coverage but the walls were solid plaster and lath. I had to pick between trying to run new wires for every sensor or using a wireless retrofit kit that would work with the old panel. I chose the wireless kit, a DSC PowerSeries Neo, because the thought of drilling through all those walls gave me a headache. The install went smooth for most of it, but I did have one motion sensor in the back sunroom that kept dropping its signal. I ended up moving the main receiver to a more central closet and that fixed it. The homeowner is happy, but I still wonder if the wired system would have been more reliable in the long run. Has anyone else had a wireless sensor act up in a house with really thick walls?
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leewalker4d ago
Yeah, that sunroom signal drop is a classic. Those old houses can have chicken wire in the plaster too, which turns a wall into a faraday cage lol. Might be worth checking if any future renovations add metal lath.
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blakestone3d ago
Used to think signal problems were just about router placement. Then I hit a wall with full bars on one side and nothing on the other, exactly like @leewalker described. Ripped out some old plaster and found that metal lath, a total dead zone maker. Now I check for it in every old house.
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