Strained resources
(The NSCIA – forerunner of NACOSS – was not satisfied with its own installer inspection rate …)
“The National Inspection Board for the NSCIA reports that 70,084 intruder alarm systems (29,027 audible only and 41,057 remote signalling) were certified by NSCIA Approved Installers, a 20 per cent increase on 1985’s figures. The report notes that the increase in Improved Installer applicant numbers has strained the resources of the Inspectorate and ‘inspection rates have fallen below what the Board would wish to see’.
“The 3,162 initial inspections represented only a 4.5 per cent coverage, less than half that of four years ago and, says the NSCIA, urgent steps will be taken to correct this shortfall.”
Through the eyes of the installer
(A manufacturer complained that a test on their PIR was “deficient” because it did not carry enough reference to other independent test results. Our reply then is just as relevant today …)
“Products in Bench Test are evaluated in just the same way as an installer would evaluate them, by people who have practical experience and in-depth knowledge of security equipment.
“They look at products through the eyes of the installer, who is interested not in test laboratory results, but what value the product may be to him in practical terms – its capabilities and limitations, its ease of installation (or not, as the case may be) – and, importantly, its value for money, an assessment which, while inevitably partly subjective, is based on objective criteria.The most impressive laboratory tests are of little interest if the product is not of practical use to him.”
Taking the easy option
(A writer complained that installers were reluctant to use test equipment, and too eager to change equipment …)
“How many times does the hard-pressed service manager hear “I’ve changed the passive” or “It was the panel”? Very often the engineer is clutching at straws or opting for changing a piece of equipment that is readily accessible, particularly plug-in boards. Alarm engineers seem loath to use test equipment in order to make life easier for themselves.
“In other branches of electronics, the repair man cannot function without proper test equipment. An alarm system is just a very big piece of electronics, in the physical sense that is, but not in its complexity. Dry joints do occur, terminals in joint boxes do come loose in time, corrosion sets in and contacts stick or become high resistance.”
Charge of the CCD
(We explained the advantages of the new CCD cameras over bulky electron tube cameras …)
“CCD – charge coupled device – is a term that is being heard more and more often in connection with CCTV cameras. Apart from bringing miniaturisation, advanced CCD technology also means that cameras offer excellent resolution and clarity of image, reliability and economical operation and maintenance. The charge coupled device is a silicon chip which consists of an array of MOS sensors, designed so that they are coupled to allow charges to be moved through the semi-conductor substrate in a controlled manner.”
Dispensing with justice
(Proving that crime does pay, sometimes …)
“A chap caught in France had successfully stolen from several automatic cash dispensers. He had baffled the experts, who couldn’t spot the weaknesses he was exploiting.So he was offered immunity from prosecution to show the police how he broke into them so easily.”
