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How do you program the 10 digit alarm number to connect to police station ona CS-250 system

richgolf

Apr 6, 2022
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How do you program a new 10 digit alarm number on a CS-250 to connect to the police station?
 

ChosunOne

Jun 20, 2010
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I check this forum most days, don't know how I missed this thread yesterday and earlier today. My apologies.

Richgolf, the Aritech CS-250 was marketed in both North America and UK & Ireland, that I know of. The answer to your question might depend on where you are.

IF you're in the USA, where I have most of my experience, the answer is that no municipal police department is equipped to receive signals from an alarm panel, not for the last 50+ years; not since before they stopped using stand-alone taped-voice dialers sometime in the 70s. The Aritech CS-250 is pretty old, but still recent enough that it has a communication format that requires a special receiver in a Central Monitoring Station (or "CS") to receive and interpret its signals, and CS personnel to call your local police department. In other words, you would need to contract with a Central Station to monitor your alarm system. Don't try to have it call your police station. If you did, they'd just get a series of calls (at least 8) and hear electronic beeps & twitters when they answer; and you'd probably get fined.

As I said, my experience is almost all in the USA---I go back to the days of voice dialers, in the 70s---but even then police depts were out of the alarm monitoring business. It might be different in some other country, but I'd be surprised.

@Martaine: Nice try, but your link is to the Owners Manual for the LCD Keypad, which is a different animal than the CS-250 Control Panel. What the OP needs is the Installation Manual for the CS-250 Control Panel---which, unfortunately I haven't been able to locate.
 

Martaine2005

May 12, 2015
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Nice try, but your link is to the Owners Manual for the LCD
Haha, I was on a train and had a quick search.
I should have just beckoned you!.
AND thought about the old dialer. I had one in 1989.

Martin
 

ChosunOne

Jun 20, 2010
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Yeah, I've made some colossal errors from being in a rush.
It doesn't surprise me that you had a voice dialer in '89: I didn't feel the need to elaborate earlier, but most police departments didn't just outright discontinue receiving calls from alarm systems in the late 60s-early 70s, but they stopped taking on new accounts, and grandfathered in existing users. This was the time that the cost of an alarm system became inexpensive enough to put it within reach of the middle class and the number of users proliferated beyond what the police could handle. New systems and (mostly) careless users generated a lot of false alarms that were tying up the police phone lines, and they decided they had to "get out of the alarm business." But some departments did continue to monitor "old & reliable" users until they (the users) upgraded to systems that used dialers with electronic signals, which required special receivers. I think I serviced my last voice dialer calling into a local police station around '89-ish, IIRC. I was surprised when I came across it, and the user was delighted to find someone familiar with the "old school" equipment.

I wouldn't be surprised if users kept their old systems going longer in the UK. I think there was more tendency in the UK to repair perfectly adequate equipment, rather than buy the latest greatest new toy that's in style.
 

Martaine2005

May 12, 2015
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@ChosunOne
I realise you are somewhat out of the alarm business now, but what are your opinions on wireless alarms?.
I have had four or five wireless systems but they were admittedly in the early days. I found it an absolute necessity to hardwire some of the sensors due to nuisance triggering.
I just wonder if the technology has improved enough to avoid that.
Two wireless systems are still in use for my garden sheds and car trailer but the the bell is removed and only a strobe.

Martin
 
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