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GE 45142 Choice-Alert Wireless Control Center with Door or Window Sensor Kit Review
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GE 45142 Choice-Alert Wireless Control Center with Door or Window Sensor Kit Overviews
GE 45142 Choice Alert Wireless Control Kit
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GE 45142 Choice-Alert Wireless Control Center with Door or Window Sensor Kit Feature
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Customer Reviews
As my title says, the system is great for the price. But the biggest reason I gave it only 3 stars is because of one really stupid design flaw that could have easily been avoided with one simple mute switch.As others have mentioned, the problem is while the system is giving the 45 second delay after a sensor has been triggered to give you time to disable it, it gives off very loud beeps with no option to mute it or at least turn it down. The problem here is obvious. If the intruder has any determination at all, all he has to do is follow the beeping sounds to your system and smash it to bits before the alarm goes off. Yes, I know he can still do that after the alarm goes off, but most intruders are going to take off when suddenly and unexpectantly a very loud alarm goes off. I understand that many people like an audible reminder that their alarm has been triggered so that they will remember to turn it off. But how hard would it have been to give me the option to turn the beeps off? I would rather take my chances on maybe occasionally forgetting that I have my alarm system on and letting the alarm go off, than directing an intruder straight to my system so he can disable it.Here's how I worked around that problem. I located the base unit in my storage room in my garage locked up behind a door that swings out.(can't easily be kicked in) Also convenient for when we drive up into the garage, we simply go into the storage room to disarm it without triggering the system and then have to beat the clock. In this location, if the intruder is in the house he won't hear the beeps. If he breaks into the garage, he can hear them but he still won't be able to get to it. At least not in 45 seconds, if at all. You might be thinking, what good is the alarm siren if it's muffled out in your storage room? To get around that, I added 3 separate alarm sirens. One mounted high on a wall where it is not easy to get to in the main part of my house. The other two in the attic facing directly out the gable vents. Now I have plenty of indoors and outside siren coverage. A big added benefit to adding a separate siren is once the alarm goes off but a very persistent intruder still destroys the base unit, the separate siren(s) will continue to go off independently from the base unit. If you locate them where he can't get to them as I did, he won't be able to shut them up. Even if he is able to pull the power cord, it has battery back-up. You can add as many as you want to maximize coverage area and/or loudness. I had to wear ear muffs while testing mine.Now for another common complaint and somewhat of a work around. The motion sensors only work in the "Away" mode. Their logic behind this is when you have it in "Home" mode you can walk around your alarm coverage area without setting off the alarm, while all other sensors (doors, windows, etc) will still instantly set off the alarm. Again, why not have a simple "Ignore motion sensors" option switch, so that otherwise, the motion sensors will also instantly set off the alarm like all the other sensors. The only work around I came up with for this problem will only work as an alert and not a full alarm. Simply put the system into "Test" mode then put the switch on the side to off (lights only), chime, or alert (multiple beeps depending on zone triggered). Set up like this the motion sensors will work like all the others. Two points to remember when in test mode and depending on motion sensors for instant alerts. One, the system will automatically cancel out of test mode and return to normal operation after 5 hours, so if you want to keep it set up that way you have to remember to keep putting it back into test mode within every 5 hours. Two, also remember that once a motion sensor detects movement, it has to see NO movement for about 20 seconds to reset itself to be ready to detect again. In other words, for example, if someone walks by and triggers it, then 15 seconds later someone else walks by, the second person will not be detected. Or if there's continuous movement like tree limbs moving in the wind, it won't be able to reset itself. It has to have that 20 second "no movement" time period to reset itself. This issue doesn't matter for triggering a full alarm because once it senses that first time, the 45 second countdown is on.One other thing concerning the motion sensors that someone else wrote about that I also experienced, suggesting that it must be a common problem. The battery connector, specifically the positive side, wasn't making a good connection, causing the sensor to intermittently work or not at all. To check for this and fix it, connect just the positive side to see if it feels lose. If it is, disconnect and then carefully bend the sides of the connector in so that it will then snap on tighter.The other common complaint that I will back up is the 150 ft. range claim. Even though that may technically be true in a perfect line-of-site no obstructions condition, in real world conditions it's highly exaggerated. If this is a problem, the only thing you can do is make sure the sensor batteries aren't weak, add signal repeaters, or move the base around to different locations until you find one that works.Finally, battery replacement in the magnetic switches is another issue. If you use the double sided tape to mount the switch, when it comes time to replace the battery you're going to have to rip the sensor lose from the tape, no doubt messing up the tape and probably pulling paint off. Although I haven't had to do it yet, I've read that it's also a pain to snap the cover off to access the battery.With all this said you're probably wondering why I gave it 3 stars. Here's why. For less than $200 I have the base unit, 3 sirens, 2 motion sensors, and a magnetic sensor. The system was very easy to set up and operate and is working great for my situation. I also like how easy it is to make the complete system as small or as big as you want it to be, depending on your needs and budget. And as I said at the beginning of this review, the only reason I gave it only 3 stars is for the really stupid countdown beeps with no option to turn them off. Considering the price, I have no problem with having to figure out work-arounds or living with the flaws I can't do nothing about. Otherwise, I could spend a lot more money on a different system and it will probably also have some design flaws and glitches.
I just got done installing the Choice Alert system in our 1600 square foot split foyer. The components include the control center, one signal booster, one extra siren module, 3 door/ 3 window sensors, one garage door sensor, one signal repeater, and one motion sensor. Obviously, I don't yet have much experience with its performance, but I thought I'd share some installation thoughts.Certainly the biggest problem is- what keeps an intruder from just unplugging/ taking the batteries out/ or just smashing the control center? The warning beeps in the "away" mode are obvious enough and give the intruder enough time to home in on the sound. My "Hack"? I just opened the Control Center and snipped the wires to the beeper/ siren. It works just fine like that, and it is totally silent until the siren module goes off. The upside of doing this is obvious, the downsides are- 1. You don't get the short beep when a door or window is opened when it is not armed (although I actually think that's a plus). 2. You don't get the warning beeps when you come home- if you forget, it will go off. 3. You have to buy a siren module. 4. I suspect GE would void the warranty. 5. You could mess up and snip the wrong wires.If you decide to try it, here's what I did. I took the 3 screws on the back plus one in the battery compartment out. At that point I still could not completely open it up- the right side would not release. I pried the back open about an inch on the left side and examined it with a flashlight. After being pretty sure I had the right wires (2 brown ones that disappear into the beeper module) I snipped them with a pair of scissors. I then tested it and I got exactly what I wanted- total silence until the alarm sounds. I installed the siren module on top of our kitchen cabinet and ran the wire from the plug outlet used for our over-the-range microwave (my wife's idea). It is completely out of view.All of the sensor modules seem to work as advertised. The most difficult part of the installation is getting the two sensor parts properly aligned on the doors. It would be nice if GE would include some shims to raise the small part off of the door, but the don't so I had to cut some pieces of wood.All in all, I think the hacked system is a reasonable value for the money- the sensors seem to work well and the siren would certainly scare someone off. The non-hacked version has such a big problem with it giving the intruder 45 seconds to disarm it I would be hard pressed to recommend it.
I bought this GE Home Security starter kit and several of the add ons to put in a security system to help protect our home. I've been fairly pleased, but there are a couple of issues to be aware of. In order to give my review a bit of structure, I'll attempt to break it down by component...including a couple of components that ARE NOT included in this basic kit, but that you may need to purchase to get the system to work, or elect to purchase to expand the system.1. The conroller. The controler is small, easy to program and makes heck of a racket when the alarm system is triggered. My only slight complaint with the conroller is it does not include any provision to be wall mounted and it has limited range (more on that under "door/window sensor below". Turning the system on or off from the control pad is very easy. Each of first 3 zones can handle up to 4 sensors, allowing you to say, put all 4-exterior doors on Zone 1, and windows on zones 2 and 3. To do this, obviously you have to get more hardware than comes with the basic kit reviewed here.2. Door/Window sensor. The advantage of the wireless door/window sensor is the ease of installation. A wired system would require many hours of running wires from each sensor to the controller to function. This is not practical in many instances. The wireless sensors are easy to place using a couple of screws to mount the contact plate and some double sided tape to mount the sensors themselves. Programming the controller to recognize the sensor is also easily accomplished. However, be aware that the sensors have limited range...in some cases VERY limited range. In my installation, 2 sensors located near the front of the house would not communicate all the time with the control box. Another reviewer talked about how his control box will flash, reporting a low battery in a sensor, when in fact the battery isn't low. Well...the reason the controller is flashing is because it is not getting a good signal from the sensor. It cannot differentiate between a low battery and a poor signal. So, it will flash repeatedly and the documentation says that means "low battery" but it can also mean the sensor is too far from the controller. In my situation, my 2 sensors were only about 40-feet from the controller and I had this issue...so beware when GE sasy "up to 150 feet". If you have an issue, you will need one or more "range extenders" which are not included in the basic kit. However, I had to buy one so I reviewed it below.My other issue with the sensor is how hard it is to take them apart to change the battery (at least once every 2-years per GE). The tabs on the side would seem to indicate a screwdriver can be used to take them apart, but they are too flimsy to do that. The only way I was able to get mine apart was to use a razor knife as a prying tool (kind of dangerous) to get the case apart and get to the battery. I see no way to replace the batteries without removing the sensors from the door frame...and they are secured with double sided tape, not screws...so that's going to be an issue in the future. GE needs to redesign the catches that hold the sensor body together. The ones I had apart, I shaved the tabs down to make them easier to get back apart later.3. Range Extender - This deal plugs into an unused wall socket (tying it up forever) and will simply "repeat" any signals it recieves from sensors around it, hopefully communicating all the way back to the controller, so that sensors that can't otherwise function reliably will now begin working properly. It works, in a fashion, but be aware that the Range Extender itself still has a very short range. In my case, I was able to find a spot to plug it in half way between the front of the house and the controller that was close enough to the sensors to work and close enough to the controller to work.....it seemed to need to be within 15 feet of the sensors and 25 feet of the controller. I have NO IDEA if you can chain one range extender after another.4. Window Decals and Yard Sign. I read up on this and most "experts" say that putting in decals and a yard sign are your biggest deterents to simple home break ins. None of what I'm talking about here is going to keep a determined thief from stealing your Monet, but maybe it will keep the doper kids down the block from targeting your house for meyhem if they need some money to buy more dope. I went with an extra pack of sticky stickers and put one on most of my windows and all of my doors. The yard sign? It is so flimsy it broke trying to take it out of the package. If I was GE, I'd be ashamed to have my name on it. It's a flimsy piece of plastic junk. I taped mine together with some clear tape and then couldn't get the plastic stake to drive into the yard, as it is so cheap and flimsy. Get the picture?5. Other Sensors available. A motion detector and a water sensor are available. I didn't get them so I can't comment really.6. What isn't available. To my knowledge, you can't get any sort of dialer with this alarm system. Also, no home monitoring is included. To that extent this system represents a definite comprimise in security. To get it working, you are going to have to lay out some money, but you don't have an ongoing monitoring charge from a home security company. The comprimise, your home won't be as secure as it would be with a really top notch, monitored system.7. Remote Siren - The remote siren is really loud and hopefully, being remote from the controller, will increase the chances that a passing neighbor will hear the alarm and take notice of the strange white van sitting in the driveway. It needs a receptical of its own and is also (I'm sure) limited in range. Mine would take a bit to find and disable...but that may not be too much of an issue for a thief as I summarize below.OK...So...if I'm a thief and I'm not detered by the flimsy hard sign and the decals, I'm going to go right up to your house and bust open a door or window. IF that door or window is equipped with a sensor, there's really good chance it's going to trip an alarm. If you have the system set to "HOME" that means the alarm is going to go off immediately emitting a very loud (if your close to it) noise...that would alert anyone in the house and MAYBE someone outside of an intrusion. But honestly, that's a big Maybe. The determined thief now can follow his ears to the control box and disable it with a hammer (or even under heel) to little bits. That WILL make the alarm quit sounding. If you have the system set to "AWAY" it will just start beeping when triggered allowing the thief 45 seconds to enter the code to disarm it. Obviously he doesn't know the code so he'll just crush it to bits, again disabling the system. I've figured out a way to set my system to "HOME" even when I'm away. If you can figure out a way to exit your house without setting off a sensor, you can do the same thing.This system, again, does represent good value, but the best you can hope for is the thief isn't "determined" and hopefully will go on down the street to the next house that has no alarm. You might consider putting in a yard sign from one of the "major" security providers to go along with this system. That would probably be an improvement. Even better would be a high-dollar WIRED system with home monitoring, but it's going to cost you a lot more and be more of a hassle. I've been called in the middle of the night at least 10 times when my mother's monitored home security system has been accidently triggered...so I know there are hassles going that way too.
I should have expected it... this unit just does not function as it is described. First, the product literature says this can communication up to 150 feet. Not on your life. I bought accompanying motion sensors and door sensor kits and they can barely communicate 35 feet away (tested with multiple new batteries) through nothing more than two layers of drywall. I did testing over a period of several days and found that the sensors had to be no further than 35 feet in either direction. This means I had to position the base unit/control center in awkward locations (would not have been an issue if they could communication up to at least 50 feet but they don't). Second, the sensors are said to be weather-resistant? Not likely unless you're living in Florida. Some of the sensors quite working when the temperature dipped below 35-40 degrees. Third, the motion sensors are generally useless on channels 1-3 unless you set the unit to ALARM AWAY FROM HOME. I really did NOT expect that little nugget of uselessness. Meaning - you can only use one channel to monitor motion without arming the system in an AWAY FROM HOME MODE. And then.. here's the really bad part: So they only function as expected when you're gone. SO WHAT? No one is there to hear the alarm then. This is really a badly thought out "piece of junk" system and someone at GE needs taken out back and whipped for this abomination. Yes - it can function nicely in a small apartment, all indoors, in a perfect environment, with neighbors right next door willing to take action if they hear the shrill ALARM - but past that, this whole system is worthless junk and I will be calling GE to complain and ask for a refund.
I recently purchased this product (and 4 separate door/window sensors) to assist in securing out house at night. It was very easy to install and setup. It does have the "alarm and chime" options for entry, although there is an "off" option that will only allow the unit to flash the light of the unit opening if you desire. Once armed, the alarm is VERY loud. We actually used our firearms ear-protection to test all of the units once installed because it was so loud!The only downside is that if you were to use it similar to that of a "Brinks" or "ADT" system, meaning a delay so that you can enter/exit the building and have the alarm on a timed delay, there is limited availability of this. Although it does feature this, it is audible and is limited to 45 seconds. I would like to option of no audible notice of the timer and the ability to change/lessen the time.Overall, it is a wonderful product that will not hurt your wallet!
Let's get it out right out there: the GE 45142 Choice Alert supports a max of 12 window/door sensors. The package's reference to 16 sensors is clarified in the manual - only 12 of the units will trigger an intrusion alarm - the remaining 4 are for alerts, and trigger only a low key chime. 12 alarms will likely cover apartments, but houses with first floor and basement windows/doors may come up short.And that's the beginning of the good and bad of the Choice Alert. Yes, you can easily add sensors without wires or hassel. And yes, there are a nice selection of sensor types (door/windows, motion detectors, water detectors, garage door sensors). And yes, the console organizes alarms into zones so you can quickly see where a problem is occurring.But then the "buts" begin. 4 zones, yes, BUT only 3 can be used to trigger intrusion alarms. And each zone supports only 4 sensors. 4 sensors??? That's a pretty small zone. They might as well have not bothered with the concept.Choice Alert works best as an intruder alert system. - an alarm to wake up residents in a house break-in scenario. There is a house mode, and as soon as a sensor detects a problem, the alarm goes off. It is a nice loud alarm, and if it's not enough, you purchase additional wireless alarm speakers that can be placed elsewhere in or outside the house.You can purchase a remote to disable or set the alarm when you are entering your own house. If you don't purchase it, you'll have to set your console into Away mode, which gives you 45 seconds to key in a code that disables the alarm before it goes off. 45 seconds is a very long time - the unit beeps during this period, and it is sure bet that any intruder who heard it could quickly locate the console and smash it before it triggered the alarm. Nope, the 45 seconds is not configurable. Nope, the beeps are not configurable. See some of the inventive work-arounds implemented by the reviewers. I say buy the key chain remote and just set the alarm to Home mode after you close your front door. No pause, no problems.Choice Alert claims it can reach sensors placed as far as 150 feet from the unit. My house is rather small, and have had no problem connecting to sensors in my basement and porch. Other peer reviewers have had less success with relatively short distances. Fortunately, the Choice Alert system does offer radio repeaters, that can be placed between the console and the problematic sensor.And a final note: the Choice Alert does not have the ability to call a number when the alarm is triggered. You'll see this ability in many $100+ systems.The Choice Alert is a very basic, wireless alarm system. It has cheap and extensible going for it. Unlike other bargain systems, it has a well written manual, and a parent company I know will be around for a while (GE). I bought unit principally to warn us of intruders when we're asleep in the house. I think it will do that fine enough. I'm not convinced it will do much as an away alarm.
As an Amazon Prime customer I buy many things from Amazon each year. Normally, I read our reviews for products before I buy - but in this case I can only plead "brain cramp." I didn't check the reviews for this item or it's add-ons. BIG MISTAKE! Do not buy this. The hype sounds good - but it has a next to nothing range, it constantly loses contact with sensors - which sounds an alert (not what you want to hear in the middle of the night.) It is all going back - Control Unit, Water Sensor, 2 Door Sendors, 3 Motion Detectors, and Garage Door Sensors. What a complete waste of time. And I say kudos to Amazon for their returns policy. It makes it easy to move on from big mistakes. I would go as far as recommending to Amazon that they drop this line.
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GE 45142 Choice-Alert Wireless Control Center with Door or Window Sensor Kit Rapid
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