1987 Security System - info for a book I'm writing

[writerguy1987]

I apologize if my question is too off-topic for this forum, but I am certain that an experienced locksmith will know the answer.

I am a novelist working on a book set in 1987. In my story, three characters rob a small mom-and-pop business. I want the small business to have a security system, and I'm trying to determine what kinds of alarm systems were available to small business owners in the United States (New York state area) in 1987. Were they anything like the ADT systems available today?

I would LOVE it if the alarm system could have some kind of 4-digit password (like the ADT system in my house) but I am not sure if that technology was available in 1987.

If anyone can point me to online resources that would help to illuminate the world of security systems circa 1987, I would appreciate it.

Thank you for your time!!!

[torontosafecracker]

TSC

[Squelchtone]

Id say it would be an Ademco alarm with pressure sensor pads under the carpets, and ACE tubular lock outside to activate and deactivate, some boxy old Ultrasonic motion detectors, and some window foil to detect broken glass. magnetic reed sensors mounted on top of each door and to the door frame would have been common too, with visible screw terminals and twisted brown wire leading to them.

here's one of the ultrasonic motion detectors on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ademco-Sontrix- ... 20df33de30

here's a floor mat switch you'd hide under a rug
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ademco-25-Super ... 3cd3cc16d1

here are the door contacts with screw terminals
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MAGNETIC-CONTAC ... 3f3197745a


the ACE tubular lock for arming/disarming if there was no keypad... maybe the kids can press it into a bar of soap or silly putty after lifting the keys for a few minutes, then they make their own key and come back at night?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ADEMCO-HONEYWEL ... 232fd799a7

the faceplate the ACE key lock would go into.. red LED for armed, green LED for disarmed..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ALARM-CONTROLS- ... 43c6892aad

and old Ademco keypad, not sure if 80's or 90's..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ademco-6139-Key ... 417dbe74b5


hope this helps!
Squelchtone

[Squelchtone]

dont forget at least 4 to 6 American Lock 700 Series TSR body padlocks on all the security roll down grates, that's a very New York thing.

[writerguy1987]

Thank you so much for being generous with your time and knowledge. All of your suggestions and links are very helpful. I wasn't familiar with Ademco, but now that you have introduced me to the name, I am finding tons of vintage security systems from the mid-1980s online.

Thanks again -- really appreciate the help!!!

[Squelchtone]

Thank you so much for being generous with your time and knowledge. All of your suggestions and links are very helpful. I wasn't familiar with Ademco, but now that you have introduced me to the name, I am finding tons of vintage security systems from the mid-1980s online.

Thanks again -- really appreciate the help!!!

Don't forget to have your bad guys be monitoring for the cops on their Realistic hand held police scanner from Radio Shack. =)

[Divinorum]

Thank you so much for being generous with your time and knowledge. All of your suggestions and links are very helpful. I wasn't familiar with Ademco, but now that you have introduced me to the name, I am finding tons of vintage security systems from the mid-1980s online.

Thanks again -- really appreciate the help!!!

Don't forget to have your bad guys be monitoring for the cops on their Realistic hand held police scanner from Radio Shack. =)

Believe it or not many agencies still don't use encrypted channels and average Joe can hear everything. At least many of them in my area have not converted

[Squelchtone]

Thank you so much for being generous with your time and knowledge. All of your suggestions and links are very helpful. I wasn't familiar with Ademco, but now that you have introduced me to the name, I am finding tons of vintage security systems from the mid-1980s online.

Thanks again -- really appreciate the help!!!

Don't forget to have your bad guys be monitoring for the cops on their Realistic hand held police scanner from Radio Shack. =)

Believe it or not many agencies still don't use encrypted channels and average Joe can hear everything. At least many of them in my area have not converted

you say this as if it is a bad thing.. the people have a right to have a certain amount of oversight over public servants... that is why the FCC in 1934 by means of the Communications Act decided it was ok to listen to a scanner as long as you didn't go blabbing everything you heard to other people and that you did not use the things you heard for personal or monetary gains.. I think police should have tactical channels for certain occasions, but their primary dispatch channel should not be encrypted, so that the citizenry may listen and see what their public servants are doing.

[GWiens2001]

+1 on that. They work for us, and it is our duty to see that they have oversight.

Gordon

[Divinorum]

I do not necessarily disagree with you. I just see it from both sides. I'm all for police oversight, don't get me wrong. While I am not a LEO I work civil service and have witnesses what an armed thug can get away with when they can listen in on the scanner and know exactly when someone has alerted the police of their presence. They know exactly when to "get out" and a lot of times with the foreknowledge gained by the scanner they get away with it. It literally gives them an upper hand over the police. They also know what route the police are taking and that puts officers lives in danger. The tac channels only get used for hostage/swat situations near me. It would be very difficult to segregate the bs and non bs calls into different channels. Anyway many times the officers don't even know what they are dealing with till they arrive. If people really want to keep the police accountable they should worry less about being able to listen in on the scanner and should FILM police encounters every chance they get. Also do you honestly think that if the police were up to anything they should not be doing that they would broad cast it over the unencrypted primary channel?

[GWiens2001]

Yet some courts have determined that it is illegal to film LEOs. Some of those decisions are overturned, some are not.

Gordon

[jeffmoss26]

My house had a Napco Magnum Alert 800 which was installed in the early 1980s

(not my auction, just posted for pictures)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MAGNUM-ALERT-80 ... 7675.l2557

[Evan]

you say this as if it is a bad thing.. the people have a right to have a certain amount of oversight over public servants... that is why the FCC in 1934 by means of the Communications Act decided it was ok to listen to a scanner as long as you didn't go blabbing everything you heard to other people and that you did not use the things you heard for personal or monetary gains.. I think police should have tactical channels for certain occasions, but their primary dispatch channel should not be encrypted, so that the citizenry may listen and see what their public servants are doing.

Which is why most of the interesting stuff isn't even discussed via voice channels anymore unless you are looking at a very small police department which doesn't operate mobile data terminals... You have to be really really dedicated to be able to "listen" to RTTY transmissions for the older models MDT's but most of the newer stuff is cellular based networking technology and thus not able to be "listened" to legally...

You might be able to outrun one police officer, but you can't outrun Motorola, the dispatcher who is logged onto the HAL-9000 and the plethora of networked traffic cameras it/he/she is connected to that are becoming ever so popular these days...

~~ Evan

[Squelchtone]

you say this as if it is a bad thing.. the people have a right to have a certain amount of oversight over public servants... that is why the FCC in 1934 by means of the Communications Act decided it was ok to listen to a scanner as long as you didn't go blabbing everything you heard to other people and that you did not use the things you heard for personal or monetary gains.. I think police should have tactical channels for certain occasions, but their primary dispatch channel should not be encrypted, so that the citizenry may listen and see what their public servants are doing.

Which is why most of the interesting stuff isn't even discussed via voice channels anymore unless you are looking at a very small police department which doesn't operate mobile data terminals... You have to be really really dedicated to be able to "listen" to RTTY transmissions for the older models MDT's but most of the newer stuff is cellular based networking technology and thus not able to be "listened" to legally...

You might be able to outrun one police officer, but you can't outrun Motorola, the dispatcher who is logged onto the HAL-9000 and the plethora of networked traffic cameras it/he/she is connected to that are becoming ever so popular these days...

~~ Evan

I remember in high school we wanted to have some sort of map of the town and have GPS trackers on all the police cars so we could see where they were on the map as little dots in real time while we... did stuff.

[Evan]

I remember in high school we wanted to have some sort of map of the town and have GPS trackers on all the police cars so we could see where they were on the map as little dots in real time while we... did stuff.

You were way out in the future man... Although the technology to accomplish that exists these days, very few places implement such a command intelligence display of where all the field assets are located outside of military friend/foe applications...

Most assignments of a police officer(s) to a call are made by the CAD system software at the PSAP when the dispatcher enters the type of call into the screen as they are getting the information from the RP and are based on the geographic location of the reported emergency and the associated route mappings which have been entered into a database and the computer selects one or more assets to task with responding to the call based on proximity and the available routes between responder(s) and call location...

HAL-9000 does a lot to keep the law and order types all organized and going where they need to go...

~~ Evan