Customer Reviews

Bell+Howell 7696 Sonic Wireless Alarm System

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Just a line here: I've had this type of alarm before. The one I had before and this one work great for what they do. Now, for the down side.

On those old doors--like what I have--in those hundred year old houses--like what I have--the doors are 'sunk' into the wall deeper than in the more modern houses. In modern houses the door is usually flush with the wall and door frame. It's easy to put a deadbolt on that type of door. But the older house's outside doors are sunk in deeper.

You will have trouble fitting one of these magnetic type alarms to the door frame and door. I had to turn mine upside down and put it on backwards (the adhesive side still goes up against the door and frame) and only found one spot on the entire door it would work.

But like I said, these types of alarms are great at what they do...I recommend them--when these stop working I will get more.

BYE!

Conclusion
* The unit I have is poorly constructed, not dependable, and does not produce a loud enough alarm to provide an adequate intrusion alert.

Pros
* Inexpensive.
* Might provide some "scare value" to casual/amateur intruders.
* Might be useful in monitoring young children's access to closets, storage spaces, etc. (but don't use for critical applications such as monitoring access to cabinets containing poisons, outside doors to swimming pools, etc. as the alarm is not dependable -- use a lock instead!)

Cons
* The sound level is low. While can be heard across an open space (such as a "great room") or within the same room, it is difficult or impossible to hear from other rooms. Hence, it's undependable for warning of intrusions into other areas of a home or as a perimeter alarm system.
* Not dependable. The unit I deployed (in monitoring child access to a restricted cabinet in the family room) failed to chime consistently in "chime mode" -- in fact, it rarely worked in chime mode at all. (However, the alarm mode works correctly on the unit.)
* This unit uses very lightweight materials and is poorly made. In addition to the performance issues mentioned above, the smaller, magnet portion of the unit fell apart and had to be glued back together.

Observations
* I also have another brand (not listed on Amazon) of this type of alarm which works much better (that is, it works consistently and it is louder.) The other brand cost about twice as much, but uses standard AA batteries (which are less expensive than this unit's LR44's) and cosmetically appears to be made better quality materials and have better workmanship.
* From a quick review of Amazon's listings, be aware that this unit appears to be marketed under several brand names.

Horrible item, I now know why they no longer sell at the stores. Only one out of the four in the pack worked. Some were cracked, this was my worst purchase ever.

I recieved these and put them up right away. The plastic around the magnectic part came apart on some of the alarms and I had 2 that didn't work at all! The batteries were dead. I think these products have been sitting around for awhile...go to Wal-Mart and get the newer ones there, these are awful!

The product did not work at all. Was a total waste of time to try to work with it and mail it back.

This is a very good product for anyone on a budget that wants to sleep better at night and cannot afford a monthly paid alarm system. Loud enough to wakeup even a heavy sleeper to alert to a possible breakin. A little tricky to install but worth the effort. I purchased 2 sets to cover both doors and windows.

Certainly won't replace a home alarm system, but gives me a little piece of mind, louder than I thought they would be.

Difficult to set up on uneven surfaces,.and never never drop the alarm,
it is definitely not a timex! broken broken broken. Do not waste your money. Buy a freaking set of bells and stick that on your door window etc.