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My house was broken into last year… about 5 months ago… I was out the house a whole 40 mins and when I came back it had been totally trashed… how no body heard them I don’t know !! Not a lot was stolen, they must have been disturbed or planning on coming back for more (I’d like to see them ... Read review
Advantages: Wireless and easy to install Disadvantages: Lack of customer support
...to Argos and purchased this Micromark Wirefree Dual Powered Alarm… it seemed a good idea at the time and cost £150.… The outdoor siren box is dual powered…. It takes 6 D batteries and is solar powered also… the siren box is white and looks reasonably attractive (which was fairly important to me), it’s a nice shape… not too big and bulky… with a blue strobe light on the bottom and blue solar panel on the top and has Micromark written in the middle… ... ...couldn’t get anyone on the Micromark help line…. No-one was answering !!
It done this again a few days later and this time I got through to someone from Micromark, I told him what the problem was… and his answer was the batteries needed replacing… but they were only 3 weeks old I told him !!
In the instructions the batteries are supposed to last at least 6 months before you have to check them !! So he then asked me… ... more
Well this review doesn’t have a nice start to it (doesn’t have a happy ever after either !!)….
My house was broken into last year… about 5 months ago… I was out the house a whole 40 mins and when I came back it had been totally trashed… how no body heard them I don’t know !! Not a lot was stolen, they must have been disturbed or planning on coming back for more (I’d like to see them try now !!)
Anyway the very next day I went straight to Argos and purchased this Micromark Wirefree Dual Powered Alarm… it seemed a good idea at the time and cost £150.… The outdoor siren box is dual powered…. It takes 6 D batteries and is solar powered also… the siren box is white and looks reasonably attractive (which was fairly important to me), it’s a nice shape… not too big and bulky… with a blue strobe light on the bottom and blue solar panel on the top and has Micromark written in the middle… after a day or so I didn’t notice it on the wall outside my house !!
The alarm was very easy to fit… my dad who is an electrician had it fitted in about an hour !! Its totally wireless which I thought was great !! When fitting the alarm you are provided with double sided sticky pads for the PIRs (PASSIVE INFRA RED DETECTORS I think that stands for !) and for the door contacts…. We stuck one PIR up with the double sided sticky pads but it fell right down again so they had to be screwed in (screws and raw plugs are also supplied with the alarm) The PIRs take one PP3 9v batteries… there are 3 PIRs and the door contacts take small 12v LR23 batteries… there are 2 door contacts…. you will also need one 12v LR23 battery for the key fob and 1 for the key pad…. So that’s a lot of batteries you will need !!
The instructions were easy to follow and I had the alarm working soon after it had been fitted !!
The one good thing about this alarm is the key fob…it can be attached to your keys and can arm and disarm the alarm after you are out the house… it has a 100 metre range and saves messing about putting numbers into the key pad… the outdoor siren box beeps once when you have armed the alarm and then again 10 seconds later to let you know it has been activated… when you turn the alarm off it the box beeps 3 times again to let you know its disarmed… also if for any reason the alarm has been set off while you are out the siren box will beep 5 times to let you know…. I found this a little reassuring, as I would know if anyone had been in the house before I reached my door !!
The key pad I hardly ever used... It too is wireless but must be positioned within 100 metres of the siren and rest of the alarm to work... you set your own personal code.. which is very simple to do !! Its all in the instructions.
I was very happy with my alarm and after taking loads of time and effort, I finally trained my boyfriend to use it…. Its very simple to use, he is just thick !! He he… it was very important he knew how to switch it on and off as he was looking after the house for me while I was on holiday !!
I came back from my holiday and was surprised to find my house still in one piece !! My boyfriend had even managed to keep it tidy while I was away !! He must have been bored !! But there was bad news… while I had been away the alarm had been going off for no reason !!
My b/f had said it was going off when he was in the house… I thought it would have been something he was doing wrong, but sure enough one day while sitting watching T.V the alarm went off…. And could I get the stupid thing to shut up… NO !!
The key pad wouldn’t turn it off…. The key fob wouldn’t turn it off, it must have driven my neighbours crazy… for 15 mins the alarm rang…. I was expecting the police to turn up at my door for me causing a disturbance !! Lol… eventually its stopped on its own but I couldn’t get anyone on the Micromark help line…. No-one was answering !!
It done this again a few days later and this time I got through to someone from Micromark, I told him what the problem was… and his answer was the batteries needed replacing… but they were only 3 weeks old I told him !!
In the instructions the batteries are supposed to last at least 6 months before you have to check them !! So he then asked me… “when you walk past a PIR does a green light come on ?” hmmmmmmmmmn well yeah but that’s supposed to happen… that lets you know they are working and have detected movement !!
To that he told me I had fitted the alarm incorrectly… but my dad fitted it… he is an electrician and instrument technician (works on oil rigs and stuff!)… you trying to tell he cant fit and alarm ??
He then told me I should have removed a jump link ?? It didn’t say that in the instructions !!
He then went on to argue with me that it did, when I had the instructions in black and white in front of me !! In the instructions it said…. It was optional to remove this jump link to stop the green light coming on and save the batteries…. It hadn’t said in the instructions that it was compulsory to remove this link !! And also in the instructions it had said if the batteries were low the green light would turn red (which it hadn’t).
To be honest I don’t think he had a clue what he was talking about, and it just made me angry that the person on the help line couldn’t help and accused me of having incorrectly fitting the alarm !! The instructions were really simple to follow and had been followed…. There wasn’t any way it could have been fitted incorrectly…. It was just Micromark blaming their customer for there own faulty products !!
To cut a long story short I hung up on him as he started to be aggressive and abusive to me on the phone line and I wasn’t getting any help or advice from him…. My dad took the alarm back down and it was taken back to Argos, were I got a full refund !!
I now have an alarm, which isn’t a Micromark alarm and works fine !!
Thanx for reading :o) Any suggestions for improvement welcome !! Take care
Advantages: looks nice Disadvantages: kept arming itself for no apparant reason
...not come out, I had to wait until next day when my friends boyfriend could come over and take down the alarm box and take batteries out......peace at last!!!
Yes I did get in touch with Micromark but all they said was that it was interference from some other source!!!! ...
xandress 03.06.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Micromark Wirefree Dual Powered Alarm.
Advantages: Easy to Install Disadvantages: Has a mind of its own!
...the system.
Spoke to Micromark who suggested lots of little things that didnt work, even suggested changing batteries which were just a week old!
I took it back in the end, to Argos where I bough it who gave me a new shiny one. This I installed using instructions to the letter and had no problems for about a week.
Then the system managed to find a mind of its own and armed itself at about 5am one Wednesday morning. This then set off the siren ... ...to Micromark (although dont expect a great deal of response) and Argos explaining my predicament. I havnt decided what to do but it is more than likely it will go straight back.
I would not recommend this as a purchase, its is fraught with flaws and bad design!! ...
Mrcellcept 15.09.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Micromark Wirefree Dual Powered Alarm.
Advantages: easy to install, a monkey could do it Disadvantages: don't live on a street with car alarms
Where do i start, and easy alarm system to put together and install yourself will take you about 30-60 mins.
but the alarm system is activated via infra red system so when someone else is arming there car alarm or your neighbour 2 doors down as got the same alarm system it can set yours off. so can get very annoying.
customer support via phone no. on the packaging and via the internet is not one of the best. but they do have many extra's you can ...
simonpest 13.09.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Micromark Wirefree Dual Powered Alarm.
Quick review of Micromark Wirefree Dual Powered Alarm.
Bought one it kept giving false alarms. Stopped using it. Do not waste your money on this buy something else. ...
dcls14352 30.04.2007
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Micromark Wirefree Dual Powered Alarm.
Quick review of Micromark Wirefree Dual Powered Alarm.
I bought a micromark alarm off ebay. What a mistake. Although pleased with the installation the remote battery went flat every 2 weeks. We only used it twice a day.
Not to worry, I could use the keypad, well I could untill that developed a fault.
I telephoned the help line... mmmmm...... seems there phones have got disconected...... The web site no longer works. From this I would beleive they have ceased trading.
So, If you know where I can get spares of if any one is stuck with a key pad they no longer want, it would be good to here from you. keith72@hotmail.com ...
keith72 19.01.2009
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Micromark Wirefree Dual Powered Alarm.
