Those with a large collection, do you have an alarm system?

[Steven]

I've been taken twice in my young life. One in '95 (which was the main reason we moved, my parents got paranoid after that) The next one in 1999. After that we got fed up and finally installed an alarm system and been good since. You know, I really can't imagine living without an alarm system. I was curious to see which of you guys do have one, or don't, and how is your comfort level if you don't have an alarm system and you're often out of the house?

Alarm system just gives you such peace of mind, esp. if you're out of the house a lot and have a lot of goodies lying around.

I mean, sure insurance could help. But imagine having your whole house wiped out and say all 500+ games you owned for the older systems... that might never be accomplished again... because of the time, effort, and the fact that your spirit has to be crushed.

Just want to hear stories, opinions, discussion.

[Nesmaster]

almost 850 games and dont have one.... but REALLY would like one.

I've thought about what i would do if all my games were stolen. But i also thought that the common thief doesnt care about old games (unless someone from here robs me... :P) and couldnt be bothered with carrying 300 lbs of nes games out the door or window... they'd go for my ps2/gc and games sitting out in the open... or so i would think...

[Steven]

I've thought about what i would do if all my games were stolen. But i also thought that the common thief doesnt care about old games (unless someone from here robs me... :P) and couldnt be bothered with carrying 300 lbs of nes games out the door or window... they'd go for my ps2/gc and games sitting out in the open... or so i would think...

True, but some robbers are mean and even though they don't take something they find as useful, they might throw it down and break it or step on it or something... the same sicko's who get a kick out of destroying property that isn't theirs.

An alarm system ensures (not 100%, but damn close) me I'll never have to worry about that. (when I move out in a few years I plan on getting get an alarm system pronto)

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Sure do.

http://www.thelogbook.com/earl/hizzouse/thumb-9/zdog-wag.jpg

[boozi2]

Sure do.

http://www.thelogbook.com/earl/hizzouse/thumb-9/zdog-wag.jpg
Nice............... Very, very nice......... LOL

[Emily]

My collection isnt large...but my pitbull/shar-pei hangs out in my gameroom and can be pretty scary ;)

[qbertandernie]

hey PDF, i was thinking the same thing...

at 145 lbs, shes kind of intimidating..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/qbertandernie/extras/zzz.jpg

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Geez. That's no dog. That's a space station!

Seriously though, to get things back on track, I do have a guard dog, but I'll admit that the thought of an alarm system with the little keypads and all that good stuff occurred to me roughly 15 seconds after my first arcade cabinet was delivered to the house. At the time, having just bought the house (and the cab), it was a wee bit out of reach, though that may change soon.

[stuffedmonkey]

Heh, and if you don't ahve an alarm system, I ahve the following questions...

1) What rare games do you have?
2) Where do you live?
3) When are you usually not home?

With any luck I should be increasing my collection substantially in the next few weeks :evil:

[Jumpman Jr.]

I rougly have 1000 games and I do have an alarm system.
Although, I don't know if I would REALLY need one. I live in Canada, and there isn't very much crime here, espessially breaking and entering.
On top of that, I live in a very nice neighbourhood (not "rich" by any means, just everybody is super nice.)
However, the alarm system does put me at ease when I leave the house. 8-)

[XxMe2NiKxX]

I have 900 games, but I live in Canada. I could leave my door open overnight and nothing will happen.

[Flack]

We have an alarm system on the house which extends out to the arcade with a motion sensor. If anyone ever stole one of my arcade games, I always figured I could pick them out of a lineup by just looking for the guy holding his back in pain.

[Promophile]

I've seen enough weekly news shows to know 90 pct of alarm systems do nothing.

[Slate]

hey PDF, i was thinking the same thing...

at 145 lbs, shes kind of intimidating..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/qbertandernie/extras/zzz.jpg

I was thinking of the same thing.

My dog would bark like crazy if Anyone broke in the house. I don't think they'd have a chance to steal anything.

My dog is a Chocolate Lab. :)

[Vectorman0]

I've seen enough weekly news shows to know 90 pct of alarm systems do nothing.

That's surely not true. Half of it is just preventative. Would you break into a house if you saw the alarm armed through the window? And even if someone breaks in, as long as it is armed, there won't be much time to take a large quantity of stuff.

It's not fail safe, but it's a good alternative if you are allergic to dogs ;-).

[DTJAAAAMJSLM]

I reached the 1,000 mark last December, and I still don't have an alarm system. Perhaps I should get one...

[Aussie2B]

If someone was stupid enough to rob me, as sad as I'd be, I'd get satisfaction from the fact that they'd probably pass up on taking my Rondo of Blood, expensive game soundtracks, and valuable old RPGs and instead likely take my PS2, try to sell it off at a game store, only to be turned down when no game will play on it, since my PS2 is Japanese. >)

[jp]

I do not have an alarm system.


I leave most of my major stuff (i.e. the Panzer Dragoon collection, which, given what all is in it, is quite irreplacable) at my parents' house, which is out in the middle of nowhere and crime is almost non-existent there (at least the breaking and entering variety).


Right now I live in an apartment, and I feel fairly safe since it is a gated community. Also, I do have a camera set up in my room, so if anyone DID break in and take my stuff, they would be hunted down and dealt with shortly thereafter. :evil:

[SuperNES]

hey PDF, i was thinking the same thing...

at 145 lbs, shes kind of intimidating..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/qbertandernie/extras/zzz.jpg

I was thinking of the same thing.

My dog would bark like crazy if Anyone broke in the house. I don't think they'd have a chance to steal anything.

My dog is a Chocolate Lab. :)

yeah me too, my dog is 3/4 rottweiler, 1/4 black lab. she barks at pretty much everyone and if someone broke in she would go nuts... at least long enough for me to grab the phone.. or my louisville slugger... :evil:

haha anyways my collection is still pretty small compared to most of you guy's i'm just now nearing 100 games, and my rarest are probably just my NGPC and my boxed genny. well also of course if anything got stolen it would be my flatscreen monitor and my $1000+ computer. but i'm not really worried because i live in the middle of nowhere and the only crimes that i can remember were some rednecks robbing convenience stores to steal cigarettes, and some crazy guy who had a shootout with the police. nothing much happens in my town.

[Poofta!]

i know my collection seems small compared to others, i have roughly 210 games, and about 10 consoles. i live in an apartments complex in NYC, 5 buildings with 320 apartments each. its pretty unlikely that I among everyone else would get chosen. that and my door has 2 Mul T Lock special locks, not to mention that the door itself is 3 inch steel. no ones getting in here. windows not an option either since its the 4th floor.

i feel bad for your loss, and if an alarm system gives you piece of mind, by any means please use it. most of these folks though live in nice areas where crime is at a low, and yeah, dogs are *excellent* anti burglar devices (no i dont have one).

[Ed Oscuro]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/qbertandernie/extras/zzz.jpg
Nice doggies in this thread!

Heh, my dog's getting too old and senile to know what's happening anymore. I've got an alarm system.

We just upgraded it from the old model we've had since about 1994. The new one comes with broken glass sensors, and you can even set it up so it can report back to the base station via an integrated cell phone in case somebody cuts the wire. Very handy, but you have to pay a monthly charge (just like a real cellphone).

The main thing is to post that you do have a security system on forums like this so nobody gets the idea to pay you a visit out in the country ;)

[unbroken]

Im am my own alarm system. Basically, if anything gets stolen from me, i hunt the motherfucker down and kill him.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Heh, and if you don't ahve an alarm system, I ahve the following questions...

1) What rare games do you have?
2) Where do you live?
3) When are you usually not home?

With any luck I should be increasing my collection substantially in the next few weeks :evil:

1. Quite a few. :P
2. Out in the boonies, where frontier justice still reigns supreme.
3. Why don'tcha come find out? LOL
http://www.thelogbook.com/wishlist/axe.jpg
;)

[zektor]

Heh, I own a PSP and three games. That's it. That is all that is left after my loss of thousands of complete, mint, classic games. After I had to pawn them off to survive in the past few years. I used to submit game room pics, now my gaem room consists of a shelf.

So, if anyone wants to rob me for my three games, go ahead and try. Just don't expect to leave intact! I actually would LIKE someone to try honestly at this point...

[GarrettCRW]

Well, my parents are having one installed, largely due to their own paranoia (apparently, there were a few B&Es in the general vicinity some months ago or something). Me, I really don't care that much.

Sure, I've got a good amount of pricey games, but other than Mondays (when I work days), this house is uninhabited for maybe an hour a day. Presuming the fools even look in my bureau or in the closet, they won't find a whole lot, seeing as how criminals are stupid (which means that they're only looking for the shiny and new).

Remember, Padawans: Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

I sense much fear in you. ;)

[videogameking26]

I own 750+ games, don't have a alarm system...plan to soon

[aaron7]

Yup, we have one... but it was there when we moved in. The previous owners were hella paranoid, and we have glass sensors, door/window opening sensors, motion flood lights on every side of the house, a crazy outside alarm, motion sensors in the living room/dining room/ and basement, etc.

And it has TWO battery backups, separate from eachother! So don't bother cutting the power, we'll still get you :evil:

[digitalpress]

My house was robbed in 2000 when I didn't have a security system in the house. Our neighborhood had such a low rate of robbery that some of the cops who came to investigate cited mine as their first. Just great.

Fortunately the thieves weren't gaming afficionados. They left all of the rare stuff behind. Took my DVD player, a few systems that were out in the open, lots of easy-to-carry handhelds... but nothing I could not replace.

Days later we brought the high-tech security system in.

[gepeto]

It is funny. I have been ripped off twice. Both times in jersey city. The first someone broke into my house and stole and stole my vcr the kick the door in. my Sega saturn and playstation and n64 were proudly on the coffee table and the games were on the rack at a time the systems were 200.00 to 300.00 apeice. It was definately an inside because whoever took the vcr knew if the games and systems were touched I would have searched the ends of the earth and hammered out justice like west indian archie:) The second time it was from neighborhood kids who I let play the games at my place because they had no system. They waited until I went to work popped the lock on the outside window crawled in through the bedroom and stole goldeneye turok and super mario 64. After my intense investigation and crime scene analysis and brutal interrogation I located the perp and forced him to return the stolen games. Initally I felt like an ass because I searched my apartment hi and low for hours thinking I misplaced them. I eventually forgave the kid and let him back in only after 1 month of yard work. I believe most thefts are an inside job. You have to be careful who you show you collection to. I know a guy who had a huge dvd collection he had workers in his house doing some plumbing work. 2 months after they finished he went to wacth a old movie he opened the case dvd gone he checked his collection 30 dvd's gone. yet the cases were there looking like they are okay. This could very well happen to next gen games. I always check my games for physical onsite confirmation. and wacth those who enter my house. I will eventually install a digital video recorder since the technology is cheap. This would replace the shotgun and trip wire. The super rare games I keep in a seperate loction in a fire proof box.

[Ed Oscuro]

Oh, that reminds me...a few motion sensing outdoor lights in a few specific places (covering your back windows and door works well) can scare the bejeezus outta crooks. I'd leave those on if you're going on vacation.

[Promophile]

Has anyone actually heard of a sercurity system stopping a robber or leading to his arrest? I donno, to me a security system seems like a safety blanket. Lots of times when the alarm is tripped it sends a message to HQ which can be halfway across the country. THe people there then call up your local police and give them the address. I've seen tests on Dateline and 60 minutes where the police didn't arrive in over 30 mintues, and if you know anything about robbery a good thief will be gone in 10-15. The best security system you can have is a locked steel door in a windowless room.

[Ed Oscuro]

A good thief won't mess with houses that have alarm systems on them if there's still good picks in the area without a system. It does reduce the chance somebody will try to mess with your house.

Something else to think about is what kind of electronics you've got about. Keeping tons of electronics out in the open on the ground floor is not a good idea - that's what entertainment centers are for. However, the bigger and heavier, the better! Another reason to get a 50 inch TV :D