SkyLink’s DIY SK-200 Alarm System review: Easy to install and setup

I’ve had a home security system that I’ve been paying monthly fees on for nearly twenty years. We had some break-ins in our neighbourhood but thankfully never at our place – whether it’s because of the signs and security system I don’t know and frankly don’t care. The big thing is no break-ins at our house.

The thing is, my system is getting a little long in the tooth, although with battery changes it still works great. It has two “flaws” as far as I’m concerned. First flaw is that I have to pay for it every month – I know I’m paying for the monitoring, but it still is a monthly fee.

Secondly, although my wife and I use key fobs to set and turn off the system, that’s as remote as we can get. By that I mean there’s no iPhone app I can use, and because I use my iPhone for so many things, I’d like to be able to access my security system with it and I can’t.

Enter Sky Link and their SK-200 Alarm System Starter Kit. The kit is a starter kit for sure – it comes with two door sensors, a single key fob, the Hub, and a single motion detector. It retails for $149.99 USD and it’s the place to start for a home security setup.

If you decide to get one of these kits, you need to be aware that you’ll need one AAA battery for each door sensor, one AA battery for the notion detector and four AAA batteries for the Internet hub. It’s a bit unusual to not get batteries when you buy some electronics that use them, but I guess the flip side is that by having to get new batteries you’ll have fresher batteries in the devices than if they were packaged with it.

Setup of this system is easy. The door sensors mount on the moulding just above the door and the magnets on the door within a quarter-inch of the sensor. You can mount the Hub anywhere or have it sit on a shelf, although it does need to be connected to your home network via Ethernet. The motion sensor can be easily mounted to cover an entrance or the living room etc.

Initial setup of the Hub involves getting it loaded with batteries, plugged into the power supply and connected to your network via the provided Ethernet cable. Then you download the SkyLink App to your iOS or Android smartphone or tablet and you do the registration and activation through the App.

To set the sensors up, you mount them where you want them, make sure there are batteries in them and then set them up by going into “setup” in the App and adding a new device. You do this for each sensor and for the key fob.

The entire process is pretty painless.

The SkyLink App for Android or iOS. SkyLink

The alarm built into the Hub isn’t as loud as the screamer I have in my security system in the house, but the beauty of the system is the remote monitoring that the App allows. With the App you can easily see which components are armed and if a sensor is triggered you can easily see which one. It’s great for remotely monitoring your home, cabin – wherever you want to monitor remotely. It’d be great to have while on vacation to let you know if anything happens.

I think this would be the ideal system for someone in a condo or an apartment. The sensors all mount using double-sided tape or screws, so little damage would be done to walls on removal.

You can set the alarm from the key fob, right from the Hub or via the App, and the App log file lets you know at a glance which sensors have been activated – I like that feature.

The beauty of this system is that, as the name says, it’s a Starter system. Other components can be added to round the system out, like up to ten cameras, more door sensors and an outdoor solar siren. It soon adds up in price, but after the initial outlay of cash you don’t have to pay any monitoring fees, and you can add things to the system as you see fit and can afford.

The downside is the self monitoring, although if you do find that someone has broken in or is breaking in you can simply call 911. As I mentioned, the alarm in the Hub isn’t a screamer, so don’t think it’ll scare anyone away if it goes off, although I’d expect that at night in a quiet house the alarm would sound loud enough to an intruder and would certainly tell them an alarm has gone off so somebody will be aware.

So, for the money you get a pretty good basic self-monitoring alarm system with a tremendous upgrade side. You can use your iPhone to monitor the system remotely, and you don’t have to pay monitoring fees every month. Sky Link also offers many more options in self-monitoring security, home automation and monitoring systems.

PROS: No fees; iOS and Android monitoring through the Sky Link App; easily added to.

CONS: Can be expensive when adding to the system; alarm from Hub isn’t very loud; no batteries included, iOS and Android only.

TO SUM IT UP: If you live in an apartment or condo and are thinking of getting an alarm system, then this is something you should look at. Fairly inexpensive for the basic system, easily added to, offering remote monitoring, this is a good start to home security.

Murray Hill is lead tech writer at communicatto.com, a social media marketing agency where this article originated. You can reach Murray by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at @MurrayDHill

Source:: canada.com