Alarm Techs NZ

28/09/2026

Do you have all your Security Systems setup for Daylight Savings updates? Great! Now make sure they aren't programmed to send a Periodic Test between 2 am and 3 am - most likely it won't send the signal at all and we will end up chasing up NSR clients for no reason.

I'd also avoid programming any scheduled functions for that time slot unless you are dead certain it will work when the hour disappears. Schedules that constantly check the time could be alright.

Warning notes are already in some manufacturers manuals (DSC specifically), and just more or less ignored in other brands and models manuals that also certainly do have an issue.

If in doubt - use another time.

Ask us how we know this.....!

11/09/2026

Looking for a keen , experienced and qualified tech to take your business to the next step? Willing to help get someone into the industry here ? We’ve received this genuine request to put the word out :

Hey Alarm Techs team

Im looking into relocating to NZ from South Africa. Im currently a Pre Sales Engineer with 20 years experience in the security industry. Installation - Sales - Projects - Business Development - Pre Sales.
Cctv - Access control - intruder - fire - integrations.

Have you got any opportunities for me with any security company in NZ that would be willing to assist with work visa sponsorship?

Regards
Siegfried Pautsch
[email protected]

03/09/2026

Scenes from Day 2 at ASIAL 2026

02/09/2026

Scenes from day 1 of the 2026 ASIAL show.

31/08/2026

Spent a couple very productive days in Christchurch last week catching up with installers, bureaus, and friends in the industry. Had some great chats, solved the problems of the world, shared trade secrets and a even a few beverages.

It’s now time to head to Sydney and do the same thing on a much larger scale!

Hoping to catch up with as many of you as I can over the 3 days of the ASIAL conference.

Looking forward to seeing the latest developments in security technology and working out how we can leverage the best of it at Alarm Watch for your benefit.

Hit me up for a chat, a coffee, or a cold one if you’re there too. I’ll be lurking everywhere !

The Security Exhibition is the leading industry event for security professionals providing expert trends, insights, and solutions.

27/08/2026

We’ve landed in Christchurch- and encountered slightly lower temperatures ! looking forward to warming up and catching up with many of you a bit later at Scoundrel Bar. Come on down!

24/08/2026

I'm heading to Sydney next week to represent Alarm Watch at ASIAl. 3 days of trying out new technology, talking to distributers, and catching up with a lot of techs.
Looking forward to seeing some of you there!

Who else is headed over?

23/08/2026

Get down to Scoundrel Bar in. Christchurch this Thursday and catchup with us!
Security Techs and Distributers welcome :)

06/08/2026

Back in NZ and ready to read the latest industry news ! some great articles in there for everyone, as usual- grab your copy of the NZ Security Magazine here :

Kia ora and welcome to the August 2026 issue of New Zealand Security Magazine, the third edition of our new shorter monthly publication.

03/08/2026

As we get ready to leave Canada , we’ve just flown across BC from Calgary. Not a single part of the Rocky Mountains was visible due to all the smoke from the wildfires.
130 active fires - 25 of them started in the last 24 hours. Several paces we’ve been visiting for the last two weeks are under evacuation orders, almost 240 homes lost in just one area where we stopped for lunch the other day. My son’s house which was only only of 5 to survive the massive 2023 fires was again buzzed by aircraft putting a fire out on the other side of the lake , the day after I left .
One of the work sites we visited was a regional fire station - being rebuilt because it burnt down in the 2023 fires. All the firefighters were away saving homes the day the fire raged through.

So - it’s relevant that i show how they can monitor fire alarms here .

Use a ULC listed security alarm panel - in this case a DSC NEO in a listed enclosure. 3 zones are connected to the standard Fire Alarm panel via its relays. Armoured cable between the panels, and to the keypad. Comms are dual path - Dialler/Cell, Cell/Ethernet, or 180 second polling Cell-only.
Picture is from another job that different company did, as the fire station wasn’t ready to fit out. Fire Alarm panel hadn’t been fitted yet, and building still unpainted inside.

Apparently you can add security alarms to this, but require expanders/PS to be in a seperate enclosure and all must be on another partition.
Many installs have a dedicated ULC alarm for Fire and another one for Security, right next to each other .

So this panel is just to monitor the Fire Alarm panel .