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Fortress S02-B This system is packaged with care and is pre-programmed. If you know nothing about electronics or security systems, but can read a manual (or three),you can have this system installed and tested in an afternoon. The most tools you will need are a drill (to sink "mollies" for mounting motion sensors and/or control unit)and a screwdriver. Since there are several reviews that go into detail on installation or talk about ease of installation, I will just give you a few random comments that may help you along the way. Pre-1 - The most important thing you can do is think through what you are trying to accomplish with your system layout. I first thought about where to place devices to keep anyone from entering the house without an alarm. This is essentially your window/door sensor placement. If you are going to protect every entrance, you are going to have to buy enough sensors for EVERY separate window and door, including FOUR for a two-window set if it raises from the bottom and lowers from the top. It includes bathroom windows and that 12" square window in the basement. Lots of sensors (and consider broken glass sensors). Secondly, I assumed that somehow someone breached the outside sensors. Once inside, I placed motion detectors in those rooms an intruder would have to traverse to get to another section of the house. They are placed so that any window/door breached should be detected by motion no later than the next room entered. So far all of this is for an empty house. Thirdly, I assumed the intruders were able to get past the motion detectors. If no one is in the house, you just have to congratulate them on a job well done and hope they trip a sensor while moving around or getting out. If people are inside, you must have a plan as if you had not installed any devices at all. Dogs and guns for the "poor" like me, separate system sensors and safe rooms for others. The best security system in the world is useless if your plan is bad. 1-There are multiple security items you may have in your kit. The one I installed had the control unit (which is probably called something else<G>), panic button, key fobs, door/window sensors, motion detectors, indoor siren, and outdoor siren. It is wise to test them several times (antenna out, antenna in, near other wireless sources, etc.) For that reason, I would suggest placing the items in the approximate place you plan to mount them, such as a window sill, and do all testing before mounting them. For example, by placing the window/door sensors on the window sill near where you plan to mount them, you can test the alarm function and make any needed adjustment before drilling holes or mounting adhesive. 2-I know this is simplistic, but it is important. A major reason for testing window/door sensors before mounting is to gauge the sensitivity of the two devices which work together. Since their proximity is a major determinant of how sensitive they are to disturbance, you should make sure you mount them at the correct distance. The manuals say they should be mounted 1/2" or less apart. The closer they are mounted, the more "opening" or shaking required to set them off and the less likely they are to give a false alarm. If they are mounted further apart, they are very sensitive (a window shake may separate them enough to alarm)and more likely to give a false alarm. 3-As a part of the mounting process for any device that has an antenna, plan your mount with the antenna extended. You may not have to extend the antenna to have a strong signal, but if you do not plan for it, you may have to re-mount in order to use the antenna. 4-For the sake of your hearing, save the siren tests until last. You can tell if any sensor/alarm is working by looking at the readout on the control unit. Once all sensor units are working correctly, you can test the sirens from outside by using the key fobs to arm and disarm the alarm. 5-The components are all white and fairly large since they have a battery and electronics. If you have wood/color in the areas where you are installing the devices, using contact paper or non-permanent markers make them almost unnoticeable (to the male/husband eye<G>). The only thing to watch is not covering the sensors or status lights, and they are clearly defined. 6-You cannot successfully understand and install the system without three documents. Inside the box are a one page "Quick Start" manual and an OEM manual, probably translated from Chinese for technicians. The third document is a pdf in the Manuals section of the Fortress website. Location is http://www.fortresssecuritystore.com/skin/frontend/base/default/images/S02%20system%20Manual.pdf 7-The advice to put the control unit in the "middle" of your sensors is good, conservative advice. In our case, a 2700 sq. ft. house with sensors in EVERY corner worked fine without even having the antenna extended. Moving it to the MBR in one corner of the house worked just as well. I am not sure if this is common or not. The frequencies used for communication are 315MHz and 433MHz, which generally allow more distance than devices in the GHz range. 8-If you have an answering machine or other device that picks up your telephone line, you cannot arm/disarm the security system by calling in. The ability to call in and listen to your environment through the control unit is lost in this case, but if there is an alarm and you have programmed the system to call you, you can THEN listen in. And that is when you need it most. If you have a fax machine that "answers" the phone and then passes the signal on if it is a voice call, all features will probably work fine 9-I will not tell you the specific 3-4 times I misunderstood the docs and had to redo/recover. Just make sure you read them fairly well before you start - all three of them. There are just enough "oddities" that you may miss something. If you are the sort of person who does not read manuals, you will still make it work - just a little later. We have only used the system for a few days, but it has worked great in every test. I hope we never get to REALLY use it.