Understanding and Servicing Alarm Systems, Third Edition has seen the alarm industry enter the computer age. With its coverage of microcomputerized controls, sophisticated detection devices, methods of alarm reporting, that second edition broke new ground. Now completely updated to reflect the security industry's most high-tech advances, the third edition of Understanding and Servicing Alarm Systems, continues on the road of educating the alarm dealer, installer, and technician.

You can purchase it new or professionally Highlighted & Tabbed for your exam. 

Why Most Highlighted & Tabbed Books Fall Short?

Many contractor exam prep schools sell highlighted and tabbed books. Only one created the system—and perfected it through real-world use. That system was created by Rob Estell, a licensed contractor, President, and Founder. 

Open-book contractor exams don’t test how much you know. They test how quickly you can locate the correct answer inside dense reference manuals. Rob learned this firsthand by taking exams himself and later confirmed it through years of feedback from thousands of exam candidates.

While other schools offer highlighted and tabbed books, most:

• Use minimal or generic highlights
• Rely heavily on the existing Table of Contents and Index
• Miss exam-tested material that isn’t clearly referenced
• Provide tabs that point to broad sections, not precise answers

The result? Students still waste time searching.

Rob decided that “good enough” wasn’t good enough.

Why The Exam Pros ORIGINAL, detailed-driven highlighted and tabbed books? Thousands of contractors have passed their exams using Rob Estell’s highlighted and tabbed books because they solve the real problem:

• Knowing the answer
• But not being able to find it fast enough

Built from Contractor Experience & Student Feedback

Rob Estell’s system is built using:

• His own experience as a licensed contractor
• Personal exam feedback from real testing environments
• Thousands of data points from exam students nationwide

A Proven, Detail-Oriented Navigation System

Each book follows Rob’s proven 3-step method:

1. Table of Contents – Identify the general section
2. Precision Tabs – Jump directly to the exact topic
3. Strategic, Detailed Highlights – Land on the answer instantly

Our highlights are thorough and detail-oriented, guiding your eye exactly where exam answers are located—not just coloring pages for appearance.

• Every highlight is intentional.
• Every tab exists because the book failed to guide the reader quickly enough.
• If a topic cannot be found efficiently through the Table of Contents or Index, it gets a custom tab and targeted highlight.

These books are designed to help you outperform the clock, not just prepare!

• Prepares readers for the practicalities of dealing with customers
• Takes readers from the basics of electricity to the most modern equipment installation and repair
• Teaches the pitfalls one might encounter in the alarm servicing profession, along with the approaches for troubleshooting

Alarm system installers, service technicians and some security managers

Part One: Basic Electricity; Test Equipment; Part Two: Kinds of Trouble; Types of Protective Loops; Seven Steps in Troubleshooting; Specific Troubleshooting Procedures; Part Three: Controls; Silent Alarms and Local Bells; Batteries and Power Supplies; Part Four: Advanced Intrusion Detection Systems; Part Five: A Day in the Life of An Alarm Serviceperson; Work Hazards; Dealing Effectively with Customers; Glossary