Intruder Photoelectric beam detectors
Ron Czapala
Posts: 2,418
Two of my neighbors homes were burglarized recently which prompted me to investigate different motion sensors for my alarm system.
I have a dog so I really need "pet immune" sensors. I have some Microwave/PIR combination sensors that are supposed to ignore pets under 100 lbs. but I have had false alarms in the past.
I thought beam sensors for longer distances needed to be laser rather than infrared but was pleasantly surprised to find that several companies make IR beam detectors that work for hundreds of feet.
I bought some of the these SECO-LARM Twin Photobeam detectors with laser beam alignment to cover a 25 foot hallway.
They claim coverage of 90 ft outdoors and 190 ft indoors.
Both beams need to be broken to trigger an alarm. They make some with 4, 6, 8 and 10 beams for various applications.
I got them from www.Surveillent.net
The drawback is that you need power to both the transmitter and receiver and they need to be aligned properly. I think these will address the pet false alarm issue and save paying penalties for false alarms...
I have a dog so I really need "pet immune" sensors. I have some Microwave/PIR combination sensors that are supposed to ignore pets under 100 lbs. but I have had false alarms in the past.
I thought beam sensors for longer distances needed to be laser rather than infrared but was pleasantly surprised to find that several companies make IR beam detectors that work for hundreds of feet.
I bought some of the these SECO-LARM Twin Photobeam detectors with laser beam alignment to cover a 25 foot hallway.
They claim coverage of 90 ft outdoors and 190 ft indoors.
Both beams need to be broken to trigger an alarm. They make some with 4, 6, 8 and 10 beams for various applications.
I got them from www.Surveillent.net
The drawback is that you need power to both the transmitter and receiver and they need to be aligned properly. I think these will address the pet false alarm issue and save paying penalties for false alarms...
Comments
1. In some parts of the world at least, locks and alarms for home use have a 'Insurance approval' rating. If someone breaks in and it's shown that the locks or alarm wasn't approved, it can result in cuts in the payout.
2. Where the alarms are approved, you can usually get a rebate on the insurance premiums...
Also, an alarm may not deter a burglar. If he thinks he can get in, nick somethingvaluable and disappear again before anyone can react, what's to stop him?
Or he may not care about such things?
(A drug addict doesn't always think rationally, or at all... )
Thinkof ways to make your home impenetrable.
A stronger door, 'security' screws to hold the doorframe properly in place. Bolts in the frame that mates to holes in the edge of the door to keep it from popping out on the hinged end.
Get rid of mailslots...
Plant rose bushes under the windows.
Ladders are stored in a locked shed or garage.
There's a lot of things that will stop or slow down a burglar without making your home look like Fort Knox.
Me?
I have a second story apartment, with only one 'obvious' entrance. That door is sturdy, without window or mailslot.
Andon the door is a sticker from a reputable alarm company, warning that thee premises isprotected by an alarm with camera. (The sticker is of the type that falls apart if you try to remove it. This because people used to steal the stickers...)
The alarm WILL alert the central when the door opens, then send the 'cancel' signal if it's deactivated before the 'grace period' is over. Some cheaper alarms will only attempt to alert the central orsound a siren if the grace period runs out.
Anything moves in the area covered by the camera, and the alarm goes off immediately. No grace period at all.
Same with window or the door to the verandah.
Anyone setting up a GSM-blocker in the area, and it goes off, too.
(The system can use both landline and GSM, and will go off if either is blocked)
This alarm has both AC and battery power, of course.
And it's the alarm company that changes the batteries. (Lasts up to 5 years) Any attempt to open any part of the system by anyone not authorized will also set off the alarm.
(This feature is very popular with people renting out rooms or small apartments to students... )
Rose bushes? Try bouganvillea, also known as Brazillian barbed wire. It is a climbing vine with nice red flowers and very spiky.
Any burglar that really wants in is going to patiently trigger a series of false alarms until nobody really cares what will happen to your property. Burglar alarms are only as good as the response to them.
Consider what your neighbors are doing wrong. My dad was an MD with hospital parking stickers on the family cars. He never brought any meds home, much less addictive ones. One neighbor MD did and was burgled repeatedly. Dad also insisted we keep nothing of value in the autos and NOT lock the doors. Drug addicts just have to try any car with a doctor's decal. You just end up with broken windows and damaged trunk locks.
We always had dogs. Only once did a thief make it into the house (backdoor left unlocked all night) and the dog cornered him. He didn't have any weapons as he knew that would significantly add years to any jail time.
What do I use? Nothing. I don't live in a setting that would attract anyone but a motor scooter thief. And we have about 15 parked in a row. I just don't park to the outside. I've had one motor scooter stolen and 2 motor scooter batteries in 18 years. Also one failed attempt with a new scooter as I put three locks on it. Humorously, the thief went through the two hefty motor scooter locks very easily. It was the bicycle lock that he didn't know how to open (and these bicycle locks all had the exact same key).
I think a motion detector connected to a tape loop of a dog bark would be very good.
Double crossing beams may help with false positives, but the dog may be getting blamed for triggers that are real attempts.
On of the victims parks their vehicles outside (the garage contains other stuff) so it is easy to tell when it it likely that no one is home.
The other victims were out of town - some one casing the place could pick up on that. There were no newspapers stacked up or obvious outward signs.
I think my house is pretty well protected without going to extremes (like steel bars on every window), but determined crooks can usually find a way.
My main concern was motion detection that the dog couldn't trigger.
I think the beam sensors I ordered will take of that issue.
The previous false alarms were always logged as the hallway motion sensor (supposedly "pet immune").
Why do I think I am doing nothing?
And my dog sleeps in the hallway.
My next project involves having my modem auto dial 911 with a prerecorded message to the operator. This will all be played over speakers throughout the house!!!! The system that this will run from is connected to power seperately from my desktop equipment. I guess if they cut the power it will all fail so not too much to do to get around that!!!
Be very careful that the system isn't set off by accident.