I read somewhere that perps will hang around the outside your home for a minute or so looking around before actually attempting a break in. This gave me the idea of a simple motion detector that alerts me of anyone in the vicinity around our house. I found something that is inexpensive and fits the bill perfectly. I waterproofed the sensors and installed them around the outside of the house and also painted some of them to match the trim of the siding etc.
So far the sensors work nicely. There was one late night when one of the zones (4) was continuously beeping. I went ahead and stepped out with a flashlight to see what was going on. It turned out that our neighbors dog was silently hanging around the side of our house. It took off when it saw me with the light and startled me a bit since it jumped out at me. Made me feel pretty good since it provided a good test of the system.
This adds to a feeling of security knowing that any motion outside 10 feet from from our walls is monitored. I always get a minute or so heads up prior to visitors ringing the doorbell etc.
If this gives me 10 seconds of advantage in a nighttime home invasion its well worth it. One downside is that rabbits tend to also trigger the sensors if they are big enough.
Below are the pics of the product and a diagram on how i have my zones assigned.
So far the sensors work nicely. There was one late night when one of the zones (4) was continuously beeping. I went ahead and stepped out with a flashlight to see what was going on. It turned out that our neighbors dog was silently hanging around the side of our house. It took off when it saw me with the light and startled me a bit since it jumped out at me. Made me feel pretty good since it provided a good test of the system.
This adds to a feeling of security knowing that any motion outside 10 feet from from our walls is monitored. I always get a minute or so heads up prior to visitors ringing the doorbell etc.
If this gives me 10 seconds of advantage in a nighttime home invasion its well worth it. One downside is that rabbits tend to also trigger the sensors if they are big enough.
Below are the pics of the product and a diagram on how i have my zones assigned.
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