protecting your property with an Intrusion Detection System

[Squelchtone]

Hi folks,

I just moved to a new property and I'd like to install some sensors (motion, seismic, etc) that will alert me inside the house if anyone is in the area of the Jeep or walking up the driveway or around the yard.

This caught my eye, the Chamberlain CWA2000 weather proof outdoor motion sensor, http://www.amazon.com/Chamberlain-CWA2000-Wireless-Motion-System/dp/B002ISVJL6/ which uses RF signal to talk back to a base unit which can have up to 8 motion sensors linked to it and a different beep or number of beeps for each motion sensor so you can figure out where the motion event is happening.

I'm thinking of buying this to mount in a discreet spot near the beginning of the driveway but point it away from the street so that it only goes off if someone is already on my property and walking towards the vehicles. If this works well, I'm bound to get 2 more, one for the side of the house and one for the tree line in the back yard so I could know if someone walked out of the woods into my backyard.

I researched some buried battery operated professional IDS (Intrusion Detection Systems) seismic sensors but their price tags are in the thousands of dollars. http://www.qtsi.com/multichannel-seismi ... ic-system/ There are also buried cables that detect someone walking above them when the receiving cable's field is disturbed. http://senstar.com/products/omnitrax/

Other than traditional CCTV cameras which I find usually have poor motion detection grids and only basic email alerting, what else is out there to protect the perimeter and alert you when someone is walking onto your property?

Thanks,
Squelchtone

EDIT: fixed broken link.

[MBI]

*Reposting my answer to this question in your thread on lp101.

I wish you luck in your search. If you find a reasonably priced one you like, please post it here. I wouldn't mind getting something better myself.

I've used a few different outdoor intrusion systems in the past, at work and at home. Never found one I really liked. The seismic ones are pretty cool but very expensive, as you discovered, and also have their own problems.

With every outdoor motion sensing system I've ever worked with, I found there was always a regular issue with having to deal with a lot of false alarms. Even with the microwave systems in between double-fenceline perimeters, which cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Those should theoretically have fewer false alarms since they can be tuned to alarm at different strengths of signal returns, and being in between two twenty-foot-high chain link fences topped with razor wire, it prevents most wildlife or garbage from getting in there (both are common reasons for false alarms), yet they still false plenty.

Also, congratulations on your move to a better place.

[just1pick+open]

K9

[MBI]

K9

I don't think they are the "ultimate" alarm system, but I agree they can be an excellent deterrent and intrusion detection system.

Unfortunately, one of my biggest pet peeves are dogs with bad behavior. I attribute 90% of that bad behavior to owners who don't properly train, discipline, and continue to work with their dogs on a regular basis. In my case, I just don't have the time or energy to properly train, exercise and continually work with a guard dog in order to keep it in condition to be an effective tool. I refuse to do that to a dog, to take on that responsibility then let down the animal through neglect. So for me, and I suspect a lot of people, a guard dog just isn't a viable option.

Squelchtone, that yard isn't fenced is it? I can't tell for sure but it doesn't look like it from the pics. Is a dog an option for you, or is a technological solution what you need to go with?

[Anarchy_won]

you can check out http://www.southwestmicrowave.com/ I know some of there products are used in monitoring Nuclear Stations in Canada and the US so they might be a little outside of what you want to spend

But to be honest I would just go with a something simple like a DSC Alarm panel and a dozen or so motion sensors (and pressure mats at all the entrances) but then I so rarely install alarm systems anymore that some of my knowledge is more then a little dated.

[just1pick+open]

K9

I don't think they are the "ultimate" alarm system, but I agree they can be an excellent deterrent and intrusion detection system.

Unfortunately, one of my biggest pet peeves are dogs with bad behavior. I attribute 90% of that bad behavior to owners who don't properly train, discipline, and continue to work with their dogs on a regular basis. In my case, I just don't have the time or energy to properly train, exercise and continually work with a guard dog in order to keep it in condition to be an effective tool. I refuse to do that to a dog, to take on that responsibility then let down the animal through neglect. So for me, and I suspect a lot of people, a guard dog just isn't a viable option.

Squelchtone, that yard isn't fenced is it? I can't tell for sure but it doesn't look like it from the pics. Is a dog an option for you, or is a technological solution what you need to go with?

I was using the angle that most dogs will be a natural source of warning with training or not just to the fact of their protective nature, and because that's how my dog is now...he always hears things first and you just know to let him check it out ...that is all

[Squelchtone]

its a rental property, cannot have dogs, plus I'm not the kind of person who's home a lot so walking a dog and stuff isn't my speed. and I'm more of an electronics gadget guy anyway.

[Squelchtone]

you can check out http://www.southwestmicrowave.com/ I know some of there products are used in monitoring Nuclear Stations in Canada and the US so they might be a little outside of what you want to spend

But to be honest I would just go with a something simple like a DSC Alarm panel and a dozen or so motion sensors (and pressure mats at all the entrances) but then I so rarely install alarm systems anymore that some of my knowledge is more then a little dated.

I'm not concerned with alarming inside the house at the moment, main concern is the outdoors by the street. monitoring the driveway / yard / my vehicles for people walking up to the property and me being alerted in real time day or night while I am inside the house.

I would like to get something like a warehouse 3 beam sensor that is mounted discreetly in the bushes or on/inside wooden fence posts on both sides of the driveway and sends me a signal if beam is broken. example http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006Z9581G/?tag=leosm1-20 Not sure if this style already exists with a wired/wireless receiver as part of an easy to deploy kit.

fancier than I need, it has a built in GSM dialer in case the beam is broken, very cool though and getting close to what I'm looking for: http://www.map-security.com/solar-power ... m-kt9.html

EDIT: This is nice but the price isnt http://www.amazon.com/Dakota-Alert-BBA- ... 0083OAASM/
Thanks,
Squelchtone

[ratlock]

http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?mai ... ts_id=2964

And

http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?mai ... ts_id=2964

Used both, and the 1st one works really well.

[Patrick Star]

Nowadays this is often done with proper realtime video analysis, i.e. not the crappy kind that just does basic motion detection.
The fancier systems can do stuff like object classification (person, vehicle, etc.), tailgate detection, etc. However, the software for this is very expensive and quite CPU hungry (though not a big problem unless you have a lot of cameras... computers are cheap).

You might wanna have a look at AXIS Perimeter Defender. It runs straight in the camera (they are embedded Linux systems after all), can do what you need with reasonable results, and isn't extremely expensive.

[huxleypig]

Mantraps. Ones where they have to saw through their own limbs in order to escape.