Bannedjoe
Well-known member
Years ago we used to have somewhat frequent uninvited visitors come down the driveway.
Mostly it was hunters who believed that the no trespassing signs didn't apply to them.
Occasionally it would be folks out exploring on quads who also thought the same thing about the signs.
Our roads probably have official names on some county map somewhere, but unlike some of the areas around us, there is no signage, so I took it upon myself to unofficially name them myself, giving them names that would hopefully discourage travel on them.
I then ordered signs online from some place.
Since then, surprise visitors have been fairly null, up until a few weeks ago when a lost contractor, or someone who appeared to be such, showed up at our house, drove the circle in front, then left.
He looked to be in a contractors truck, but hell, he could have been anybody.
Then there was a friend who was supposed to drop by, and I reminded him if he should do so, to please call ahead.
He neglected to do so, and the wife and I were interrupted while doing the Serta Somba.
It was about that point I decided that I still no longer liked surprise encroachments, and it was time to get a driveway alarm.
I set about doing some in depth research, with lots of shopping and review reading.
What we refer to as our driveway is about (2) 10ths of a mile long in a curving "L" shape, with the furthest 10th hidden by a hill leading up the the gate (which is almost always open).
I found two that rated pretty high.
This one I got from Amazon for around $70.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L3TFM2G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Customer service was rated quite highly, as well as the reviews.
It's quick and easy to set up.
I chose it because it's said to have a half mile range (line of sight is critical).
Also because it's not primarily a motion sensor, but a heat reading motion sensor, which means that whatever source triggers it must not only have motion, but heat, such as a vehicle engine.
There is also the ability to have a total of 4 sensors working off of the base station with a different musical tone for each.
One of the biggest selling points for me is that it's solar powered.
Unfortunately, living creatures such as range cattle will set it off.
Since it was line of sight, I placed it right at the bend in the "L", with a clear shot to the house.
It works fairly consistently to a point, but has a number of false alarms throughout the day, possibly birds, who knows, but false alarms are unacceptable to me.
I also noticed that at first it wasn't working during particular times of the day.
I contacted customer support.
Their immediate response was to send me a new unit.
I was quite impressed when they sent it overnight shipping.
After some experimentation, I found that steep hill across the drive from where I had mounted the sensor was getting so much sun and heat during the middle of the day, that it was obscuring the sensors ability to detect anything.
I told customer service this, but they still insisted on sending me a new one.
I eliminated the heat problem by changing the angle on the sensor, and the new sensor still sits in its box.
But either way, there's still false alarms, so I'll find a different application for it somewhere.
The second one I ordered from an outfit called Dakota Alert.
https://dakotaalert.com/product/maps-bs-kit-50-probe-wire/
It's quite a bit more expensive, and is half hardwired and half radio transmitted.
They have a few different models/combinations.
I chose the sensor probe, and base station, and ended up spending just under $600 when it was all said and done.
It operates on the MURS frequencies, which means you can also have radios that you can carry to receive alerts while away from the base station.
I believe this one will also accept up to 4 sensor units.
You can also add radios to receive alerts when away from the base station.
Basically, this is a radio transmitted metal detector.
It doesn't detect motion, but detects the metal of a vehicle in its presence.
I think it detecting range is like 14 feet, so you can bury it next to your driveway as compared to under it, which of course is still an option.
The drawback is that the probe is hardwired to the transmitter.
The transmitter again, is pretty much line of sight, but they claim in optimal conditions it can have a range of up to 4 miles.
I made the mistake of not seeing the 250 foot probe option, and only ordered the 50 foot.
I ended up adding the 250 foot probe after the fact for an extra $150.
The alert from the transmitter is a bit on the lame side.
It's a recorded lethargic sounding woman's voice saying, "Alert zone 1, Alert zone 1, Alert zone 1". Of course adding units makes it alert zone 2 etc.
Also the volume of the alert isn't very loud.
The base station I chose has a built in relay in the normally open position that closes when the alarm is triggered.
I chose to add the fire alarm bell option for another $40.
You could probably add just about anything to the relay instead, such as a siren, a buzzer or whatever your creativeness might come up with.
The relay closes for about 15 seconds, and does not appear to be adjustable.
The bell requires a 12 volt power supply, which they will throw in free for the asking.
I also wired the bell with a switch so I can turn it off when sitting at my desk next to the base station.
It's a pretty loud bell, and I can hear it anywhere around the outside of the house. The bell is mounted outside, with the switch inside the house.
During the initial testing stage there was a problem with it not working.
I contacted Dakota alerts support, and these guys were more than eager to help. (They are a small family run business)
They determined that it must be the transmitter, and promptly sent me a new unit, and just like the previous company, they spent the extra $$ to ship it overnight delivery.
When installed, it still didn't work.
I had placed the transmitter up on a hill at the curve of the "L", and ran the probe wire over hill and dale though the desert sand and brush the 250 feet up the second part of the driveway, and buried it next to the road.
For protection (highly suggested by the manufacturer) I encased the wire by running it through a conduit. I used your basic black poly pipe.
It took almost 2 days to get it run and buried and out of sight.
The transmitter had a perfect line of sight to the house which is only (1) 10th of a mile from the house.
Out of frustration I began my own troubleshooting.
I disconnected the probe from the transmitter, and brought the transmitter down to the house, and began experimenting with it using the extra 50 foot probe, and it worked perfectly.
Since I had already placed and buried the 250 foot probe, I elected to cut off the probe, and rewire the extra one in its place.
Success!
The only drawback to that decision was that customer support didn't like me cutting the probe off, and at that point wouldn't warranty it.
Oh well.
I'm happy and glad to report that after about 3 weeks now, this thing works flawlessly, with zero false alerts.
One thing I find rather surprising, being as that we are in the age that we are, is that this thing isn't a bit more sophisticated maybe having some bluetooth capabilities with alerts to your phone etc.
One other slight drawback, it that the transmitter is battery powered at 12VDC, requiring 4 rather expensive CR123 batteries ($10 set).
The battery life is projected at 6 months, which is fine, but what good is the thing if the batteries die and you don't know it?
They don't offer a solar power solution, so I built one myself using a 12V 5ah battery, a PVC junction box, and a 12V 10 watt solar trickle charger, which I'll have to wire into the unit.
The solar charger was about $60, the battery $20, and the box $15.
I discussed it with tech support, and they're ok with it, and said that if I had mentioned I was going to do that, that they would have gladly wired in leads for me before shipping.
Although this unit is rather expensive, I'm very happy with it, and the company itself.
During these crazy, and possibly even crazier times coming, there's nothing quite as reassuring as having the ability to know when someone's approaching, and that little bit of time afforded to grab whatever may be necessary to respond to such.
Edited to add:
I had the pictures nicely in line in the post, but they came out horrendously huge, so I had to attach them instead.
Mostly it was hunters who believed that the no trespassing signs didn't apply to them.
Occasionally it would be folks out exploring on quads who also thought the same thing about the signs.
Our roads probably have official names on some county map somewhere, but unlike some of the areas around us, there is no signage, so I took it upon myself to unofficially name them myself, giving them names that would hopefully discourage travel on them.
I then ordered signs online from some place.
Since then, surprise visitors have been fairly null, up until a few weeks ago when a lost contractor, or someone who appeared to be such, showed up at our house, drove the circle in front, then left.
He looked to be in a contractors truck, but hell, he could have been anybody.
Then there was a friend who was supposed to drop by, and I reminded him if he should do so, to please call ahead.
He neglected to do so, and the wife and I were interrupted while doing the Serta Somba.
It was about that point I decided that I still no longer liked surprise encroachments, and it was time to get a driveway alarm.
I set about doing some in depth research, with lots of shopping and review reading.
What we refer to as our driveway is about (2) 10ths of a mile long in a curving "L" shape, with the furthest 10th hidden by a hill leading up the the gate (which is almost always open).
I found two that rated pretty high.
This one I got from Amazon for around $70.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L3TFM2G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Customer service was rated quite highly, as well as the reviews.
It's quick and easy to set up.
I chose it because it's said to have a half mile range (line of sight is critical).
Also because it's not primarily a motion sensor, but a heat reading motion sensor, which means that whatever source triggers it must not only have motion, but heat, such as a vehicle engine.
There is also the ability to have a total of 4 sensors working off of the base station with a different musical tone for each.
One of the biggest selling points for me is that it's solar powered.
Unfortunately, living creatures such as range cattle will set it off.
Since it was line of sight, I placed it right at the bend in the "L", with a clear shot to the house.
It works fairly consistently to a point, but has a number of false alarms throughout the day, possibly birds, who knows, but false alarms are unacceptable to me.
I also noticed that at first it wasn't working during particular times of the day.
I contacted customer support.
Their immediate response was to send me a new unit.
I was quite impressed when they sent it overnight shipping.
After some experimentation, I found that steep hill across the drive from where I had mounted the sensor was getting so much sun and heat during the middle of the day, that it was obscuring the sensors ability to detect anything.
I told customer service this, but they still insisted on sending me a new one.
I eliminated the heat problem by changing the angle on the sensor, and the new sensor still sits in its box.
But either way, there's still false alarms, so I'll find a different application for it somewhere.
The second one I ordered from an outfit called Dakota Alert.
https://dakotaalert.com/product/maps-bs-kit-50-probe-wire/
It's quite a bit more expensive, and is half hardwired and half radio transmitted.
They have a few different models/combinations.
I chose the sensor probe, and base station, and ended up spending just under $600 when it was all said and done.
It operates on the MURS frequencies, which means you can also have radios that you can carry to receive alerts while away from the base station.
I believe this one will also accept up to 4 sensor units.
You can also add radios to receive alerts when away from the base station.
Basically, this is a radio transmitted metal detector.
It doesn't detect motion, but detects the metal of a vehicle in its presence.
I think it detecting range is like 14 feet, so you can bury it next to your driveway as compared to under it, which of course is still an option.
The drawback is that the probe is hardwired to the transmitter.
The transmitter again, is pretty much line of sight, but they claim in optimal conditions it can have a range of up to 4 miles.
I made the mistake of not seeing the 250 foot probe option, and only ordered the 50 foot.
I ended up adding the 250 foot probe after the fact for an extra $150.
The alert from the transmitter is a bit on the lame side.
It's a recorded lethargic sounding woman's voice saying, "Alert zone 1, Alert zone 1, Alert zone 1". Of course adding units makes it alert zone 2 etc.
Also the volume of the alert isn't very loud.
The base station I chose has a built in relay in the normally open position that closes when the alarm is triggered.
I chose to add the fire alarm bell option for another $40.
You could probably add just about anything to the relay instead, such as a siren, a buzzer or whatever your creativeness might come up with.
The relay closes for about 15 seconds, and does not appear to be adjustable.
The bell requires a 12 volt power supply, which they will throw in free for the asking.
I also wired the bell with a switch so I can turn it off when sitting at my desk next to the base station.
It's a pretty loud bell, and I can hear it anywhere around the outside of the house. The bell is mounted outside, with the switch inside the house.
During the initial testing stage there was a problem with it not working.
I contacted Dakota alerts support, and these guys were more than eager to help. (They are a small family run business)
They determined that it must be the transmitter, and promptly sent me a new unit, and just like the previous company, they spent the extra $$ to ship it overnight delivery.
When installed, it still didn't work.
I had placed the transmitter up on a hill at the curve of the "L", and ran the probe wire over hill and dale though the desert sand and brush the 250 feet up the second part of the driveway, and buried it next to the road.
For protection (highly suggested by the manufacturer) I encased the wire by running it through a conduit. I used your basic black poly pipe.
It took almost 2 days to get it run and buried and out of sight.
The transmitter had a perfect line of sight to the house which is only (1) 10th of a mile from the house.
Out of frustration I began my own troubleshooting.
I disconnected the probe from the transmitter, and brought the transmitter down to the house, and began experimenting with it using the extra 50 foot probe, and it worked perfectly.
Since I had already placed and buried the 250 foot probe, I elected to cut off the probe, and rewire the extra one in its place.
Success!
The only drawback to that decision was that customer support didn't like me cutting the probe off, and at that point wouldn't warranty it.
Oh well.
I'm happy and glad to report that after about 3 weeks now, this thing works flawlessly, with zero false alerts.
One thing I find rather surprising, being as that we are in the age that we are, is that this thing isn't a bit more sophisticated maybe having some bluetooth capabilities with alerts to your phone etc.
One other slight drawback, it that the transmitter is battery powered at 12VDC, requiring 4 rather expensive CR123 batteries ($10 set).
The battery life is projected at 6 months, which is fine, but what good is the thing if the batteries die and you don't know it?
They don't offer a solar power solution, so I built one myself using a 12V 5ah battery, a PVC junction box, and a 12V 10 watt solar trickle charger, which I'll have to wire into the unit.
The solar charger was about $60, the battery $20, and the box $15.
I discussed it with tech support, and they're ok with it, and said that if I had mentioned I was going to do that, that they would have gladly wired in leads for me before shipping.
Although this unit is rather expensive, I'm very happy with it, and the company itself.
During these crazy, and possibly even crazier times coming, there's nothing quite as reassuring as having the ability to know when someone's approaching, and that little bit of time afforded to grab whatever may be necessary to respond to such.
Edited to add:
I had the pictures nicely in line in the post, but they came out horrendously huge, so I had to attach them instead.
