bruce19

Specifically....I keep our bicycles in our garage with my Ducati and lots of power equipment. It is an out-building not attached to the house. We keep it locked and there's a motion detector outside light but what I really want is one of those alarms that sounds a chime in the house when someone comes up the drive. Has anyone had experiences with them? Any preferred brands?

maddmaxx 

Dog.

stapfam

Have to agree about the dog but my bike shed has two alarms. One motion sensor for inside the shed and another on the door. Either could have extra wire run up to the house to a klaxon or other device.

One of my neighbours has Floodlights with a PIR (Proximity sensor) around his garden and front door that are linked to his house alarm. Something sets off the lights and he hears a buzzer going off.. But no need for the Buzzer- When illuminated- he only has to look out the window. And the strength of his lights- he will see it from the next street.

bruce19

Two.

bruce19

Does anyone have experience with those systems that set off an alarm inside the house? That's what I'm really looking for.

Wil Davis

Here's an idea which might dissuade any would-be thief Mechanic



- Wil

John_V 

Have you tried some of the local alarm companies? With the larger, national brand companies, their primary goal is to get you to sign up for their monitoring service, but some of the smaller mom & pop companies may have alarms and/or monitors to sell that you can install yourself or they may know where to find what you are looking for.

bruce19

That's my next stop I guess. My son just bought a system for his entire house. I will be talking to him today. Thanks.

con

As I was told by my buddy with his new Ducati when we rode out to Death Valley a couple weeks ago; "How do you know someone owns a Ducati? They tell you?..."

bruce19

Always. It comes with the manual. OTOH have you ever met a Harley guy?

GeorgeBMac

One question: Does the shed have power? That opens up a lot of doors.

On the technical side, there's a ton of stuff on the surveillance side. But I have not seen a lot on the (remote) alarm side. The alarm companies will send an alarm to their monitoring station or to the police. But it sounds like you are looking for an alarm that will sound in your house?

That should be easily do-able with wireless -- just as surveillance is. But I have not seen any of those systems.

Perhaps a combination would work for you:
-- motion detector triggered lights
-- a mechanical style alarm on the door that sounds a loud bell.
-- surveillance cameras (or even a dummy)

And, best of all: a "Protected By" sign from a security company.

professional burglars will get in no matter what you do. For them, security through obscurity works best. (If they don't think there is a reward for their efforts, they will move on). So, for them, don't let them know (or think) there is something valuable in there...

It is the local amateurs that do most of the break-ins and, for those, you mostly need to scare them off. Typically, they're just looking for a few quick, easy dollars. So, they will go after the easiest and safest target. Lights, camera and sound work well.

GeorgeBMac

One question: Does the shed have power? That opens up a lot of doors.

On the technical side, there's a ton of stuff on the surveillance side. But I have not seen a lot on the (remote) alarm side. The alarm companies will send an alarm to their monitoring station or to the police. But it sounds like you are looking for an alarm that will sound in your house?

That should be easily do-able with wireless -- just as surveillance is. But I have not seen any of those systems.

Perhaps a combination would work for you:
-- motion detector triggered lights
-- a mechanical style alarm on the door that sounds a loud bell.
-- surveillance cameras (or even a dummy)

And, best of all: a "Protected By" sign from a security company.

professional burglars will get in no matter what you do. For them, security through obscurity works best. (If they don't think there is a reward for their efforts, they will move on). So, for them, don't let them know (or think) there is something valuable in there...

It is the local amateurs that do most of the break-ins and, for those, you mostly need to scare them off. Typically, they're just looking for a few quick, easy dollars. So, they will go after the easiest and safest target. Lights, camera and sound work well.

I think Radio Shack has DIY security things. Maybe check with them.

steve0257

If you use an exterior proximity alarm pay careful attention to the setup and tuning. The other day I was waking down the sidewalk and set off on off those alarms. It was aimed to pick up activity all the way out to the curb. I also had a friend that gave up after he found out his yard was a highway for the deer to the neighbors apple tree.

GeorgeBMac

Or, this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWeL8a-kWjo

Or, better yet;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ttSwYNspw

bruce19

Wonder if there are any surplus drones laying around. They're probably not considered "assault" rifles.

Dudelsack 

I give. I goggled that and couldn't find the answer. I suspect it's similar to "What's the hardest thing about training for a triathlon?"

However, I did find some great Ducati pron:

Mort Canard

Hey, I resemble that remark! I also have three mid-1960s singles.

Hermes

I have had alarm systems in my houses since 1986, in La Jolla, DC, LA and now the bay area. Most systems come with central station monitoring with a monthly fee. Equipment is sold as a package with the service and the service can be simple monitoring where the police are dispatched to have its own security team roaming in cars. And most insurance companies offer discounts for having a system with central station monitoring. The systems can cover out buildings.

Burglaries are crimes of opportunity. The bad guys like the low hanging fruit and once a central station system is installed and they know the police are coming, it moves that property to a higher risk opportunity for them. This is according to the police after I had a couple of burglaries before I purchased alarms systems.

Comcast has a deal right now for $X per month that includes equipment and central station monitoring. With Comcast, it is possible to have closed circuit video cameras that you can see remotely and or turn on your system remotely and check status.

My recommendation is to call a few security suppliers and discuss your needs with them.

NVanHiker

My garage is such a mess it takes me half and hour to extract a bike from it. A burglar would leave in tears of frustration.

tsl

Despite what the industry wants you to think, alarms don't provide security. They provide notification.

Alarms are good only for limiting the amount of time the thief has to grab stuff and run or ride it away. So lock the bikes inside the locked, alarmed outbuilding.

A buddy of mine is an electrician. Copper thieves love electricians and plumbers. His detached garage--no windows, one steel overhead door--gets hit for copper wire. Two dogs, hardwired alarm to the house--this does not deter thieves. Only locking up the wire within the garage has kept it there.

Similarly, at the last apartment I lived in, I was hit for a bike from my locked storage locker, in the locked basement, of the locked building. I neglected to lock the bike. My bikes are currently locked inside my locked apartment, inside a locked building.

Remember, alarms only tell you if someone is already stealing things from you. They don't add security, they provide notification.

Security comes from locks. Lock your bikes inside your locked and alarmed outbuilding, and they'll still be there when you, the "security" company or the police arrive.

qcpmsame 

Bruce,
I have a whole house system, our garage is attached, all windows and the doors are equipped with switches and there are motion detectors in the great room as well as smoke detectors in each bed room, the great room, Monica's office and the kitchen. The alarm's sound would wake the dead as it has our neighbours when I have opened a door in the morning going to work without disarming the system. We have a lot of people in our area that just put an alarm company's sign out to "scare" away the bad guys.

What is wrong with telling someone you are a Duck rider? Those Italian beauties are high on my lust after list, an architect we work with frequently had a 996 and it is so sweet looking and sleek. I'd go with a Ducati in a heart beat if it was financially responsible (save me the financial responsibility flames, please.)

Bill

Mobile 155

Many of the new home protection systems are wireless and you can get sensors for the door that says, "Garage door" if someone opens it. I only have one that says, Bing Bong...Front Door. Or Bing Bong, Back door. Or Bing Bong front porch, Bing Bong back porch. I have been thinking about adding the Shed. I would think if you have movement detectors they could program them to say Driveway or garage when the light comes on. I do know they can add cameras that you can view on your computer or Cell phone. inside or outside.

By the way, the bing bong part works even if the alarm is off. You can manually turn it off but by default it is on and talkes to you. At night set the alarm and the screech will almost make your ears bleed, but has a one minute delay so it starts beeping if one of the switches is tripped after it is set. Break a window and there is no delay and it will require a password to shut it off.

leob1

+1
My wife knows I'm going for a ride when she hears crashing and cursing coming from the garage.

NOS88

My parents have used one for the last two years (sorry I don't know the brand). While they do alert you to the presence of something, you don't know if the something is a person, dog, cat or something else until you visually confirm. This is the reason my parents have stopped using theirs. They got frustrated with hearing the warning signal only to find that it was a small critter setting it off.

While you haven't asked for this advice, I share it in the hopes it will be helpful. I too keep my bikes in a locked place with an internal motion detection system. However, I have two others things going on that allow me to sleep peacefully. One, each bike has a u-lock going through the rear wheel and frame and a able lock attached to the u-lock going through the front wheel. Two, I've a very good home owner's insurance policy the explicitly covers the bikes too.

bruce19

I was wondering about the small critter issue. That would drive me nuts. Thanks for the first hand advice.