looking for security system suggestions

[theblur98ss]

My house was broken into last week and I'm looking into security systems. I'm not sure if I want an alarm or just cameras. I've gotten some quotes that have been all over the place. I looked on ebay since I should be able to hook on up fairly easy but I'm worried about getting some jap junk. Any help would be appreciated. I'm thinking 4 IR cams on the garage and 4 on the house...what about inside?

 

[Stuart in MN]

The first thing is to keep them from breaking in - good locks, sturdy door frames, well lit exterior, minimize clues that you're not home, and so forth. Cameras are nice but won't do anything to deter the thieves, you'll just have nice pictures of them carrying away your stuff...a security system needs sensors to detect them breaking in (door switches, glass breakage sensors, motion/IR sensors); really loud alarm horns to help scare them away, and remote monitoring so someone will call the cops for you. While you're at it, the security system should also have smoke and fire detectors. Other things like low temp alarms (in case the furnace goes out), floor flood sensors and CO monitors are nice things to have as well. You can probably get a discount on your insurance if you have a good security system.

Someone else will be along in a bit to post a picture of a big dog and a gun.

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

The best security sytem:

Here is a close second:

I recommend several of each...

 

[V-10 Killer]

Someone else will be along in a bit to post a picture of a big dog and a gun.

...Was expecting this too

 

[kidatari]

1. Physical Security - Good locks, strong doors, well-lit exterior
2. Intrusion Alarm - A 24-hour monitored alarm with a proper install
3. Good Insurance - Locks and alarms will only stop honest crooks. Best to be prepared in case things are stolen.

As good as the dogs and guns appear, most people don't spend 23x7x365 guarding the homestead. Oh, and dogs are easily circumvented.

Video cameras are nice, but most of time they are used to identify criminals after the fact, instead of catching them in the act. Oh, and 99.9% of cameras are 'Jap Junk,' Even the $3000/ea ones.

 

[tfi racing]

Do the Japanese make anything anymore?I thought everything electronic came from China or some other country I can't find on a map or whose name I can't pronounce...

 

[oldgoat]

I went through and took photos of everything and serial #'s when I moved my stuff into the garage I built. Person would be surprised at how much they can have stashed away in nooks and crannies. I have a program that shows a picture, price, place bough, serial and model # that is simple to use. I also did the same with the major stuff in the house. That way in case of a robbery or fire I will have something that I can give to the insurance company. I put a copy of the information on a flash drive and keep it in the safe deposit box and rotate it out with a 2nd drive that I update info on to trade with the one in the box. Insurance companies have a lot less problem if you can show proof of what you are claiming to lose plus the cops if they decide to investigate will have all the info they need.

 

[rcleaver]

My house was broken into last week and I'm looking into security systems. I'm not sure if I want an alarm or just cameras. I've gotten some quotes that have been all over the place. I looked on ebay since I should be able to hook on up fairly easy but I'm worried about getting some jap junk. Any help would be appreciated. I'm thinking 4 IR cams on the garage and 4 on the house...what about inside?

A wise old guy once told me that the only thing you need for security is a sign from an alarm company on some windows and/or in your front and back lawn (and maybe throw in a fake camera or two). He said that's enough to deter professionals, because they look for easy pickins. And it might even deter the amateurs because video of them might be recorded. But of course there are those that won't be detered no matter what system you have. So he says it's better not to spend the money.

I took his advice and I've never had a break-in, while some neighbors have, i.e., those without a sign.

 

[ddawg16]

First off, heed OldGoats advice....he has it right....

Basically, security is a 2 part process....prevention and recovery. OldGoat has a good example of recovery...applies to both theft and fire. I would like to add, that if it does not have a ser #...add one....especially tools. Engrave your drivers license # on it or address. Most pawn shops will not take the tools if the # does not match the seller.....and you have a much better chance of getting the stuff back.

What is more important...having that s/n on the property means the cops can take the dirt bag to jail for possession of stolen property. You don't know how frustrating it is to jam a dusch bag who has stolen property but we can't prove it.....help us out...record/put on those s/n's.

Prevention - Rule #1...if they don't see it, they usually don't want it.
Try this....walk past the front of your house and look at it....if you were a bad guy, what do you think you would see that you would want? Open that garage door...what would someone on the street see? That is one of the main reasons I bought a house with a detached garage in the rear of the yard...what people don't see, they usually don't want.

There are 3 basic types thieves....Oppertunity, amature, professional.
The oppertunity theif is the one that is not looking to steel stuf...but walks by your unlocked car, sees the laptop laying on the seat and nicks it.

The amature is the easiest to protect against....he is basically lazy so is not going to expend too much effort. This is the one that good locks, dogs and signs work best on.

Professional - if he wants in bad enough....he will get in. The best protection against him is not letting him know what you have....in other words, don't get his attention. Posting a sign near the front door that says "All items are marked with a s/n and is recorded" or something like that.

More about dogs....they really do work...especially in the city where neighbors are close...but out in the country where a neighbor can't look out the window to see why the dog is barking...not as usefull.....unless you have about 3 Dobbermans that can rip the arm off anyone....that works. A barking dog will keep 99.9% of dirt bags out of you back yard.

Cameras - get the wireless type that connect directly to your router. If possible, set up a static IP address so you can connect to the camera from a remote location....then take it a step further...set up a remote computer to take periodic snap shots of those cameras. If you do get hit, at least you have stuff for the police to use....at least one camera should be pointed at the front door. Almost ALL theives will go to the front door first to see if anyone is home. In many cases they will knock loudly, if no response then wait outside about 10 min in a car, then go around back.

And one last thing....this is a real good reason to stay on good terms with your neighbors.....we just got back from a 2 week vacation in England.....ALL of my garage is setting under an open awning in my back yard...no gate to keep anyone out....nothing was disturbed. Most of my neighbors are home most of the time and are very noisy....we all look out for each other.....while we were gone, one of them made himself very visable to the guys working on my garage foundation....

And one last last thing....I personally don't think alarm monitoring is worth the money unless it calls you directly. The biggest problem is that in most cases, the dirt bag is already gone by the time we get the call from the alarm company....about the only thing they are good for is to let us know when it actually happened.

 

[Brad54]

That's probably the best response I've read to the common "theft" posts, Deputy! I got a lot out of that.

We have dead bolts on all the doors, key-only on the doors with a window near them. The shop has a deadbolt on front and back doors, and the garage doors have standard locks as well. If I go out of town, I put a pad-lock on the track, just to make it harder for them to raise the door. They're going to work for my stuff!

We have an Airedale dog. We should have named it "Bedlam" because that's what happens any time someone comes to the yard. Airedales are good for that, and at 50 pounds they have a loud bark. UPS, postmen and even a Sheriff's Deputy who came to the door back down off the porch when the dog starts barking.

Yes, dogs can be circumvented, but a loud one will deter all the opportunist and amateur thieves. When you hear it on the other side of the door, you have no idea it's the friendliest dog in the world and just wants someone new to play with.

I have two windows that could be easy entry points. One has heavy rose bushes in front of it. This spring, the other will have raspberry bushes. I know I wouldn't want to tangle with them in the middle of the night.

Finally, signs are a good idea. After my neighbor moved, he and his friend stopped by one day to say "hi." I never cared for his friend...he was the kind of guy who wouldn't steal from a friend or friend's friend (neighbor), but once that bond was broken I don't think he'd hesitate. When they came by, I watched him look at everything in my shop, and he looked long enough to take note of it. I'm convinced he was casing it.

That afternoon I went to the store and bought dead bolts for the front and rear door (and the doors for the house), and installed them.

Then, on the back door to the shop, I made a sign that read: "Did you really think I was going to make it easy for you, you 9-fingered muther f***er?! Not only are there deadbolts, but I have security cameras hidden in the eves. Smile! You're on camera!"
(he'd recently lost a thumb while making a custom jewelry box for his best friend's wife. While drinking. Karma's a *****)

I didn't think anything more of it until about a year and a half later, when I saw the two of them somewhere. I was shooting the bull with my old neighbor, while his friend wasn't saying too much. Afterward, my son said to me "Ben must really hate you...he was glaring at you the whole time you were talking to Zach." Maybe he read my sign?

Something else I've always heard is that thieves will hit a house again a few weeks or months later, to get the new replacement stuff. Don't know if it's true or not, but it makes sense...they're already comfortable in the building.

How did they get in to your place?

-Brad

 

[Stuart in MN]

And one last last thing....I personally don't think alarm monitoring is worth the money unless it calls you directly. The biggest problem is that in most cases, the dirt bag is already gone by the time we get the call from the alarm company....about the only thing they are good for is to let us know when it actually happened.

I suppose like anything else, it depends...

I've had several breakins over the years, some successful ones before I got a security system and a couple unsuccessful ones after I got one. It probably helps that I live only a few blocks from the local precinct house, but the police have always responded very quickly to calls. One other thing is the company that monitors my system is a small local company, right in the neighborhood, so they're familiar with the area - if there's an alarm, the call doesn't go to some national call center in another state somewhere.

As an example, some years ago someone broke in when I was out one night; my neighbor told me when I got home that the police were there within two minutes after they heard the alarm siren go off, and they actually brought a K-9 unit and tossed the dog in through the window that had been broken open so he could search the house. The burglar did in fact escape, but all he had time to do was put the TV remote in his pocket before he ran away.

My system is set up so the monitoring company calls me first to make sure there's a problem, and if they get no answer or I tell them something is wrong they notify the authorities immediately. If I'm going to be out of town for a few days I let them know, and then they'll call the authorities directly.

 

[ddawg16]

Brad...thanks for reminding me....your reference to the rose bush was the item I forgot to mention....

Nice big throny bushes like Brad has are a great way to keep people out of your house. In fact, a nice 'healthy' Borgenvilla (sp?) will stop a bad guy faster than barbed wire.

And one last thing....make sure you don't leave anything in your yard that the bad guy can use to get into your house....like a ladder to climb on the roof...a tarp to throw over that rose bush....you wouldn't believe how often a house is broken into using some of the owners own stuff.

As for the thief's coming back a few months later...it's a rare case....not unless they are stupid or think you are so stupid as to not tighten things up.

BTW....I trust everyone who has guns has a gun safe? If not, use caution on where you buy it from. I would only use a reputable gun store.....Use caution with Lock and Key stores....there is a lot less background checking on some of those businesses....not to say there are not some outstanding ones out there.

Stuart...in your case I would be willing to bet that it's the audible alarm that chased them off....otherwise, the cops would have caught them....hence, you get the same result with just an audible alarm vs. alarm company.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Stuart...in your case I would be willing to bet that it's the audible alarm that chased them off....otherwise, the cops would have caught them....hence, you get the same result with just an audible alarm vs. alarm company.

Maybe so, but I still think a monitoring service is worth the expense. Probably even more important than alerting on a burglary is fire detection; my system monitors smoke detectors in the house and a heat detector in the garage, so if there was a fire they would call the fire department for me. If I wasn't home (or if I was home and incapacitated) having a monitoring service could be a lifesaver.

It is just one piece of the whole package - as mentioned, good locks on the doors, staying friendly with your neighbors, keeping an up to date inventory of posessions and ID numbers, and so on are all important.

 

[Bevis]

The best security sytem:

Used it Monday night, after i caught a ****** kid on the next street over inside my shop checking things out. I proned him out and fired off a round into the ground (to let him know if he ran he would be hurting...) once the cops came, I had him tell the kid in spanish that next time he will get shot!!!

 

[DamMan]

A wise old guy once told me that the only thing you need for security is a sign from an alarm company on some windows and/or in your front and back lawn (and maybe throw in a fake camera or two). He said that's enough to deter professionals, because they look for easy pickins. And it might even deter the amateurs because video of them might be recorded. But of course there are those that won't be detered no matter what system you have. So he says it's better not to spend the money.

I took his advice and I've never had a break-in, while some neighbors have, i.e., those without a sign.

I have also heard this advice but have no idea if it really works. However, if stickers and signs do work, wouldn't a fairly inexpensive security system further reinforce the deterance factor for amatuer burglers? I Googled diy security systems and found www.homesecuritystore.com and www.strictlysecurity.com. Both appear to be fairly cheap, but I am curious if anyone has tried one of these companies or has recommendations for better diy equipment. If a person is only looking for deterance, false alarms might be a bigger problem with cheap systems than failure to alarm.

 

[Tech Guy]

After doing security and video for 28+ years , here's my 2 cents.

As many mentioned above, cameras are great at catching images of the theives but wont be any good unless someone can identify that face. It will come in handy for you though if its someone from the neighbourhood as you will eventually see them. Stay away from the IP cameras as they are junk. The wireless part is great but they havent started using good cameras yet and you still have to run a wire for power. Best bet is to hardwire the cameras and make sure they have night vision. DONT buy your cameras off the internet or a DIY place as they are also junk. Yes there are only 3 factories in the pacific rim that make all the cameras but if you buy them from a proper security supplier you are getting a better product. DONT buy a digital recorder that plugs into your computer-yes its cheap but relies on the internal microsoft software which we all know has bugs. Get a stand alone embedded unit again from a supplier.

Lawn signs dont really do much anymore. Years ago yes they would scare anyone away. The trend over the last 10 years by the big security companies is to give away free alarm systems or at least charge $100 bucks. You get what you pay for which is usally 2 door contacts and a motion detector and most thieves now know this and this is why the signs rarely work.

Alarm monitoring-still good to have as you get the discount from your insurance company, it will at least call the fire department if you are not home and at some point the police may show up. You have to keep in mind the false alarm programs most police forces across north america now have in place so a DIY alarm is not the way to go. Can a monitored alarm be easily defeated-sure it can. However add a GSM backup communicator and you are good to go. Make sure though you dont go with the free alarm. Pay for it and get the proper protection such as door and window contacts, motions, glass break detectors etc. Have a good number of audible sirens both inside and outside. They acutally sell interior sirens that are two oscillators offset to each in frequency that prevent you from staying in the room due to the hearing pain they cause. Smoke cloaks are another avenue if you have a large shop. The alarm trips the smoke cloak and within 5 seconds you can fill a complete shop with a glycol based smoke that prevents you from seeing your hand in front of your face. Stops the thief from finding anything to take along with the exit doors until the police get there. Adding smoke and heat detectors and CO2 help for other reasons.

Outdoor motion lights are a must if you have neighbours as the light coming on may peak a neighbours interest to look as well as possibly spooking the thief. Make sure you have no landscaping that would hide anyone for getting access to doors or windows unless as mentioned the lanscaping is thorny.

As for thieves returning a couple of weeks later-happens all the time. They steal and then watch your garbage to see when the boxes from the new TV or stereo are thrown out and then know when insurance has replaced everything. Keep things out of sight for the most part.

Locks-I cant stress this enough. You are never buying a good lock if you get it from a big box store such as HD. All the stores have made the manufactures like Schlage or Weiser produce a cheaped out version so they can sell it to you the homeowner at a cheap price. You want a good lock-buy it from a locksmith. They may look the same side by side on the table but the internal parts are completely different. Make sure the deadbolts have a 1" throw and not 1/2" like most of the junk out there. Also your door and frame are the weak points. Metal doors are good. Wood doors should have a wrap plate on them. Once you drill that 7/8 " hole into the door for the bolt you have very little meat left on the door considering its a 1 3/4" door. You do the math. For the frame make sure the reinforced strike plate is installed or one kick will shatter the frame. Double deadbolts (key on each side) are illegal in Canada and some states as per the building and fire code due to life safety issues of your family. Thieves will look for another window to break if they come across a door with this type of lock.

Lexan film on lower windows is great as it prevents the theives from breaking the windows and entering. Most new houses in Canada are now coming with this feature installed.

In the end as many above mentioned, take a walk around your house both at night and during the day. What do you see each time ? Are curtains open that reveal things, landscaping blocking the windows, things left in plain view in your vehicles ? The less attractive you make your place look to thieves the better chance you will have that they will move on.

 

[Tech Guy]

And to add-if you want a good security system, stay away from the larger companies. Yes they give them away for free as previously stated but once you start adding extra protection-they hoop you in the price and in the end you are at the same price or more if you went through a smaller company. The smaller companies will also provide better service in the long run.

 

[Tech Guy]

Sorry blur but back to your original question. Go with day/night cameras-colour during the day and black and white at night. B/w provides superior images over colour in low light. Make sure they have infrared Led's. Go large on the led's. Most cheap cameras have 5-10 led's and say you will get 30 ft of illumination. Not true. Maybe 5 ft at best. Try and get at least 20-30 led's. Dome cameras are nice but are only good if mounted on a horizontal surface. When mounted on a wall the rain and dust tend to roll down the dome meaning you have to clean them all the time. Domes are also nice as you dont know where the camera is acutally looking. Keep in mind that if you mount them under an eaves, you run the risk of water possibly entering the camera if your roof or eaves trough leak. Silicone the back of the dome where the wire enters. Bullet cameras are great for this but show exactly where the camera is looking. Get a varifocal lens on the camera so you can adjust to what you want to see. A 4mm fixed lens will limit you.

Get an embedded standalone dvr (digital video recorder). You can buy them in 4, 8 or 16 channel inputs. Always go larger in the event you add cameras 3 years down the road. Not much of a cost difference between the two. All embedded dvr's are IP capable so you can use a static IP address to remotely view the cameras. Also take a main output of all the cameras and either feed it into your cable system using a modulator and filter so it can be viewed on any TV in the house (like channel 59 or something not used.) Make sure you use the bypass filter or your cameras will be fed back out into the cable system and your neighbours will be viewing them as well. Or feed the output directly into a video input on one TV. Allows you to have a look at live images during commercials etc.

Hope that helps.

 

[matt_i]

I'm a little late here but thought I'd add my concept...when the "alarm" goes off...it dumps an entire can of pepper spray into the shop.

Seems simple enough, I'd like to find someone who could steal in those conditions

I've seen a single "burst" from a pepper spray can (accidental, someone sat wrong on a purse) clear out a bar with coughing and hacking, watery-eyed people spilling out into the street...me included.

Granted if you had a discharge, you'd need to air things out for *several* hours but I don't think the capsicum is corrosive to metals, etc.

 

[HIRISC]

I went through and took photos of everything and serial #'s when I moved my stuff into the garage I built. Person would be surprised at how much they can have stashed away in nooks and crannies. I have a program that shows a picture, price, place bough, serial and model # that is simple to use. I also did the same with the major stuff in the house. That way in case of a robbery or fire I will have something that I can give to the insurance company. I put a copy of the information on a flash drive and keep it in the safe deposit box and rotate it out with a 2nd drive that I update info on to trade with the one in the box. Insurance companies have a lot less problem if you can show proof of what you are claiming to lose plus the cops if they decide to investigate will have all the info they need.

Thank you.. I've been meaning to do this for a long time. Your post re-reminded me.



Regarding security - lot's of 'real' locks, metal frames, motion sensors (around the home's perimeter) and lights, wired & wireless alarm monitoring, wireless IP cameras (fine for home use), and plenty of cocked and locked toys. We live in a two story and the lower level is protected by a passive IR grid/glass break/door & window opening during overnight hours. Other levels have their own multi-step approach for 'away' hours. Unless you're the invisible man, you're not going un-detected on my system

You come into my house and you're going all the way - along the lines of:

 

[bgott]

Make sure the locks you buy can't be opened like this...

 

[HIRISC]

^^^^ agreed. To the extent that locks make you feel safer, buy these:

http://www.medeco.com/products/products_detail_section_i.php?section_ID=3&category_ID=238&

Technically, someone is alleged to have picked one of their deadbolts, but it's not likely to happen with any frequency. By the time you've picked this at my house, you've got an earful of AR15

 

[Tech Guy]

Make sure the locks you buy can't be opened like this...

First off this guy on the internet is an idiot. Second-not all locks can be bumped. Some can but its based on how they are pinned and constructed. Stay away from the Big Box store locks and you are fine. Always buy from a locksmith. You pay a bit more but you get a superior lock than you would get from the big box stores even though the name is the same.

 

[Tech Guy]

^^^^ agreed. To the extent that locks make you feel safer, buy these:

http://www.medeco.com/products/products_detail_section_i.php?section_ID=3&category_ID=238&

Technically, someone is alleged to have picked one of their deadbolts, but it's not likely to happen with any frequency. By the time you've picked this at my house, you've got an earful of AR15

Stay away from Medeco as they lost a lot of their patents on their locks which means they are no longer high security. You also need a special key cutting machine for them and their keys tend to break often due to the size of the head and the thin shank. (ie. a sticky lock that you try to force and the key breaks). Want real high security-go with ASSA or Primus by Schlage. Contains side bars so its acutally two locks in one body. Keys can only be duplicated by the installing company. They cannot be picked and they cannot be drilled due to loose ball bearings in the body at key points. Locks however are only as strong as the door and frame.

 

[coppermouse]

Powermax is made by the Israelis, that's what I have. Works well, and its wireless. It can be programmed to call you and other phone numbers as well.

 

[Tech Guy]

Only draw back Mouse is that in Canada, all police and fire departments have banned systems like this from calling them directly and I beleive most in the states as well. Calling you and some friends is nice but would one of your friends want to respond to a burglary and risk personal harm. Ideally the best bet is still to have professional monitored system as all emergency services accept calls from central stations and at least if you are not home, police and fire will respond.

 

[Defender Chassis]

I'm a little late here but thought I'd add my concept...when the "alarm" goes off...it dumps an entire can of pepper spray into the shop.

Seems simple enough, I'd like to find someone who could steal in those conditions

I've seen a single "burst" from a pepper spray can (accidental, someone sat wrong on a purse) clear out a bar with coughing and hacking, watery-eyed people spilling out into the street...me included.

Granted if you had a discharge, you'd need to air things out for *several* hours but I don't think the capsicum is corrosive to metals, etc.

www.stopthecrime.com

 

[Jaguar Fan]

Stay away from Medeco as they lost a lot of their patents on their locks which means they are no longer high security ...

Hi Tech Guy,

Thanks for taking time to post. I've learned a lot from your posts.

Can you take a moment & explain the patent issue a bit more? The mission of the USPTO is to issue patents, and the issuance of a patent doesn't mean the claimed invention is economic, manufactureable, or even works. You can patent anything under the sun except for laws of physics. All the patent gets you is the ability to prevent someone else from making, selling, having made, offering to sell or importing your patented invention. A patent on an invention doesn't mean you even get to make or sell your invention, as to do so might infringe someone else's patent... all you can do is stop someone else from making or selling or having made or offering to sell or importing something that infringes on your patent.

About the only time you "lose" a patent is when someone sues in court to say your patent is either invalid, unenforceable, or that their own product doesn't violate your patent. The most common reason a patent is declared invalid is that someone else invented something close to it first and made it public (e.g., they filed a patent first or they wrote a technical paper & published it about their claimed invention) or that someone with ordinary skills in the field of invention would say it is "obvious" and not really an invention.

Here are Medeco's list of patents from a simple search (which doesn't get at all their patents; the USPTO's database isn't all that reliable).

If a patent is declared invalid, or for technical reasons unenforceable, how does that make them less secure in the real world?

see for example: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html&r=0&f=S&l=50&TERM1=Medeco&FIELD1=ASNM&co1=AND&TERM2=&FIELD2=&d=PTXT

 

[bowanna03]

I have a thompson center 44 mag that works well and I used to have a 155lb Rottweiler.

 

[Defender Chassis]

The best security sytem:

Here is a close second:

I recommend several of each...

I would argue the dog is better than the gun.
1: The dog works while your not at home.
2: My dog will not bite me or my family but the gun is indifferent.

 

[Tech Guy]

Jaguar, I am not a patent guy by any means but all the high security lock companies seem to work the same. They take out a patent on the particular keyway they invent. At some point that patent runs out (no idea why). During the patent term, the keys can only be sold by the manufacturer such as Medeco. Once the patent runs out, the particular key blank is now up for grabs and anyone can now make it. (and its ususally the chinese that start making them once the patent is gone) This allows pretty much anyone to have the same blanks made which now reduces your high security of the lock. By the time the patent runs out, Medeco or whoever usually has a new keyway already in the works with a new patent. High security really means you cant go to the local store and have a copy of a high security key cut. You can only do it through the manufacturer. The high security locks we deal in have audits attached to them. We are audited every so often to ensure our blanks are kept locked in a safe and that our inventory matches what is in the safe. When we sell a key, we have signed paperwork from the client indicating how many went out etc. As well, we are bound to the paperwork in regards to who can authorize a key being cut (client wise). In other words, your employee could not borrow your keys and make a duplicate. Only a signed document from you would allow us to provide a key. Hope that explains it a bit better. Patent issues may also be different in the US as opposed to up here.

 

[dlc]

HOW TO INSTALL A HOME SECURITY SYSTEM IN THE SOUTH

1. Go to a second-hand store and buy a pair of men's used size 14-16 work boots.


2. Place them on your front porch, along with a copy of Guns & Ammo magazine and your NRA magazines.


3. Put a few giant-sized dog dishes next to the boots and magazine.


4. Leave a note on your door that reads:


"Hey Bubba, Big Jim, Duke, and Slim,

I went for more ammunition. Back in about an hour.

Don't mess with the pit bulls -- they attacked

the mailman this morning and messed him up

real bad. I don't think Killer took part in it, but it was

hard to tell from all the blood. Anyways,

I locked all four of 'em in the house.

Better wait in your truck till I get back."

 

[Jaguar Fan]

Here -- this is perfect for home security. Don't forget to turn on your computer speakers.

http://s284.photobucket.com/albums/ll33/Jaguar_Fan_1/?action=view&current=224Helicopter_Kills.flv

 

[Tech Guy]

I like DLC's approach. Then again having night vision weapons would be nice. Too bad its not legal

 

[HIRISC]

Stay away from Medeco as they lost a lot of their patents on their locks which means they are no longer high security. You also need a special key cutting machine for them and their keys tend to break often due to the size of the head and the thin shank. (ie. a sticky lock that you try to force and the key breaks). Want real high security-go with ASSA or Primus by Schlage. Contains side bars so its acutally two locks in one body. Keys can only be duplicated by the installing company. They cannot be picked and they cannot be drilled due to loose ball bearings in the body at key points. Locks however are only as strong as the door and frame.

Understand about the key blanks, but to be honest, I'm not (just) relying on locks. Further, the amateur thief won't be able to defeat a Medeco lock and the more experienced thief - if they any idea what they should be looking for on the outside of my home -will move right along.

I read something online that rings true: "all locks can be defeated, given enough time and resources....plus, there is always the window"

 

[mmg440]

I have thought of having a solenoid fire a old .22 rifle with power nail driver loads in it if the alarm was triggered. I think a thief would want to get out if they herd anything like gun fire, also thought of using a igniter on some fire crackers. Then I think of the possibility of FIRE occuring in the house from above methods still might do the .22 in the garage someday. Thaks for the link Defender Chassis, to the pepper spray AB-2000. For about $80. shipped a I think lot better then home made for liability reasons. I have to find the exra cash for one. $12. for refills is not to bad. I would hate to have to pay a robber because of something I made hurt the son of a b1tch.

I am using Internet security cameras for our other property. Even though not the clearest images on them I can still see everyday the house, garage and rest of the property including the pole barn are closed and secure. I use www.no-ip.com so there was no need for a static ip. Many service Internet service providers don't even offer a static IP and those that do usually charge a premium for them. Even though I am using big box store locks. I feel they a of decent quality.

No they don't use a special blank and I am sure they can be picked. They claim a Grade 1 Security deadbolt for what ever that means. I like the flexibly that I can quickly re-key any door I want when ever I need to. http://www.kwikset.com/smartseries/smartkey.aspx With a window about 4 to 8 feet away from most doors that can also be easily broken and entry achieved, your security is only as good as your weakest link so much for a better door lock. If I had bars in ALL the widows. I do have dead bolts and of course locking knobs on all my outside doors. The back, kitchen and basement doors also have inside only throw dead bolts I secure when we are not there.

I posted signs that state all activity recorded by camera signs and security alarm signs in all ground level windows as well by the phone utility access areas. I left the previous owners old dog house in a far area of the yard as well as posted beware of dog warning. There are at least 4 of the cameras that can be seen if walking the area around the house and garage. As well as cameras inside the house and the garage. The garage does have rebar framework welded up to angle frames on both widows and enough stuff in the way inside so a inventory cannot be taken threw them. I put up glass blocks inside the basement window of the house to reduce and looking in and it would feel there would be a second barrier if entry was attempted. I have the timers for the lights on battery backup so if the power goes out the times will still retain there time so the house looks realistically lived in. I have actually had closest neighbor we are in contact with comment that he thought we were there many times when driving by because of my lighting system changing it up threw the week. Yes the outdoor porch light is also on a light sensor and times and there is a high powered metal halide security light on a power pole in between the house and garage.

 

[doordoll]

+1 on a dogs!!!

We have a bull mastif and we don't have a fence. She is well behaved. We live in a small neighborhood; houses not exactly stacked on top of each other, but as close as a stones throw. She's the best slobbering security system we've installed! She not only deters thief, she deters solicitors and she's a lot smarter than she lets on... She kept barking at one of our neighbors-- all the time-- for the past 3-4 years. As it turns up, he was up to absolutely NO good. I'll admit, I'm not a dog person, but having kids- I sure am more thankful for her. And, her monitoring fee is roughly $40.00 a month for food and water.