Shop security

[CalgaryPT]

I'm gunna break the mold here for this one.

I built my own alarm after I was broken into once. It's never happened again since but there have been a few attempts. Custom alarms have the advantage that a thief can never know how to defeat them. I built my own panel with smarts very similar to what you could do with an Arduino today.

And I'd bet they do make a panel like you need, but for this case, why not just go real basic - just for now at least?

Just wire all your switches as either normally open or normally closed through one low voltage supply and grounds to activate a relay. Or use several relays that close or open with the low voltage to trigger the siren. And use a key switch to turn the whole thing on or off. Just a plain old basic no smarts alarm that no thief would ever expect.

And here is a another tip that others might find useful too. Run a monofilament fishing line "trip wire" in a curtain to a pull switch and forget about glass sensors or regular window switches. They are too easily defeated. The curtain has to get pulled aside to get in and off goes the siren.

My shop and house today are monitored and I also have inexpensive Toucan wireless cameras that notify me when something is amiss.

Edit - The insurance discount pays for the monitoring service.

This is good advice @DPittman. What he is saying is cheap to make and Uber reliable. I'm happy to draw a schematic for you if you are handy electronically. It's really a handful of components around an SCR and a relay. Drawback is there will be no indication which door or window is compromised without some fancier components. If what you want is as simple as this, I could build it for you with spare parts and a case. Lots of alarm systems in the 1970s used the same principle he is talking about: everything wired in a loop. Not fancy but reliable.

 

[Susquatch]

One thing I've done, completely away from alarms, is adding a physical slide latch to my garage door. This way, even with the code or getting a remote for it, or the system going haywire, the door physically can't open and someone can't as easily pry the door up (it's easy to force an opener up). I shut that latch unless I'm in/out of the garage, and given it's an attached garage, the only other access is from in the house.

Most garage doors come with an opening for the latch bar and predrilled holes to mount the latch plate.

 

[Susquatch]

It's really a handful of components around an SCR and a relay

With the right relay, not even the SCR is needed. Just need to make sure the sensors are rated well over the relay coil current. And you can always use two relays if transistors scare you......

 

[CalgaryPT]

With the right relay, not even the SCR is needed. Just need to make sure the sensors are rated well over the relay coil current. And you can always use two relays if transistors scare you......

Was thinking more of the solid state latching in a normally open scenario.

 

[trlvn]

I used the eyezon.ca board as an add on. Lets me self monitor the system no additional monthly costs.

Hey! Me too!

Craig

 

[SomeGuy]

Most garage doors come with an opening for the latch bar and predrilled holes to mount the latch plate.

I have the Liftmaster 8500 so it has a solenoid deadbolt that does it automatically on open/close...but some of the door controls had an issue where they'd fail and randomly open, mine was ok for a few years and then did that once. I got the updated control panel under warranty, but just for backup I had been using a vise grip but finally added a proper latch a few months ago to make it easier to protect me from another failure.

 

[CalgaryPT]

That Honeywell 6 Zone Kit is pretty reasonable at $299...and expandable. Alarm systems, even the basic ones, are like CCTV. If you have 6 zones today, you find a need for 7 zones tomorrow.

10K worth of CCTV cameras back me up on this claim. Sadly.

 

[DPittman]

I only have one walk in door to breech and no windows. This is an off site storage building and I don't think I will put in any sort of motion detectors as the odd skunk and bird passes through. It's kind of cool looking through all the neat stuff that can be done with modern security systems, but I need to keep this particular situation as simple as possible.

 

[whydontu]

One thing I've done, completely away from alarms, is adding a physical slide latch to my garage door. This way, even with the code or getting a remote for it, or the system going haywire, the door physically can't open and someone can't as easily pry the door up (it's easy to force an opener up). I shut that latch unless I'm in/out of the garage, and given it's an attached garage, the only other access is from in the house.

Wow, that's way more sophisticated than mine. I'm in a townhouse, strata doesn't allow any holes in exterior walls or the garage door. My answer is a big vise grip welding clamp on the door track, just above the roller.

 

[DPittman]

10K worth of CCTV cameras back me up on this claim. Sadly.

Eeeks I think I'd nearly have to sell all my stuff to buy 10k of cameras...then I'd need some sort of security system to watch over my cameras.

 

[Susquatch]

I have the Liftmaster 8500 so it has a solenoid deadbolt that does it automatically on open/close...but some of the door controls had an issue where they'd fail and randomly open, mine was ok for a few years and then did that once. I got the updated control panel under warranty, but just for backup I had been using a vise grip but finally added a proper latch a few months ago to make it easier to protect me from another failure.

I have liftmasters with solenoid latches on all the shop doors too. Never had a problem with them.

No liftmasters at the house garage though. Just manual latches.

I used the eyezon.ca board as an add on. Lets me self monitor the system no additional monthly costs

I'll have to look into this. I have an internet interface so I can arm/disarm remotely, but notifications are not reliable.

Monitoring looks after calling the police for me etc. When you are remote, have an eyes on alert and call the police, they usually don't respond very quickly and don't even treat your call as urgent. They respond immediately to a monitoring company call.

That's why the insurance is willing to give you a discount. They won't do that for a self monitored install. At least not mine.

 

[SomeGuy]

Wow, that's way more sophisticated than mine. I'm in a townhouse, strata doesn't allow any holes in exterior walls or the garage door. My answer is a big vise grip welding clamp on the door track, just above the roller.

Yup, that's what I used since the day I had the problem...finally got around to ordering and installing one of these:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B081N3MN37/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The hardest part was just cutting the slot in the track for the latch to go through, but drilled two holds and an air body saw made quick work of that.

 

[CalgaryPT]

Eeeks I think I'd nearly have to sell all my stuff to buy 10k of cameras...then I'd need some sort of security system to watch over my cameras.

Yeah, I get that. We live in a great neighbourhood. At one point it had the lowest crime rate in Calgary. However, the house next to us is a rental and the landlord is a piece of work. He's consistently rented to criminals that have backed into our vehicles, tried to break into our house, done drug deals between the houses and had grow ops next to us. You'd never know it from the street as the house looks nice. But I saw what was going on and this was my solution. I worked on a multi-million dollar security project at one point in my career and learned a lot from experts and police.

CCTV does not prevent crime. What it does do is give you better intel of how to lower the risks through preemptive counter measures and behaviour.

We sleep very well at night now because we have learned from the cameras how to better protect our property and ourselves.

 

[DPittman]

Yeah, I get that. We live in a great neighbourhood. At one point it had the lowest crime rate in Calgary. However, the house next to us is a rental and the landlord is a piece of work. He's consistently rented to criminals that have backed into our vehicles, tried to break into our house, done drug deals between the houses and had grow ops next to us. You'd never know it from the street as the house looks nice. But I saw what was going on and this was my solution. I worked on a multi-million dollar security project at one point in my career and learned a lot from experts and police.

CCTV does not prevent crime. What it does do is give you better intel of how to lower the risks through preemptive counter measures and behaviour.

We sleep very well at night now because we have learned from the cameras how to better protect our property and ourselves.

Oh that's got to be frustrating with neighbors like that. I worry a bit about some of my neighbors too but so far have not had problems. I'm glad you get some peace of mind from your setup, I bet you have it right. I hope that it will help bust the scumbags next to you someday. I can tolerate alot of character flaws(and I have many) but being a stealing, lying, drug dealing thief is not something I'd tolerate for a second.

 

[Susquatch]

Oh that's got to be frustrating with neighbors like that. I worry a bit about some of my neighbors too but so far have not had problems. I'm glad you get some peace of mind from your setup, I bet you have it right. I hope that it will help bust the scumbags next to you someday. I can tolerate alot of character flaws(and I have many) but being a stealing, lying, drug dealing thief is not something I'd tolerate for a second.

My view is a bit different. All that ever happens when you catch guys like that red handed is they get off scott free. Or they spend 6 months with, a few real hard Cores that teach them how to be better crooks.

Gotta scare them to death. Really really bad things will happen if you break into that place over there. If you manage to live and survive the ticks, raccoon round worms, and bird fleas my booby traps will cover you with, you will be featured in recorded coverage all over the Internet for your mother, grandmother, and all the world to see.

Lastly, everyone around here knows that the old man who lives here isn't afraid to die and his wife's family is from Sicily.

The guy who lived here before us was broken into once a month. We are 10 years with no incidents except a really really bad reputation. I've heard some of the rumours people have spread. I'd be scared to death of that guy myself. And if I ever got caught, I'd call the police myself before I was blinded by the bird mites.

 

[DPittman]

Ok I know this is stupid simple but right now I am both simple and stupid.
If a Reed switch completesthe circuit only when it is closed, how do I wire that to set off an alarm when it has been opened/ breeched?
I embarrassed to ask cuz I know it's elementary but I am having a brain fart I guess.

 

[whydontu]

you can get reed switches in either normally open or normally closed.

 

[Susquatch]

Ok I know this is stupid simple but right now I am both simple and stupid.
If a Reed switch completesthe circuit only when it is closed, how do I wire that to set off an alarm when it has been opened/ breeched?
I embarrassed to ask cuz I know it's elementary but I am having a brain fart I guess.

If you can't find a normally open reed switch, you can use a normally closed Reed switch with a pull-up resistor so that current for the relay is not available when the voltage at the pull-up is drained off by the Reed switch but powers the relay when opened. This isn't so easy with multiple switches but you only have one door. The trick is to size the resistor to keep excessive current from frying the Reed switch while still being enough to power the relay. If your relay requires too much current, you will need a transistor or a smaller relay to power the big one. There is always a way.