What security system everyone is using?
Ring doorbell together with 2 hardwired dvr tamper resistant cameras on the front parking and entrance area. I also have iron security doors. In my part of the house I have dogs who are excellent at letting me know when something is amiss.
I lock the doors before the guests arrive when I put in their door code. Otherwise I try and remember to close the driveway gates when no guests are here. I have cameras and live a block away but I have never had to rush over with a pitchfork or anything.
RR
Andrea, a great way to find out is to use the search function here. Various security measures have been discussed a lot.
An OH who’s playful nickname is The Rottweiler, and a baseball bat.
What do you use?
JF
My 70 pound alpha female dog. No one gets within 100 meters of my place without her barking.
12 bore shotgun and a big machete. Also useful here for hunting feral Burmese pythons…
12 gauge shotgun loaded birdshot - buckshot - buckshot but I figure the clack-clack of pumping it will cause a quick exit. Everyone here hunts ducks and knows what the sound is. It’s in my bedroom closet.
Seriously, I’m in the planning stage of a home brew smart home system based on open source called Home Assistant. It can run on a Windows PC but I’m going to use a little under $100 Raspberry Pi computer to do it. After all I built my own Tivo-like DVR with open source software and government surplus PCs the same way.
I want to automate lighting, security, and AV in my part of the house, and security in the rental exterior. Eventually it will be extended upstairs for lighting and heat/AC.
Unlike Ring or Alexa or Google, I will be building a system that will be working in spite of power or internet outages, depending on my battery backup (and eventual propane powered generator) to power the router, Home Assistant server, the alarms, and emergency lighting. It won’t store anything in the cloud, nor will it need to call a remote mothership, to authorize anything. Just depending on ZWave’s mesh routing.
In my spare time, of course. And when I get some money.
Huh? What about quick sand, razor wire, and a moat? Seems easier.
I used to nerd for a living. Now I still nerd as a hobby.
Actually, the security system is in addition to the above, as so it should be. I know what he keeps in his freezer…
JF
Just my special valuables, like salmon, halibut, shrimp, crab, venison, berries, and the stuff I cook in big batches. No moose or bison this year.
Moose is good but bear meat is even better! Moose meat pie is hard to beat, though.
Bear meat is tough and stringy, mostly good for sausage. Moose is much more like beef, but gamier.
And to get back to the topic of this thread, if you have a Ring doorbell camera be sure to check with their website about the recall. They have been bursting into flames!
Try bear in a pressure cooker or in a stew. Really delicious. But back to the topic, glad I chose to get a different camera. Almost got the ring camera.
I know this is an old thread but I would like any new or updated suggestions. We have had seveal car break ins right across the steet. There has been a rash of catalitic convertor thefts in the city as well.
Seveal neighbors are going with Viviant but that seems expensive and awkward to make sure guests don’t trigger the alarm (shared home).
If you have cameras, what kind? Did you install yourself?
Does a Ring Doorbell seem to actually discourage tampering with cars in driveways?
Getting a dog is not an option as much as I would love to!
The reason why we don’t like old posts to be revived is because others will come along and reply to posts by people who aren’t hosting any longer or who left the forum. My system is the same. One Ring doorbell, two DVR cameras. I’ve also added more lights to the outside of the home. I don’t thing a Ring Doorbell would be sufficient to deter mischief in driveways.
A camera with a light that will shine on the driveway area or separate lights that come on at night and stay on might help.
We have Ring doorbell cam, plus Ring cameras (with lights).
The Ring cameras are easily visible.
There’s little if any crime in our neighborhood. So I can’t say these deter crime.
We have Arlo cameras. They’re wifi and have batteries. We’ve placed them on the outside of the house outside of 2nd-floor windows so it’s easy to reach out and change the battery when needed. I find them less intrusive than a doorbell camera. Most of our guests and tenants never notice them and I guess I prefer that. Two of them give us a full view of our front door and steps anyway. I can recommend them. We’ve had them for several years now with no issues and I like their app for playback and the specificity of the alerts that can be set.
Our city has a lot of catalytic converter thefts too. We seem to be somewhat insulated from it because we’re on a dead-end block. Also, one of the main groups of the thieves used to live one house over, lol, (long story).
However, I have to say that I’m not really sure that cameras are a deterrent or help catch the criminals with cat-converter theft because it’s such a quick and easy theft. My local Nextdoor app is full of camera footage of cat-converters being stolen from driveways. None have been recouped and no one has been identified from it.