Home Security Systems
 

Looking for some first hand experience concerning home security systems. Do it yourself installation, Professional monitoring, Brands, ADT, Simply Safe, Ring, Others? I have a house and 2 out building garages I would like to have cameras on and break-in security. Thanks. House has 4 entry doors. Garages have 3 entry doors and 4 overhead doors.

We've had ADT for the last 20 years at 2 different houses. I considered switching to Simply Safe when that came out because the monitoring was less expensive. But when I called ADT they gave me the same price so that saved me the work of uninstalling ADT and installing Simply Safe. The ADT system has been reliable. Runs off cellular phone technology and has a backup battery that's good for about 48 hours.

We also have Blink cameras. Those are great. We have them all around the entire house, 360 deg. Super easy to set up. Camera batteries last forever. You do need high speed internet or they won't work. The phone app is good too. You can see live camera views from anywhere on your phone. Being able to see outside your house, whether your home or not is a good thing.

Of course none of these things are perfect. My view is things like that keep away the amateurs. But at least that's something.

It's all just another layer/component of your overall security measures. And you need need multiple layers.

I use Wyze cameras at my house. They are wireless and Cheap on Amazon. Micro usb power connection. Several ways for triggering event and sending notifications to your phone. Need a microSD card for playback. I just added another one to the garage. It was like $50 for the camera and card. I have two outside for both entrance and exit, one in the house and the one in the garage. The cameras are 4K and do pretty well. Its very inexpensive but works for my needs.

We should have you talk to Jerry Jr.

Eufy for remote monitoring.

Ok sounds good. I currently have 2 Wyze cameras and a Wyze doorbell. The doorbell works OK IMO. The cameras are marginal and terrible at night. Once headlights hit the camera at night, your not seeing anything else. Other issue is Wyze has a software update about every other week it seems. I have to climb a ladder and take apart the weather box to reset them constantly. These cameras are a couple years old. I assume the new ones must be much better. But wanted to see what else was out there. The Wyze stuff is better than nothing and an easy way to get into it. What type of sensors do you recommend? Seems like just motion sensors in the garages would be enough?

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I've had simply safe for a few years now. Easy installation, relatively inexpensive. In addition to the window and doors I have multiple cameras in key areas. It has been very reliable.

I have a security system through a local company, their office is just a few blocks from my house so I figure it's best to have it monitored by someone in the neighborhood rather than from a central office located in a different state somewhere. I'd recommend checking to see if there's a similar company in your area, you may be able to get better and more personable service than from the big national names.

I have no cameras at the moment but the doors are monitored, along with motion detectors strategically located to cover any entry into the first floor. It also monitors smoke detectors, which I think is more important than building security - having a break-in and getting stuff stolen is an awful thing, but a fire can be deadly. I lost my sister and her husband in a house fire some years ago, they didn't have smoke detectors so I'm kind of an evangelist on the topic.

Along with what I described above I also have a low temp alarm in the event of a furnace failure. I don't have one, but a floor flooding alarm can also be useful in the event of a broken pipe or clothes washer hose. I also have several LOUD alarm horns in the house and garage that will wake the dead - some years ago someone broke into my garage but the 140dB horn out there scared them away before they were able to take anything.

In these types of discussions people like to post pictures of guns and dogs, but they won't do any good if you're not home and you've brought your dog with you.

I have been thinking about adding cameras but haven't done so yet. The latest generation are very good; my neighbor has several of them, and they can generate high def images even in the middle of the night. We had a guy sneaking around in the alley one night last winter and jiggling knobs on garage doors, he didn't get into anyone's garage but he got video of him. this is a screen grab from the video:

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...4&d=1705100376

I had Vivant for a whilte in California. A little on the pricey side, but great service and a really professional install.

My only complaint was they were full of it when they said dogs wont set off the motion sensors.

Put up signs even if you don't have cameras or an alarm system installed.

Yes, no tresspassing right to start with and property protected by video survailance along your driveway and on the main entry doors to the house and shop..

LOTS of signs starting clear down at the road and on most of the trees along my long driveway and on each main entrance door.

Here I use a combination of dogs, Blink, and trail cameras. The dogs are for when we are here more than away. They are standing sentry duty 24 hours a day and on constant alert. You can't even slow down on the main road they don't perk up and listen for your tires to hit my gravel driveway. If they do the dogs go ape-chit and give us PLENTY of time to get a welcome party ready.

Never had a single issue before or after but at least now I get an alarm and video to my phone when someone shows up if I'm not there. We really don't have too many issues in these parts right to start with and that is simply because most folks like me that live pretty far off the beaten path know that we are ALWAYS the ONLY line of defense and arm ourselves accordingly. We joke about it but we're also more likely to dial 811 instead of 911 when folks come by and are up to no good. Yes, permission to dig is better than waiting half hour or so for LE to show up!

Seriously however, everyone reading this needs to know that when seconds count, Law Enforcement is minutes or in our case half hour or so away!.........

I have Simply Safe now ( installed in 1/2 hour) and monitored by them with Sheriff response if I don't answer phone or in home alarm. Flawless and responsive when we were incommunicado for an hour.
Had ADT with three previous homes that were hard wired. No complaint on their service.

Start with what kind of security you're looking for, central or monitored. Self monitoring can be tricky and cost you everything, there are many things to consider going that route, you can build a system, there are packages available but I wouldn't recommend it. There are also packages you can DIY and have it monitored, I've heard good things about Ring but have no experience with them.

All entryways will use a similar device, the sensors are compatible with most types of windows and doors, conventional or overhead. Motion detectors can be added as needed provided pets wont be a problem. Cameras are something that's always getting upgraded as far as quality and price. You could have a monitored system and add cameras as a separate central system anytime you wanted.

There is no local entity for me so I rely on ADT which I've been very satisfied with. I also have a remote location. That one monitors for smoke and has a built-in router. It's set up so I get the first call, law enforcement is notified if I don't respond, this is in case of a false alarm, I've had three in about seven years, two were my fault. The battery backup has been replaced once along with one system upgrade.

Consult with a few providers, get some professional ideas how to best cover your property, they have unique viewpoints of crime and safety. Better to have layers of protection, as Stuart implied, it's no joke.



Frank

Oh, I forgot about the motion detectors. I bought a set of Chamberlain sensors that aren't available anymore but the one in the link below is basically the same thing. I use them mainly as driveway alerts. I have one down at my gait and another halfway up the driveway which is about 650 feet long.

https://www.amazon.com/Hosmart-Recha...41&sr=8-4&th=1

Thanks so far for the ideas. I don't have an immediate problem. But looking ahead. In three years, the area right around my house has gone from several thousand acres of farm land to millions of square ft. of warehouse space with thousands of minimum wage employees. I can tell from the trash thrown on my front yard every day there are plenty of people who along with being pigs, have no sense of how to behave in a neighborhood. There are 6 houses on my street and now 3.5 million square ft. of warehouse space. Just planning for possible issues should they arise. I live on a county road un- incorporated area. Only Sheriff for actual law enforcement May see one drive by a couple times a month.

After my wifes passing I thought it would be good to get home security system when I'm out. I had ADT salesman here. I was not impressed with his demeanor. I got a price. Then called local smaller company. Received a price. Then called Guardian. A nice young woman!! came we talked what I might need. Cameras were a lot more $$. I was going with local company however Guardian just bought them. I went with Guardian they were less expensive than ADT. Installer was very helpful and thorough.I've set off alarm couple times when I came in back door not getting code in fast enough initially. Guardian called me right away. When I turn system on or off my smart phone receives a message stating what happened. A young man in our car club suggested I buy my own cameras. I'm doing that.

I am using a Ademco Vista 20p. I have one for the house and one for the garage. I also have the enclosed trailer tied to the garage alarm. I use it as a fire alarm in the house also. I am not using a monitoring company. I have both alarms going to a dialer that calls me then the wife (up to 5 phone numbers) we then decide if we want to call the police. It will tell me if it;s the house, fire or the garage. The sirens will scare anyone away. I put it myself. The hardest part was programing.

I have Lorax camera system that I installed myself. They are wired with cat 5. I have 6 cameras for the house, 2 for the garage and 1 for the trailer. It will record 2 tera bits of motion. Best part is I can see what's going on at my house or garage from anywhere with my phone.

All my alarms in 20 years have been accidental. Alway by forgetting to turn the alarm off and opening a door or garage door.

Damn fellas, good info here. I have nothing right now.

One other thing I did in addition to the simply safe system was to install a driveway alarm, and an automated driveway gate system. I also have multiple game cameras installed on the property. Should by any chance someone gets through the exterior systems they have a very serious, well-trained KNPV Dutch Shepherd to deal with. If a person doesn't have a dog you can always put a "large" dog dish in an area where it can be seen.

U should change user name to "Securitycrazy" :)