I think my house may have been cased yesterday

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I picked up a little alarm kit (2 of them actually) from Harbor Freight for like $20 a piece. It come with a motion sensor alarm, and 2 window alarms to connect to it also, plus a remote (has a built in key pad also). You can set the key code to whatever you want, and set the "delay" on the sensor from 0, 15, and 30 seconds. They arent fancy, but they do works very wel.No false alarms yet, even with a cat (obviously, you need to figure out the proper placement to fit your needs), but they have a great range, and work well.They are also QUITE freakin loud, and have AC power, and battery back up (so it's not like it can get silenced by just unplugging it). I managed to get 100% coverage of ANY movement in the entire bottom floor of my townhouse with just 2 sensors (ymmv vary with somepace bugger and/or arranged different obviously).

Like I said, I have no illusion they are the best, but they are inexpensive, you buy it one at a time as needed for you, and they have worked perfectly for me.I also bought a night vision color camera from them that is up in top rear corner of the 1st floor, and connects to the TV in my bedroom upstairs. I DID have to buy a secondary IR light to get a clear view of the entire floor, but even that was only $40 on top of the $25 for the camera. So, I can also now see ANYTHING, day or night, with perfect clarity, from my upstairs bedroom if needed.ALso VERY pleased with that for the price.

Just a thought, as I have only 2 windows, 1 door, and one large sliding glass dorr on the 1st floor to worry about, and all the bedrooms are on the second floor, with a narrow staircase with a 180deg turn in the middle, and I can cover the whole thing from the second floor easily, so I kinda luck out having a great, narrow choke point before anyone could get anywhere near they family.The 2 sensors and the camera cover ever inch of the 1st floor.Worth looking into them IMHO though. Very customizeable for cheap, and work well for me.
 
How about an infrared yard light turner-onner that Ace used to sell for ten bucks or so. No reason you have to use them outside, now is there?

You might rig one of the two yard lamp sockets on it with a screw-in plug adaptor and run an extension from it to a loud radio in antoher room or even another light so when someone enters the room, the radio starts blaring and the lights go on.

They're adjustable for sensitivity and time-on. Only problem is if it's set up in the house where the dogs are free to roam, but that's a solvable problem. You can (A) keep them out of that area when you're not home, or; (B) angle the sensor high enough that only a tall human would trigger them, but not the dogs.

Just noodlin'. Maybe it's a good idea, maybe not. But it sure is cheap, and no sophisticated electronical stuff to dink with.

(I got two of these a couple of years ago, and did a little 'Sperimenting with them. They're prett yneat.)
 
If I could get a monitored system for a reasonable price with just a month to moth billing I would be interested, but I just haven't found anybody that offers such a service,
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Most areas have independent alarm people who also provide monitoring. Find a local distributor of alarm equipment and ask who is good. Most are around $20 per month.
 
Home Depot and Lowes sell self installed alarms. We bought the GE made systems and it works fine. Various types of sensors, door, window, water and motion and it calls us if there is a problem. About $300 for everything.
 
Many thanks to everyone who replied to my request for help/suggestions. Several great suggestions. I was really nervous coming home from work yesterday as I know that typically if someone cases your house while you are at work one day, there's a pretty good chance you will get broken into the next day. Breathed a big sigh of relief when I came home yesterday and all was well.

This is what I love about The High Road. Lots of great folks willing to help. :)
 
Hey Coug, here's a link to the Panasonic cameras:

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-...twork-Cameras.75091_11002_7000000000000005702

Look under "Pet Cams".

I have the BL-C10A (wired) and BL-C30A (wireless). Last time I was in a Staples store they were selling them there. I got mine through Amazon.

Do you have high-speed Internet (cable or DSL)? These are network cams, they work through your router. If you don't have a router you can't really use them.

The nice thing about them is that they are stand-alone, you don't need a computer running for them to work. And, you can log into your camera(s) from anywhere in the world, using just a web browser, look at your property, and change the settings if you want. I use that feature a lot. I can actualy use my PDA to check in on my place.

I have my cams set to send images to my Yahoo account, and also to my work e-mail. The cams have both motion sensing via changes in the picture, and infrared sensing. I use the infrared sensng, virtually zero false triggers. The images that the cameras send are time-tagged.
 
lights

I would also install motion sensor lights. I have them around my house. Maybe put your guns in the basement [if you have a basement] and 'hide' them in the rafters or in blankets ect. that look like dirty laundry waiting to be washed.
 
It would be a lot of fun to have some trip flares. Talk about scaring the bejesus out of someone! a WHOOSH! and all of a sudden the whole block is illuminated with an eerie glow floating down from above the trees.
 
It would be a lot of fun to have some trip flares. Talk about scaring the bejesus out of someone! a WHOOSH! and all of a sudden the whole block is illuminated with an eerie glow floating down from above the trees.
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and then you have to deal with a burgler AND angry neighbors whose houses you just set ablaze....
 
One thing about a gun case versus a RSC or real safe, it isn't going to protect you. Anyone in the world of casing your place and wishing to break in and steal would probably not be hindered by a simple locked cabinet.
 
i work as an outside service rep for several insurance companies and banks.

I frequently go into peoples backyards if they have recently (last 2 months) changed there home insurance or if someone is late on their mortgage payment. I take pictures to make sure there is no damage or anything to be concern about insuring such as a makeshift deck or a shed not secured to the ground that could fly through the air and destroy stuff. Just another possibility that someone isnt casing your house.

Definitely get a safe or an rsc even if it is cheap. If your neighbors are as close as it seems, thieves are going to want to get out qucik and a locked and boltd cabinet is going to take a few minutes
 
I can only tell you what I have done and why. I have several guns, and I don't want them taken from me- or put into criminal hands. I use a combination of hard and soft protection.
Soft: Motion detecting lights, mounted above reaching height on each corner of the house. Monitored security system WITH armed response units. The police will not respond to an alarm company call in my town- only a homeowner.
Hard: A hardened room in the house, with a motion sensor inside the room. Cheap gun safes inside the room, bolted to the floors, the walls and each other.
The two Pit mixes and the two Heelers are primarily for looks.
 
Cougfan2 said:
Does anyone know of any company that sells unmonitored security systems just to turn on a siren if a door of window is breached?
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Yours doesn't do that?

My home alarm is audible whether it's monitored or not. One siren in the basement (I'm not sure what the point is, but it's there) and one in the attic just behind the gable louver, pointing in the general direction of the neighbors' houses. The audibles are set off by the same sensors that trigger the alert to the monitoring company.
 
A beat-up, old looking dog food dish that is good sized, with the name "Butch" stenciled on the side and sitting outside the back door is always a cheap, effective way to ward off badguys.

You can buy ADT yard signs off ebay for a couple of dollars. Who's to know that you don't have anything actually hooked up?
 
Looking for advice on additional security measures without
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DIY security systems that call 911 with a prerecorded message AND call your cell phone. you can also get them on a live video feed which you can access at anytime with an internet enabled cell phone or computer browser.
 
DO NOT store powder in the gun cabinet. That's a great recipe for a bomb. Powder magazines should be made from wood, hopefully with some drywall/sheetrock for heat insulation.
 
alarm

radio shack has a phone dailer that hookes up to your alarm...if you are to far away durring the day, maybe it can call a neighbor...gpr
 
Random Thoughts:

Cheap steel gun cabinets can be strongly reinforced, cheaply. I got a cheap "closet-end" model and simply bolted on a couple of "screw-covering" heavy duty hasps and disk-padlocks. I also added a bunch of small steel bolts to the piano hinge, which came assembled with aluminum pop-rivets! Sure, it could still be cut open, but it would take a lot of time and noise.

Speaking of noise, Google for "travelers' personal alarms". These are small, inexpensive battery-operated screamers with a cord ending in a pair of springy metal contacts that you push into a door crack. If the door opens at all the contacts fall out and spring open and the unit screams loudly until the battery dies. You could also splice on to lengthen the cord to place the screamer out of reach in a protected spot.

Tripwires are useful. Google for "perimiter alarms" and find various alarm devices that fire shotgun blank shells, activated either by tripwire, or fence tilt-meter, like a pinball machine.

In past ages, I attatched a tripwire to a tall stack of empty opened coffee cans---the falling cans made a hell of a noise as they bounced off of each other and the concrete! If you don't mind the mess, a crashing stack of forty-ounce beer bottles makes a terrifying sound for the neighbors too!

My point is that even cheap alarms make a potential burglar realize that you are expecting him, and wonder what is next.......................elsullo :fire:
 
I have a $440 Stack-On that I bought at Gander Mountain that is "wedged" between a wall and another piece of heavy furniture. Bolted to the floor and wall, It should provide enough resistance for the alarm system to either scare the perps off or get the police here. IMHO, an inexpensive safe and an alarm system will give you a lot of piece of mind. This "wisdom" comes from having my gun collection stolen while in a gun cabinet (furniture). Good luck.
 
"Security Systems" - Right.

I used to have Brinks, but fired them.
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I don't trust 'security companies' and their systems for use in residencial buildings. My neighbor (a mile from me) was being bothered by her ex and even threatened. She bought an ADT security system complete with monthly subscription service (monitoring), all door & window detectors, motion & glass breakage monitors. She bought a gun and had it by her bedside after her ex chased her around the kitchen and stabbed her (superficial, non-life threatening cuts/stabs).

Her daughters woke one night, just after all of this, to the sounds of gunfire and screaming. Unfortunately, the gunfire was from her ex's gun. He'd broken in thru the garage (which had a monitor), walked thru several of the motion detectors and arrived at her bedroom door without setting off anything!! He walked in, shot & killed her and her boyfriend who was there because she was so afraid of her ex. Luckily, the girls excaped to a neighbor's house who'd been awakened by the shooting and had already called the police.

Needless to say, the ADT 'security company' is being sued for extremely shoddy work/equipment.

She seemed to do everything right....... and still got killed by a very determined, phychotic, ex-boyfriend.
 
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