Driveway Alarms - Wireless

[Tony De Masi]

Hey Creekers,

Looking for anyone who may already be using or has used a wireless driveway alarm system. I've done some reading, but as in most cases the more I read the more confused I get. My driveway is about 1300 feet but I am looking at possibly putting in a system closer to 300-400 feet from the house. So, any suggestions on which system to look at or stay away from? Lots of wildlife around me so I would be looking at something that could distinguish between the wildlife and vehicles.

thanks for any words of wisdom.

Tony

[Steve Schlumpf]

Tony - my folks had a system (I do not remember the brand or anything) that worked quite well. The mains - plugged into the wall in their living room and the transmitter part was battery operated and placed at the end of their drive - which was about 100'. The one key thing I remember about it was that you had to have the remote unit placed such that the sun never could hit the receiver or the false positives the IR gave you would drive you nuts!

Hope that helps some. My drive is only 80' or so long but I have considered installing an alarm unit because my shop is in the basement and it would be nice to know if someone stopped in for an impromptu shop tour!

[David G Baker]

Tony,
I have been using a Reporter Driveway Alarm for the past 5 years and love it. I have two transmitters. My driveway is approximately 300 feet away from my house, the first transmitter is fastened to a tree approximately 10 feet into my driveway, it buzzes once. The second transmitter is fastened to another tree that is about 40 feet from my house, it buzzes twice. I have it on a timer because I got tired of being awakened in the middle of the night by a herd of 20 or so deer going past the transmitter at least 2 or three times in the process of eating the apples that have fallen off of the trees.
I live in Mid Michigan and have some severe weather and the transmitters have held up well.
You need to do some Internet shopping to get the best price.
The reason I purchased the alarms (after doing a lot of research) was that my house is well insulated and I have missed several deliveries and missed several visits from friends that didn't press the door bell hard enough or didn't knock loud enough. I don't recall the maximum distance from the transmitters to the receiver but you will find that information when you do the research.

[Matt Meiser]

They make systems where you bury a transmitter in the ground too. I imagine those would be immune to deer.

[Tony De Masi]

Thank you gentlemen. Time for more reading.

Tony

[Charlie T. Bear]

Tony,
I have been using a Reporter Driveway Alarm for the past 5 years and love it. I have two transmitters. My driveway is approximately 300 feet away from my house, the first transmitter is fastened to a tree approximately 10 feet into my driveway, it buzzes once. The second transmitter is fastened to another tree that is about 40 feet from my house, it buzzes twice. I have it on a timer because I got tired of being awakened in the middle of the night by a herd of 20 or so deer going past the transmitter at least 2 or three times in the process of eating the apples that have fallen off of the trees.
I live in Mid Michigan and have some severe weather and the transmitters have held up well.
You need to do some Internet shopping to get the best price.
The reason I purchased the alarms (after doing a lot of research) was that my house is well insulated and I have missed several deliveries and missed several visits from friends that didn't press the door bell hard enough or didn't knock loud enough. I don't recall the maximum distance from the transmitters to the receiver but you will find that information when you do the research.
I have also used the same alert I can tell you I would buy this agin! It works great! Thats a great Idea on the timer Dave! I have been woken by deer many times! LOL! The rabbits dont set it off but the deer do! LOL!

[Tony De Masi]

From what I just read this morning the Reporter has been bought out by the Chamberlain company. The reviews have been much less than favorable especially from people who had previously bought the Reporter and wanted another one. Everything from worked well for a week to never worked right out of the box. It looks like Chamberlain kept the same name and product number but left off the workmanship that had previously represented the Reporter label. Ok, more work to do.

Tony

[Dave Johnson29]

Looking for anyone who may already be using or has used a wireless driveway alarm system.

My driveway is circular and the front gate is about 300 feet from the house. I use two transmitters from HF to cover entry from either access of the circular driveway. When I bought mine you could get extra transmitters. They operate on a specific channel so make sure they send two of the same channel. Also my receiver came with a plug pack so no batteries needed.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93068

Only problem was the transmitter battery needed replacing about every 3 weeks. I got a 9v NiMH and one of the solar panels with a dropping resistor and have not had to replace the battery in 2 years.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44768

I have had a rare false trigger by deer but it seems to require two or more deer to be in range at the same time, but it has never failed to work for vehicles. I point the IR sensor down the drive way.

[Charlie T. Bear]

yea I remember that buy out. I bought a wireless intercom from them. I have 3 of those and I am very happy with those also.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Old used rusty barrel hoops

Leave 'em laying about randomly and they'll let you know when any one unwanted shows up.