The Driveway Report

Want some security options for the outside of your house?
Your driveway is a great place to start! There are certain detectors or alarms that will tell you if someone or something comes onto your property via the driveway.
The amount of different models and options can be confusing, so lets break it down.

First you have your plain Jane hose model. This involves stringing a visible hose across your driveway. A signal is then sent usually to a wireless transmitter around 600 feet away to alert you of company. The down side is that being visible, someone walking onto your property will try to avoid stepping on it not knowing what it is. This makes your "hose" useless unless a car drives over it.

Second we have the beam models. These have a signal beam (think laser) and a receiver; when this signal beam is interrupted from the receiver, the homeowner is alerted to a visitor. This method is a little more reliable since anything moving in between will result in a notice being sent. The down side? Leaves in a storm, tumbleweed, any sort of animal, or kids playing in your driveway will set off your system any number of times.

Third, there are wired and wireless models that use magnetic probes. When a vehicle comes within 14 feet of this probe, a signal is sent resulting in a chime or series of beeps. The downside of this is that a person would not be detected coming through your driveway. It could possibly pick up a kid on a bike just because it can have metal parts. But there is no guarantee with this unless all you want to monitor are vehicles.

The more advanced options for driveway alarms are sensors that, when activated will send a signal to a walkie-talkie that also has a screen for viewing incoming traffic. On some models, up to four different locations can be monitored on this same walkie-talkie as long as all the units (including the walkie-talkie) are within a two mile range of each other. I don't know how sensitive these sensors are. You could potentially get notified of every cat in the neighborhood wandering through your property at night.

There are also several wireless brands that work on either 430 mhz or 900 mhz. These units can transmit anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 feet. The probability of interference could be great with all the different wireless devices we have in our world today.

What might be a great option for the small property owner is a driveway alarm with an adjustable sensitivity. This usually operates with a beam and can be programmed to ignore animals. The only downside is the transmitter is usually only good for 500 feet. So, in the country, it would be useless.

Last, but not least is a more affordable option. It works on PIR, or passive infrared, which uses a wireless beam to transmit up to 1,500 feet away. These models can be as cheap as $150, which is very reasonable when you consider the peace of mind it brings to know when someone is coming to your door!

So, if you're always answering the door in your bathrobe and curlers, or the family pet is constantly escaping when the door is opened, these systems will give you some extra time to get prepared.