I've tried a couple of different driveway alarms....first was a Dakota Alert....which was real intermettent about what it decided to alert on.....send the first and second one back....finally decided it was just a crappy design. Next one I tried was a cheapy GE I got at Lowe's....it worked fairly well, though sometimes it would false alarm or miss a vehicle as well...and a battery eater to boot... Next, I'm thinking of trying this one.....got more features, like a 2 mile range...and the ability to use multiple sensors and a walkie talkie to the base unit... Go here to see specs..... And here's another one I like the looks of... Anybody got one they like ??
I think I like the MURS, (First one) Andy. Looks like a good range and could be used for 'other than driveway' situations I'm assuming that MURS stands for Multi Use Radio System which is a littel known Comms Band that Beats the heck out of FRS http://www.provide.net/~prsg/murshome.htm I was just reading on the radios last night, in between jousting with one on another board.. hahaha If you standardized on some MURS radios for your place, It looks like that sensor would broadcast the alert to the radios as well. I didn't see what kind of batteries it took? Could rig it to a small solar panel as well too. SOme info on MURS radios http://www.popularwireless.com/MURS_Leef.html http://www.fm2way.com/
I have a guini hen that goes off when someone pulls in the drive, just feed her some corn from time to time. lol
I have the GE magentic alert one as well. You are right, a battery guzzler and doesn't catch all cars. Also, will go off for no reason sometimes. Looking for something better now.
How hard and expensive would it be to set up one of the air operated ones like a lot of the old gas stations had? The ones where there was a hose across the area to be watched for cars and when the hose was smashed by a car it would push air through it that moved a striker against a bell. It seems to me one of these would be the most reliable you could get for anything other than foot traffic since theres not much to go wrong or fail to work and there also isnt much that would ever cause it to go off if there was no reason. I could be wrong and they may or may not work as well over a longer distance but would seem like one of these systems should be pretty easy to set up and not overly costly. :dunno:
I'm thinking that dry rot of the hose will be a big issue and also, the distance would create a problem with reliable air pressure to activate the plunger. Also, unless you have a concrete drive, I'm thinking the rock would cut it in fairly short order.
