driveway alert units....

Well, they work a little, for what little I paid for them!
Harbour fruit's driveway alerts work IF you are not any further away than say 50-60 feet. They have limited ranges despite their advertising of 150 feet!
Too bad too...I'd like to BUILD some that have longer ranges, IF I could find the plans...but most are motion only and most of the alert units are triggered by heat (IR) and motion detection.
Most I ahve tried asnd othere that have purchased some $200 dollar units say they will not perform well in an area that is wooded. Trees seem to disrupt the signal. I wonder, can one be modified with an external antenna to get better reception from the transmitter? The transmitters work great, it's the lousy receivers that are the problem.
I have hear that many "detector's" only are able to sense metals, as from a vehicle....?

 

Mine works from ~100 feet away, but the darn thing chimes for no reason.

 

If its for cars (as opposed to people walking up the drive) you could always use the air hose type like at the old full serve gas stations. Low tech = fewer problems.

 

Tried that and it did not change anything.

 

Ours has the air hose, but is a wireless transmitter. Works if stepped on or driven over, even with a bicycle. Funny thing is, other security systems in the area, can interfere with it. We have to mess with the internal dip switches sometimes to correct the issue.

I've an uncle that has one of those on an eye and his dog sets it off. He said they just ignore it when it goes off, so they never know until someone knocks on the door, if it's a true or false alarm. Goofy if ya ask me, surely there has to be a better way.

 

Don't you have a couple of dogs?? Those are the best driveway alerts available

 

Just picked up a "Bunker Hill" 4 camera digital time lapse recorder. It is a wired unit. The old wireless will be my visible ones. Maybe I can eliminate future problems with this one.

 

I would stay away from anything wireless...very easy to be jammed or scrambled. no high tech needed.

 

I had a Dakota Alert (non-MURS) system from 1999-2005. I was LESS THAN IMPRESSED by their quality.

About 2 years after setting up the system, I ended up paying for a new receiver (half the cost of the original system...OUCH!) after the original one failed.

I got tired of all the BS false alarms, despite trying to adjust sensitivity/aiming multiple times. Into the trash!

Three years ago, I got a Chamberlain "Reporter" system off Amazon for much less than half the cost of the Dakota Alert system. NOTE that the current version has "mixed" reviews on Amazon, but I've been very happy with my system.

Battery life is excellent. Even after 1.5 years of use, the lithium AA batteries in the sensor/transmitter unit were still working just fine. I replaced them anyway. To prevent moisture leakage, I wrapped the seams of the transmitter enclosure with electrical tape as added insurance. So far, so good.

We get very few false alarms. The false alarms we do receive are generally due to butterflies/insects flying in front of the detector.

A driveway alarm is a GOOD THING.

One good thing about Dakota Alert is that they offer a buried sensor system that picks up steel/iron objects (cars), and is totally insensitive to animals/bugs. See on Amazon at:
Amazon.com: WPA-3000 Wireless Probe Driveway Alert Kit- Max Range 600': Electronics

The downside to this buried sensor system is that it won't pick up a person walking down your driveway. I like to know when somebody is coming down my driveway (such as the UPS guy or anybody else). Pluses & minuses...

 

Wireless units are going to be a problem in wooded areas...especially areas heavy with pine and fir, since both are excellent RF reflectors.

External antenae can be a solution if they allow you to place sender and receiver in line of sight without intervening trees.

Our gate is about 1000' from the house and significantly lower in elevation in a heavily wooded area. We have pressure and IR sensors, voice and video coverage and gate release, all hard wired (double wired in 2 trenches) that we put in when we built the house, but I still have more confidence in my 4-legged alarms when push comes to shove.

 

Looks like only a wired system ( depending on distance), with either a 9 volt or 12 volt supply is the answer.
It would be nice to find a decent ( inexpensively priced) motion detector, or an IR ( passive) that would work.....
Maybe more research is indicated....

 

I use the "HF" store units in my back yard, 50 ft. from the receiver in the house. It's sensitive enough to alert when a squirrel runs across the fence top 20 feet away.

Good for how cheap they were on sale.

 

fishing line, close pin, piece of milk jug, 9v battery, a length of wire and a door bell.

when fishing line attached to piece of milk jug is pulled from clothespin circuit is closed. bell goes off. Dog goes off. 5 bucks. ok you got me. feeding the dog costs more.

 

If you live in the country get some geese they will let you know when anything is approaching.

 

Very true! Best natural alarm!