Alarm/Security

I have what we call around here an “equipment shed” it’s essentially a very well built pole/ tin building with an open face. I’ve been using it for a “shop” for a few years now, all of my tools are in there. It has three bays & I’ve closed off the two outer bays, but the center one is open. I’ve just been closing that with a tarp in cold weather, my double barrel wood stove heats it more than fine. But, due to the economy, I’ve had to get a “real job”…third shift, even, 11pm-7am...plus I’m doing auto repair on the side to make ends meet. A few years ago I put motion activated dual flood lights inside the “shop” just hoping that alone would freak out some low life enough to run off without grabbing something first. But now that I’m not here during the wittchen hours, I’m afraid that’s not enough.

I’ll do something more solid once I can confirm that I’m not going to loose my home…I’ve sold most everything (trucks, cars, boats, jet skis, tractors, tools & equipment, plus much more) else to make mortgage payments, but if someone stole my tools & equipment I’d be…well you know…

I’m sure me & radio shack could figure something out…but …I just thought I’d throw this out there…

I’d like some input/ideas from ya’ll for a cheap/loud alarm…maybe a way I could activate a siren from the flood lights. Or any other ideas…

Thanks!!
DD

Dave, what about a really big dog?

Had a good one & she got ran over. Too close to road, can’t afford fence, or a good dog right now. Haven’t lived here very long. We do have a couple of yapping ankle biters in a fence in the back that are supposedly my daughter’s dogs, but just like “her horses” I take care of them…I’d like to get rid of the whole lot & raise some calves like I’ve always wanted to, but that’s a different story…

Booby traps are illegal and will have you paying the thief's medical expenses.

Do you want a silent alarm that goes off only in your house (the one I made was so loud the little bastard heard it) or
one that wakes up the whole neighborhood? A websearch may show when each is a good bet.

In the 80’s I had a shop a long way from my house & kinda off the road. I had a Doberman that stayed there & I had a ’70 Trans Am in one corner of the shop with no interior & I took the driver’s door off & laid down a couple of old sleeping bags in it for her & cut a hole in the wall for her to go outside into a fenced yard, which cornered up with the “man door” in the front of the shop…never got ripped off & even friends that went down there late at night, not intending to go inside the shop, but to sit outside & do whatever said that they were intimidated…

I want something that will wake the dead. I live out in the country & work third shift. My wife & seven year old son are here alone.

tndave said:

I want something that will wake the dead. I live out in the country & work third shift. My wife & seven year old son are here alone.

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She may need weapons training.
My first wife could not even pull back the slide to cock a 0.45 handgun.

Also read "In the Gravest Extreme" by Massad Ayoub.

Use your motion detectors and wire to a couple of flood lights to light up the front of the shed real good and it would be no problem to wire a siren to the same circuit.

There is always some possibility of false alarms (false positives) but they are sometimes not a problem.
To fix, maybe a first outer layer of security and then an inner layer, and only if both are violated do you get an alarm.

False negatives (not detecting a real threat) may also be a problem. I'd guess this second one is a worse outcome, but that's just me.

The thing is, you can't reduce the likelihood of both false positives and false negatives at the same time.

If the likelihood of a $500 'thing' being stolen is 10% over the whole time you own it, you should spend no more than 10% x $500 = $50 on protecting it, but your homeowners insurance changes this equation somewhat.

I asked the cops ahead of time if I could use deadly force to stop a vandal once I catch him, and I very nearly did catch him.
They got pretty upset over that question.
Of course, by the time they got there that dude was long gone and then the cop said that vandalism means permanent damage and so letting air out of tires didn't count no matter how many times he did it (which was on Friday or Saturday nights - my alarm went off on a Saturday night about 11:30 and it was not a false positive).

Speaking of auto repair, I've got the good weather of today and tomorrow to replace the head gasket of the car in the driveway. After that it's long underwear and a portable heater.