2010 January 25

Motion Detectors are a burglar’s worst enemy. They are small, inexpensive and they work but do you have one in your house? Do you know anyone that has one in their house? Probably not.

But did you also know that burglary is the most common threat to our home today? It is a crime of opportunity and we, the homeowners, give the bad guy many opportunities to practice his trade.

What did I say? Am I actually blaming the homeowner?

I sure am! Too many of us like to tell everyone how safe our neighborhood is. How many times have you heard or even said “Why I don’t even lock my doors at night…” Been there, done that.

To a burglar this is the cherry on the top of the ice cream sundae.

Burglars usually look for easy ways to get into your house and they will actually break into a house if necessary but, if we offer them an open or unguarded door or window, then don’t plan on leaving your valuables to your children.

It ‘s usually the small, expensive stuff that disappears, such as jewelry and laptop computers not to mention the purse or cash we left so easily available on the kitchen table.

Why not put your cash, jewelry, car keys or even notes to your kids or spouse in a Diversion Safe? What the heck is a Diversion Safe?

A Diversion Safe is an everyday object that we see in the house that has been hollowed out so that you can put your valuables in the empty space. A Diversion Safe could be a Soda Can, a Book, a Flower Pot, even a Electrical Outlet on the wall. Put the Diversion Safe back where it belongs, e.g. the pantry with other cans, and a burglar would never have the time to search each can. He’d go for easier loot.

We often don’t think about home security until it’s too late. It usually takes a burglary or two in our neighborhood to get us into action.

We try to give our children common sense advice — don’t talk to strangers, don’t get into a stranger’s car, don’t accept money…

Why then don’t we put this same common sense into action in protecting our home from unwanted intruders?

Wake up! Now is the time to protect your home with easy to install Motion Detectors. You’ll be alerted, usually with a very loud alarm, when someone tries to get in (and out) of your house.

Now there’s no need to wonder “did I hear something downstairs” at 2 AM. If a burglar tried to come in through a monitored entrance, you’ll know it and will have time to call 911.

Please don’t try to be a hero by going downstairs in your jammies with a baseball bat — call the cops! They’re better trained than you even if you think you learned a little judo in the Army.

And, there are even some inexpensive Motion Detectors what will automatically call the police for you the moment an intruder is detected.

Don’t Be the Next Victim!

By: Larry Zolna

About the Author:

Security cameras are popular components of most residential security systems. In residential buildings cameras are often a necessity and they are put in place to monitor highly valuable items, people and alert property owners to vandalism. The versatility of a camera is perfect for almost all locations and purposes. Cameras can be installed virtually anywhere and can allow anything or anyone to be constantly monitored and recorded.

Cameras are only one component of most home security systems. Systems are constructed of many sensors and other pieces of equipment that make up one large security system. These systems offer piece of mind and protection for homeowners, valuables, and loved ones. The protection offered by a standard system is usually enhanced by other offers made by security companies. Such offers include 24-hour monitoring for fire, theft, and flooding.

There are many components included in home security systems. Some of the basic components include: an alarm, sensors, cameras, and signs. These components can vary according to the size and cost of the system as a whole.

A high quality set of security cameras is one of the most used items that are included in security systems. These days the cameras are usually wireless; however, there are also wired cameras as well.

Both wired and wireless cameras can be installed by either a professional or the residential property owner. For a large system with many cameras, or a wired system, it is usually best for a professional to complete the installation process. While it can be completed by the homeowner, it is difficult and sometimes confusing to understand. A property owner may take a few days to install a system that a professional can get up and running in a few hours.

Wired and wireless cameras can be placed in a variety of locations. Wired cameras always need to be connected to a wire. This is a drawback in some security systems. The wire can limit the wired cameras monitoring area.

While wired cameras are stuck to one area for monitoring, wireless cameras can be installed virtually anywhere. These cameras just need to be within range of the base or transmitter. Wireless cameras work well in small places, hard-to-reach places, and at awkward angles.

Proper placement of security cameras is essential for appropriate function. Cameras need to be placed in an area where they can monitor their target. Targets can be anything from entrances to a building and vehicles outdoors to valuables indoors. People often install cameras to monitor safes and other valuables in their interior of their home.

But not all cameras are visible to the ***** eye. Some cameras are hidden. Hidden cameras are great for monitoring people and small areas. Parents will use hidden cameras to monitor childcare workers and babysitters, while other people may use hidden cameras to monitor valuables or to catch a trusted person in a devious act.

By: Anne Clarke

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Spy pen cameras are one of the many types of hidden, wireless cameras. Like spy camera glasses, spy pen cameras are most useful when you want to carry out an investigation without the knowledge of anyone seeing you. The camera in this case is hidden in the pen, which actually doubles as a real working pen. You can keep the pen on your person, on the desk, or even write with it—all while the camera captures the image you are focusing on and transmits it.

Spy pen cameras should satisfy the requisites of a mini hidden camera. Size and weight are obvious characteristics. The cameras should have good resolution, range, and battery life and should operate under poor lighting conditions.

The pen camera usually has a transmitter, which transmits the images. At the other end, you can have a receiver that receives the transmitted images and stores or records them. You can also attach it to a monitor so that someone else could be watching the images in another room.

Spy pen cameras could also be still cameras that have the memory to store a specified number of images, which can later be downloaded onto your computer. A cleverly concealed camera inside a working pen makes it the most innocuous yet the most powerful weapon one can have. With up to 180 feet of transmission range and minimal illumination, undercover assignments are a breeze.

A mere click of the pen and it begins transmitting. Whether in your shirt pocket or on the desk or in your hand, you would still transmit live images to the receiver that may be up to 180 feet away.

The possibilities with a spy pen camera abound. Even if you are not a professional investigator, pen cameras could be of use to you. You could take it to meetings, scan and capture documents, or even use it to record what your spouse said to you.

By: Thomas Morva

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This has emerged as the biggest debate in the industry. Before we get much further, let’s highlight some of the key points about each type of flash.

Traditional Incandescent Flash

- Captures full color images at night
- Doesn’t affect daytime images
- Resolution & quality are generally better
- Requires surge in power to charge flash
- Uses more energy than infrared
- Battery life is decreased compared to infrared
- Trigger time is slower than infrared
- Spooks some game
- Deters some animals from entering camera area
- Attracts attention of other humans to camera location

Infrared Flash

- Captures black and white images at night
- Daytime images can be either black & white or color
- Nighttime resolution and quality are generally less than incandescent
- Pictures are sometimes blurry
- Requires very little power and no surge
- Battery life is increased compared to incandescent
- Trigger time is faster than incandescent
- Infrared flash doesn’t spook game
- Infrared flash doesn’t deter animals from entering camera area
- Infrared flash will not draw the attention of other humans

Standard incandescent flashes spook deer

After testing dozens of different trail cameras in every setting imaginable there is no doubt standard incandescent flashes spook some animals. Having said this, I can also tell you some animals seem unaffected. In fact, we have seen sizable bucks visit an incandescent camera site repeatedly and behave as if they were posing for the camera. However, the fact remains, Incandescent flashes spook animals. To confirm this I set up two feeders near the same area; one with a standard flash, the other with an infrared flash. Both feeding sites were identical in every aspect with the exception of the flashes. The infrared flash site drew roughly twice as many deer as the standard flash site. The occurrence of bucks at the infrared site was also significantly greater as well. Deer also stayed for longer periods of time at the infrared site. We all know big bucks are wary and frustratingly elusive. If your primary concern is tracking and bagging a trophy buck, I simply wouldn’t risk scaring them with an incandescent flash.

Update 4/16/2007 – It has been roughly 8 months since I set up my Incandescent vs. Infrared feeding site tests. While I have changed out many different models of trail cameras, I have always kept each site strictly either an Infrared or Incandescent site. Initially the infrared site was drawing in roughly twice as much game as the incandescent site. However, it appears the infrared site has become increasingly more popular. I collected photos today and found 584 infrared pictures compared to only 111 pictures from the incandescent site over the same 10 day period. Clearly there are long-term benefits to using an infrared hunting camera.

Spooking deer isn’t the only thing to consider

Although not spooking game is important, infrared flashes also have many other advantages over incandescent flashes. Standard flashes require a tremendous amount of power when they are charging. As a result, they use considerably more battery capacity than an infrared flash. Most incandescent flashes draw in excess of 1 amp during use while most infrared units draw 25-50 milliamps. Also, the increased energy required by an incandescent flash slows trigger time. Trigger times on most infrared units are the same whether day or night. However, the nighttime trigger time of incandescent trail cameras is usually a full second slower than the daytime trigger speed.

Conclusion

If you’re using trail cameras to scout and help you hunt, an infrared unit will take pictures quicker, last longer on a set of batteries and most importantly not scare deer from your hunting area. If a quality picture is what your after pick a incandescent model.

By: Christine Harrell

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Motion Detectors (also Door and Window Alarms) are usually portable, wireless devices that will detect motion whenever someone walks in their path. They come with a variety of sound levels (soft or loud alarms and even chimes). Most have an on-off switch and some even will call the police when someone enters your home or office.

Many people put these at their front doors for nighttime protection so they can be alerted if someone is trying to break into their house. But how about other uses for Motion Detectors — everyone thinks they are just used to keep people out of their home. Well, here are a few uses for Motion Detectors and Door Alarms that you might not have thought about:

- Place a Door Alarm on your elderly parent’s or young children’s door to alert you that they are out of the room at night

- How about teenagers – what time do they really come in at night. You will absolutely know the time with a properly placed Motion Detector. Just don’t tell the teenager that you set one up or it will spoil the surprise…

- Pantries – place a Motion Detector near your food supply (pantry, refrigerator, even the cookie jar) to let you know when someone is trying to break their diet or eat when they aren’t supposed to

- Basement – Even though most folks keep this door closed, there are still times when we forget. A Motion Detector will let you know if your young children are anywhere near the steps

- Swimming Pool – If the gate door to your swimming pool is left open you’re just asking for trouble. Unwelcome ‘guests’, children, even small animals will show up out of nowhere. A Motion Detector with a loud alarm will scare them away as well as alert you that someone is near your pool

- New puppy – if you keep him in the kitchen before he’s housebroken, you might want to know if he ‘escaped’ and now has the run of your house to chew, *** and have a ball without you knowing it. A 120 dB (a very loud alarm) Motion Detector will tell you that Fido is free so you can keep the destruction down to a minimum.

- How about the back shed where you keep all your garden and other tools. There’s usually a lot of expensive equipment in sheds. Why not set up a Motion Detector or Door Alarm on the shed to scare potential burglars (or even mischievous kids) away. There is even a Motion Detector that will send the alarm to a receiver that you have placed near you – there’s no alarm outside so you can call the police and catch him in the act.

- Retail stores – A Motion Detector will let you know when a customer comes into your store and can even alert you when you are in another room.

- And any other ‘special’ place that you don’t want intruders. Just let you imagination go free and I’m sure you will think of a few places.

By: Larry Zolna

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