Security suggestions for an expensive zero turn mower

camcamdance

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@nayr what is a run over air tube hun? Yes I googled it...nothing relevant

I remember reading about a magnetic alert, and though I bookmarked it, but cannot find it :(

maybe it was from this site
 
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Ryan00

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for driveways its hard to beat a run-over air tube for reliability, they are not all that aesthetically pleasing or discrete; but even bikes will set em off and short of a branch falling on one they wont false.

Hehe what if someone steps over the tube avoiding it , maybe on accident
 

nayr

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its a vehicle sensor, not a person detector.. if staked down at a choke point nobody should be able to drive around it.. and even if they on a plastic bike the'll set it off.

if you need to be alerted to people on foot, then get a bigger driveway so nobody will be willing to walk it :p or i dunno, use the appropriate sensor.. like a beam-tripwire you'll find on garage doors, but those can be false triggered by blowing yard debris and heavy snow/rain.
 

Ryan00

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its a vehicle sensor, not a person detector.. if staked down at a choke point nobody should be able to drive around it.. and even if they on a plastic bike the'll set it off.

if you need to be alerted to people on foot, then get a bigger driveway so nobody will be willing to walk it :p or i dunno, use the appropriate sensor.
Lol bigger driveway .... ah ok I was under the impression she wanted a person sensor..
 

nayr

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a magnetic detector wouldn't detect people; only cylons.. presuming they are made of a ferrous mineral, would need to consult the great wikiverse for the answer to that.
 

camcamdance

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I want some sensor to see if someone is coming in the driveway, which is about 300ft long.

most of the times, 99.9% it is a car, e.g. a fed ex truck and they drive up right to the front door, and I am in my jammies, surprised

so, If I had to pick one, I would do the vehicle sensor
 
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nayr

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its basically an airtube with one end sealed off and a pressure switch on the other end, something drives over it and the pressure in the tube sky rockets and the alarm is triggered... very simple and reliable, they can handle even giant dump trucks, worst case is the tube needs replaced and usually they give you enough extra you got enough to last a decade or so before buying more cheap tube.

you'll see em bolted down to roads in pairs, and locked to a sign/fire hydrant or something.. planning officials use em to gather stats on traffic and direction.. if they can survive months on a heavily traveled road the'll last forever on a personal driveway..
 

camcamdance

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@nayr

where would I get this air tube and pressure sensor

do I need to be smart like you guys to install it?

I googled air tube and airtube but dont seem to be finding it
 
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nayr

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gotta stake it down so it stays in place, and if you have like a culvert/gate/trees/landscaping that ppl cant drive around it thats the place to put it.. if you have a paved/concrete driveway get your self a good hammer drill to lay down anchors.. for a single wide driveway only need anchors on each end and in the middle where they wont be driven over.

mount a post for the RF box to sit off the ground if nothing natural to hang it on... hammer in garden post will be enough but you wont get long range sitting on the ground.
 

camcamdance

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thanks @nayr

so which one milton bells model should I go for?

there are so many

I dont want overkill but not some insufficient given that the driveway is long and has trees etc, it is semi rural
 
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nayr

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depends on what suits your needs, if your on a budget and dont mind digging a shallow trench the hardwired versions are the best IMHO.. no batteries needed, because thats how someone will now sneak up on you.. 2 years from now when the battery goes flat :)

if thats too far to get a wire then spend the money and save your back on the wireless version, just keep a spare 9v battery arround.. I never have a spare of them it seems.. If you want a loud bell outside and a volume controllable buzzer inside they have that, or multiple buzzers if you want one in bedroom and one in living room..

I got one for my grandma, with old fashoned bell and wired it up in the kitchen.. which was hearable from anywhere in her house and enough to get dogs excited when she was outside.. She had a cheap-o motion sensor based one but had trained her self to ignore it because all day squirrels/birds/and other randoms shit would set it off.. still had to bang on her door for 20mins.
 

camcamdance

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So basically i run this milton driveway signal hose across the length of my driveway, and then connect the RF box on one end and the end of hose plug on another, and then put the wireless receiver in my house and that should be it?

when something runs over the hose, it will trigger it and send a signal to the receiver?

that seems cool, I hope it works though for $200
 

nayr

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thats basically it; it is a bit pricey for the wireless version.. I installed the wired version, was a short run to the kitchen since driveway ran past it..

however compared to other wireless driveway sensors its worth the money, when it comes to notifications remind your self of the boy whom called wolf.. if its known to false alarm you'll train your self to ignore it; at 2am when you hear the chime.. are you going to go see whom is coming up to your house or are you going to curse at the infernal technology and roll back over while someone hauls your lawn mower off? If it only ever goes off when a vehicle is coming up the drive, you'll get your ass out of bed, regardless the hangover.
 

hmjgriffon

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defending the driveway is nice, but the garage is a much smaller area to defend and much less chance of all kinds of false alerts. motion sensors in the garage, contact switch on the door, some sort of physical way to stop from being able to move the mower, done.
 

hmjgriffon

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Also dogs are very nice security, if mine hears a buttefly fart in the back yard he loses his crap, get one, or 5, and have a doggy door that goes into the garage.
 
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