Depending on the charge controller (MPPT), this is generally a bad idea. Solar charge controllers will control their current draw to get the maximum usable power out of a panel. If you do that with a 12v power supply, the charge controller will ramp up to the point where the 12v supply is starting to fold-back (current limit, dropping its voltage), in the best case. In the case of cheaper 12v supplies they pop. You can get controllers with charge current limits, or get 12v supplies that are rated for 30A (or whatever the charge controller is rated for), but this is a lot more complicated than just getting a unit designed to do this.
What UPS
- Thread starter Rickoo
- Start date
Yes, I have a customer that had a cabin broken into semi-recently. The socketed power meter is on the outside of the house. All the thieves had to do was knock the power meter out of the socket, and power to the cabin was cut.
I'm installing a camera system on a UPS, as well as their network equipment (router, gateway). Also tying the UPS alarm outputs into the NVR alarm inputs. Should hopefully help a bit if they do decide to cut the power again.
fenderman
Staff member
- Mar 9, 2014
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No he doesn't, and I know we probably should be starting with that over cameras, but monitored alarm systems have pretty limited value in my area. A self monitored system is about as good as anything out here.
He's wanting to actually be able to check on the place visually as well, so for what he's after cameras will work out better. If it isn't people causing damage outside it can be local wildlife.
fenderman
Staff member
- Mar 9, 2014
- 36,892
- 21,408
The alarm is about scaring away an intruder. Ring alarm is super cheap at 150-200 bux for the equipment and 100 bux a year for monitoring with cellular backup.
Flintstone61
Known around here
It's kinda funny....I was reading this thread, and behind me on the TV a family is diplaced by a house fire....I start to wonder what the hell kinda goofy stuff they have going on. Now everytime I see a house fire I will think of this thread....
I just measured on Google Maps, the next closest resident is 2.5 Miles away through hills and trees. An alarm will be uncomfortable maybe, but anyone breaking into his cabin knows no one can hear them out there.
The closest police department, which is manned by 2 officers I believe, is about a 45 minute drive away. Expect response time to be measured in hours, which has been confirmed to me by other people with monitored alarm systems in my area, some of which are much closer to police departments.
The thieves don't hit these cabins when anyones home, thats to risky. When no one is there though, they basically have the run of the place while they are there.
I'm in a very sparsely populated rural farming area. People are trying to protect large yards with multiple entrances, from people stealing gas/diesel stored on site, grain in their bins, or vehicles/tools in their farm shops. Cabins here aren't in "Cabin Country" where you have 50 cabins right side by side. It's in places where people are miles away from their closest neighbour, with alot of back country trails leading in and out of places, especially if you're on snowmobile/atv.
fenderman
Staff member
- Mar 9, 2014
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Again, miss the point. The thieves have no clue where the owner is or who gets notified by the alarm. It’s a deterrent. What’s your camera going to do if they wear a mask. You can also add audio to your camera system that plays a clip that says get the fuck out of here at the slightest motion detection.
IReallyLikePizza2
Known around here
I'm a bit late here, but I work in IT and I've worked with all sorts of UPS's for years. I'd skip Cyberpower entirely.
blog.networkprofile.org
Eaton is the best brand, but more expensive and hard to find. APC is my second choice, but because of how popular they are, they are cheap and spares are easy to find.
If you want line interactive, the SMX line is the best, but the SMT line is okay too. For Double conversion, go SRT, these are awesome
Cyberpower UPS's - Try something else...
This is now the fourth time I have come across these issues with a Cyberpower UPS. It means your UPS really isn't a UPS, so you may want to think twice about picking one up First thing to keep in mind is that these are line interactive UPS's, that means
blog.networkprofile.org
Eaton is the best brand, but more expensive and hard to find. APC is my second choice, but because of how popular they are, they are cheap and spares are easy to find.
If you want line interactive, the SMX line is the best, but the SMT line is okay too. For Double conversion, go SRT, these are awesome
That's the way with me, my house is out in the sticks, and police are probably 45-90 min away. My alarm goes to my neighbors,
so with 8 of us, there is probably someone around to come see what's going on. The Sheriff understands, and knows all of us,
so will call on our cell to see if he needs to come pick up the pieces.
I have not had any problems with them steeling gas since I started putting diesel in the gas tank.
I don't disagree with you at all. Whenever I meet with a new customer I start out by going over the downfalls of camera systems, including how tough it can be to get a good identifying picture of a person. At times I'm sure it seems I'm trying to talk them out of cameras. I also propose a range of security system equipment as well, depending on what they are trying to accomplish. Around here people have accepted the following as facts, and the thieves, who also live around here know these things to be true:
1. The police aren't coming, especially if no life is in danger. If you phone the police and you tell them you were robbed the night before, they'll ask if anyone was hurt. If you answer no, they are likely to say there isn't much they can do and they won't even come visit you.
2. Even if you do happen to get a good identifying shot of a person or a license plate, it probably does no good. They just have to deny it was them, or say their truck was stolen. People realize video footage from a camera system isn't going to be useable really to prosecute someone, that isn't why people get cameras around here.
So why do people still opt for camera systems? Honestly I don't know sometimes. It is really difficult to protect a rural yard. I had one customer have a gas motor stolen off their auger located on the other side of a treeline from their house, in essentially the same yard. To get into that part of the yard you can get there form the following diretions:
West - Drive past the house, no one is likely to go there
North - Drive through the field, accessible 2/4 Seasons of the year
East - Lane coming off gravel road, accessible 4/4 Seasons of the year, now closed off by a gate outside of business hours
South - Ditch off the highway, accessible 3/4 Seasons of the year.
North/East/South someone could enter that part of the yard and no one from the house would know. I can use Dakota Alert alarms to help cover some of that, but the open spot along the highway is 300 feet wide. You will get false alarms from wildlife, so you don't want a siren going off every time it is triggered either. If using a Dakota Alert alarm to monitor a remote entrance, I often recommend a camera to go along with it. That way every time the alarm goes off you don't have to go out there to see what it is. Also if there are people walking into your yard, do you want to be roaming around your yard as well looking for them?
So for this guy with the cabin, I did propose some security alarm options (just self monitored) to him and he wasn't really interested. Maybe I should push harder on getting something basic, a couple of door contacts, as well as sound a siren when it goes off, and send him an alert as well. The guy doesn't keep anything valuable in there, he is mostly concerned with the damage they cause getting in. And people/animals can cause lots of damage without even entering the building, which wouldn't be caught by the alarm system, hence the cameras.. When I was there he showed me his hot tub cover that had a chew mark on it from a bear, I guess the bears like playing with/destroying the hot tub cover, he'd like to be able to check on stuff like that remotely to make sure he doesn't have to make an unplanned trip out to his cabin.
Anyways I appreciate your suggestion. You're right, I should probably revisit the basic alarm system idea with him. For what he's wanting to accomplish, it isn't going to replace the cameras, but it would probably be best to have both. None of this is going to stop them from breaking in, just having the alarm go off may limit their time in the building. Yes, they don't know where the owner is, but if its 3 in the morning, and there are no fresh tracks in the snow, they will probably (correctly) assume that he isn't anywhere close to the cabin, and anyone coming to find them will likely be 30-45 minutes from reaching them at a minimum. The unfortunate fact is they will break in, do what they want, and leave before anyone can show up, there isn't much we can do to prevent that from happening.
The local grocery store was broken into just a couple of weeks ago. It happened at 5:30 in the morning, on the main street in town. They smashed the front door, ran in, stole some booze, beer, and the cash register. They were gone before the owner, who lives across the street, could get outside to see what was going on. An alarm, cameras, and being 5:30 in the morning on the main street on a weekday didn't stop them from breaking in. It probably limited their time in the building, but they never linger for long with any of the break ins, they tend to be in, grab what they need, and get out as quick as possible.
Anyways this has gotten long enough. I appreciate your insight. I think I might revisit the alarm idea with him. And if anyone has any great tips on how to secure a 10+ acre farmyard with multiple entrances, outbuildings, and pieces of equipment, I'm all ears.
That's the way with me, my house is out in the sticks, and police are probably 45-90 min away. My alarm goes to my neighbors,
so with 8 of us, there is probably someone around to come see what's going on. The Sheriff understands, and knows all of us,
so will call on our cell to see if he needs to come pick up the pieces.
I have not had any problems with them steeling gas since I started putting diesel in the gas tank.
The thing is, what do you do with a self monitored alarm? Are you actually going to get your guns and go out there and confront them? You HAVE to assume they are armed. So you want to ask your neighbours to put themselves in a dangerous situation to protect your property when you aren't at home? They aren't trained for that. I would NEVER ask my neighbour to go stop someone from breaking into my house if I was not at home. It isn't worth it.
Here is an article from an incident in Manitoba. It happened several hours from me, so it isn't close to nor does it impact me, but gives you an idea of how the legal system in Canada works:
A man wakes up in the middle of the night with an intruder stabbing him in the head. The man fights with the intruder, and ends up killing him in the fight. The man gets charged for killing him, and ends up with 3 years in jail. This is what happens when the confrontation begins with someone stabbing you in the head while asleep in your private residence. Can you imagine what would happen if you showed up to an unoccupied property with guns to stop a simple property break in? You'd have the book thrown at you.
Thank goodness the laws here are different then there.