Security Systems - Recommendations?

[speeding_Infraction]

Trudeau is Bold Face Liar!

Bold is not the word I would use to describe trudeau.. lol

 

[Jerold]

I live in a court and trust the neighbor on dead end side, but the other neighbor has a lot of roommates (like 5or 6) and they change often. It's not a trust thing but I never know whose in the house or what's going on. The court prevents a lot of issues because people have to turn around. Which means drive bys are near impossible, package thieves have to take longer to get in and out. It's in interior lot and no exposed back or side fences. Living in a court, we all know each other's business... a bit too much some days.

It's not like the place is on the open prairie waiting for the banditos to raid my house, but I live in a city of 1M+ people and no police. No offense to any banditos of course. To violate my house, they need to get past the cameras, which means start hopping fences on the adjacent street. Then get past the dog, she only bites if she needs to. The neighbors dogs. Then actually break into the house. At that point the sensors will go off... hopefully and cops will come hopefully. They aren't coming through the front door, it's a steel gate and I generally leave soft targets, screen doors, open windows, etc unattended.

If I'm home it's a bit more complex at that point and it may become protection. I don't care much about the TV, Cars or money I will get more. But I do care about the well being of my family and I.

Thanks to all the firearm enthusiast that suggested more direct deterrents. But the is a difference between security and protection. Firearms fall into the protection (after the fact) category, and I love all firearms the equally, even Glocks ... except for the new Taurus models. They are pretty bad and as unreliable as my Simplisafe. Kahr is a bit marginal too. They have crappy triggers and are no fun to shoot.

How many cameras do you need?

I personally gotten a POE based security cam system, pulled new Ethernet cables to the cameras (yes, it was a hassle and pain to go thru the attic and walls) but worth it.
If you want a reliable and stable system.

I have mine setup to cover the backyard and blind spots of our house.

I have three exterior cameras at the moment but could probably go to 5 to cover all the bases. No cameras or mics inside the house. Outside we mind our manors and our mouths. Inside the house is our business and no one else's. Redundant cameras are useful.

I used to design PoE switches and it's solid technology, but I don't want to climb through the attic or under the house to install all this stuff. That probably means I need a place to store the mid-span switch and DVR, along with a UPS; which are way more than I want to deal with at the moment. But thank you , it is a good suggestion and if I ever move to a different location I might install that before I move in.

Also as a Canadian we are… WERE allowed to own handguns that we were only allowed to use at designated ranges, we’d never be allowed to use them to defend ourselves or especially protect our property.

“Call the police and wait for help”

Are you limited to metric sized or you can get normal calibers too?

Kidding aside, that's a growing sentiment in the US. Call the police. But if I talk to my police friends, they tell me it's unlikely they will show up and do what you gotta do. Which of course is the last thing I would want anyone to go through.

Every home in our area came with ring doorbells from the builder and it does not stop the punks/criminals.

Absolutely true. Cameras record crime and police prevent crime. It's unfortunate that people believe otherwise. However, if it's monitored and verified the company will call the police.

I had a friend with Deep Sentinel system and I would get challenged within 30 secs of walking to the front door.

-"State your business peasant!"​

It's not really an alarm but a monitored service. It was very good but it seemed a little bit intrusive at times. We would be standing in the driveway and get challenged by the security company. Then have to give them the safe word so they don't call the cops. Another time they went away on vacation and another friend was staying there to watch the dogs. However, the key in the lock box was missing. So he came to get me, so we went over, gave the safe word and broke into the house. It's all good if you know the magic word.

 

[gotnitro]

I live in a court and trust the neighbor on dead end side, but the other neighbor has a lot of roommates (like 5or 6) and they change often. It's not a trust thing but I never know whose in the house or what's going on. The court prevents a lot of issues because people have to turn around. Which means drive bys are near impossible, package thieves have to take longer to get in and out. It's in interior lot and no exposed back or side fences. Living in a court, we all know each other's business... a bit too much some days.

It's not like the place is on the open prairie waiting for the banditos to raid my house, but I live in a city of 1M+ people and no police. No offense to any banditos of course. To violate my house, they need to get past the cameras, which means start hopping fences on the adjacent street. Then get past the dog, she only bites if she needs to. The neighbors dogs. Then actually break into the house. At that point the sensors will go off... hopefully and cops will come hopefully. They aren't coming through the front door, it's a steel gate and I generally leave soft targets, screen doors, open windows, etc unattended.

If I'm home it's a bit more complex at that point and it may become protection. I don't care much about the TV, Cars or money I will get more. But I do care about the well being of my family and I.

Thanks to all the firearm enthusiast that suggested more direct deterrents. But the is a difference between security and protection. Firearms fall into the protection (after the fact) category, and I love all firearms the equally, even Glocks ... except for the new Taurus models. They are pretty bad and as unreliable as my Simplisafe. Kahr is a bit marginal too. They have crappy triggers and are no fun to shoot.


I have three exterior cameras at the moment but could probably go to 5 to cover all the bases. No cameras or mics inside the house. Outside we mind our manors and our mouths. Inside the house is our business and no one else's. Redundant cameras are useful.

I used to design PoE switches and it's solid technology, but I don't want to climb through the attic or under the house to install all this stuff. That probably means I need a place to store the mid-span switch and DVR, along with a UPS; which are way more than I want to deal with at the moment. But thank you , it is a good suggestion and if I ever move to a different location I might install that before I move in.


Are you limited to metric sized or you can get normal calibers too?

Kidding aside, that's a growing sentiment in the US. Call the police. But if I talk to my police friends, they tell me it's unlikely they will show up and do what you gotta do. Which of course is the last thing I would want anyone to go through.


Absolutely true. Cameras record crime and police prevent crime. It's unfortunate that people believe otherwise. However, if it's monitored and verified the company will call the police.

I had a friend with Deep Sentinel system and I would get challenged within 30 secs of walking to the front door.

-"State your business peasant!"​

It's not really an alarm but a monitored service. It was very good but it seemed a little bit intrusive at times. We would be standing in the driveway and get challenged by the security company. Then have to give them the safe word so they don't call the cops. Another time they went away on vacation and another friend was staying there to watch the dogs. However, the key in the lock box was missing. So he came to get me, so we went over, gave the safe word and broke into the house. It's all good if you know the magic word.

Thumbs up for the novel

 

[djrahbee]

Trudeau is Bold Face Liar!

Wait...he's not black? wtf..

 

[Jerold]

Thumbs up for the novel

LOL. I'm a bit wordy somedays. ... most days.

 

[Ron Burgandy]

“Also as a Canadian we are… WERE allowed to own handguns that we were only allowed to use at designated ranges, we’d never be allowed to use them to defend ourselves or especially protect our property.

“Call the police and wait for help””””

Thats insane .
Like legit insanity.
No offense

 

[fish]

 

[Dan B.]

Ain’t seen Ren & Stimpy in a minute!

 

[speeding_Infraction]

except for the new Taurus models. They are pretty bad and as unreliable as my Simplisafe. Kahr is a bit marginal too. They have crappy triggers and are no fun to shoot.

 

[Jerold]

ROFLMAO! I know that guy.

For the SimpliSafe Base Station, I called the support line. They were much more helpful than the chat or God forbid the forums. We re-booted it and he went through some back door and said it was stuck in a loop trying to do everything all at once. Bottom line it's a brick and needs to be replaced.

The good news is they will be sending a new one and crediting a month of service. Which is the correct response. The bad news is that I will need to reconfigure the entire system. All 41 window sensors, 19 glass breakage sensors, 9 smoke alarms, 6 CO sensor, 4 water sensors, 8 motion sensors, 16 cameras, 2 door bells and 3 keypads. ... OK I'm exaggerating but it's still its time spent that I could be doing more useful things.

I still need to loose this junk.

 

[fish]

Ain’t seen Ren & Stimpy in a minute!

Was a BIG Fan of them! LOL

Ok, so in my youth I was one of the idiots that produced this and Spoof Comics amongst others
we got in trouble with a few too
good times. we didn't make any money but we had a good time.

Haven't seen these in years! What were we thinking?!? Haha, I don't think we were. What a Motley Crew!

 

[Smilinbri]

I've got 11 of the POE REOlink cameras around my exterior. Not going to stop anyone, but nice to be able to view every inch of exterior house/yard and interior of garage when not at home. It records 24/7 so at least would have evidence. But not really a security system though and I just hope my numerous signs around property will discourage people or make them think there's also an alarm system. Only negative on those is the alerts suck. Rain and bugs set it off.

 

[Doom!]

The best home security is not owning anything worth taking. I know this to be true, my sister has never been robbed.

 

[Jerold]

The best home security is not owning anything worth taking. I know this to be true, my sister has never been robbed.

Very true. But if she has a roof over her head and/or family that cares for her, she still has more than many others.

Unfortunately, the only truly free people are the homeless and unencumbered. They own nothing, have no responsibilities or expectations placed on them. They have nothing to loose and everything to gain. They live without fear or consequences. Which is why they are an unstoppable force.

@Team Glock - I know YOU can stop them ... but there will be more, more than you have ammo. Eventually you will get tired of pulling that 8 lb trigger all day; they will overrun you and take your toy. Then they will have something to loose, which they will trade for a dime bag.

 

[Mr9Mojave]

Way off topic but I know there are a lot of smart people.

Any recommendation for Security Systems?

We have Simplisafe and it's utter crap. It worked fine for about a year. The last three months it's been flaky and I don't trust it anymore. Every week, it's reset this, reconfigure that, something is wrong but no one can tell me why. Last night the base station said something and turned into a brick with a fancy blue light. This is not a life saving device.

Nothing with Alexa, Google, Siri or other connected AIs that listen to my conversations.
Preferably something I can install in a weekend and is wireless.
I'm happy to pay for monitoring if it's reasonable.
Quality is more important than the cost.

I've always wanted to build a home with a fake/decoy entrance, lure any parasites into a an airtight room...then just gas them.

The real house would be underground, out of sight and out of mind...with illegal casino and japanese geisha bathhouse.

A couple of well trained maligators aka land sharks or german shepherds would be a good idea..with laser's on their heads.

 

[Bustedaw11]

We have Blink camera's here. Wireless and straight to our phones. I think we have 9 cameras on the property. I can see every inch of the property and if a squirrel farts im alerted. I like it.
I'm sure there's much better, but they work well and aren't very expensive. I don't have to pay monthly for anything either which is nice.

 

[WoodiE]

@Jerold 5 months after we bought our house, it was broken into. Waited the 45 minutes for the cops to finally show up and that was even after we initially thought the thief might still be inside.

Your police department may vary, but most times alarm systems are false alarms, so many departments treat them as low priority. After we were broken into we did what many others do, bought a home alarm system and went with ADT. It was ok for the first 6 months and then after that they constantly raised the prices.

My advice would be to take care of the house first. If you have big bushes that hide windows, trim them back. Install motion lights. Make sure your windows are locked. You used to be able to find ADT security yard signs on ebay or other marketplaces - it's been said that just having a security alarm system sign in your front yard reduces the likelihood of a break in by something like 80%.

Since you live in a neighborhood, one of the best things you can do is get to know your neighbors - something many people don't do. Watch out for each other, let each other know when you're going on vacation, etc so they too can keep an eye out.

Lastly, if you still want to go the alarm system route, I would find something with an external siren. This is going to make a much bigger difference than a monitored alarm system that will call the cops, and then they show up 20, 30, 40 minutes later. The external siren will draw a lot of attention and your neighbors will certainly hear it.

 

[Hector_Fisher]

We used to have alot of people perusing our relatively new neighborhood for unlocked cars. Once an unlocked car was stolen. Lots of people had their cars "handle-checked". I had put up a few cameras when we moved in. Once a guy tried out atleast two dozen keys he had on my Impreza's door to try and get in. I have video of that guys truck he was driving. I sent a screenshot of the car from the video to everyone on a local community page. Someone chimed in with basically "oh yeah, that's jimmy's truck".

Needless to say, I searched around social media. And yes, i found jimmy. Let him know we knew exactly who he was. Needless to say, haven't seen his truck since

While cameras aren't a sure deterrent, they are a minimum for me. Before having the cameras, I would have had no idea if someone tried to get into my car or case my house. Now I do. Knowledge is power.

Plenty of wireless DIY security cameras around. If you want to get crazy, go POE cameras and a closed circuit system.

 

[Doom!]

When our house was robbed it was in the middle of the day on a work day, they kicked in the back door, then opened up the garage door, backed a van in and loaded it up.
The stupid part is, we had a neighbor three doors down who was a deputy sherrif who was out front watering his lawn while this happened.

Our elderly neighbor from accross the street came out and she started yelling at them and they took off. they made quite a mess and cleaned out all of the electronics, jewelry, and over 1500 CD's. The cats would not go near a trash bag after that so that must be what they were filling up with. When I my neighbor called me at work I thought they were joking at first because it was April Fool's Day.

 

[Jerold]

@Jerold 5 months after we bought our house, it was broken into. Waited the 45 minutes for the cops to finally show up and that was even after we initially thought the thief might still be inside.

Your police department may vary, but most times alarm systems are false alarms, so many departments treat them as low priority. After we were broken into we did what many others do, bought a home alarm system and went with ADT. It was ok for the first 6 months and then after that they constantly raised the prices.

My advice would be to take care of the house first. If you have big bushes that hide windows, trim them back. Install motion lights. Make sure your windows are locked. You used to be able to find ADT security yard signs on ebay or other marketplaces - it's been said that just having a security alarm system sign in your front yard reduces the likelihood of a break in by something like 80%.

Since you live in a neighborhood, one of the best things you can do is get to know your neighbors - something many people don't do. Watch out for each other, let each other know when you're going on vacation, etc so they too can keep an eye out.

Lastly, if you still want to go the alarm system route, I would find something with an external siren. This is going to make a much bigger difference than a monitored alarm system that will call the cops, and then they show up 20, 30, 40 minutes later. The external siren will draw a lot of attention and your neighbors will certainly hear it.

That's true here. The SJPD won't come unless there is verified entry, meaning cameras. The alarms are almost guaranteed to be ignored.

In general the house doesn't look like a target, but you never know because crackheads don't make rational decisions.

I didn't think about the ADT signs. I purposely didn't put out the SimpliSafe signs because it tells the world what you have, you are protecting it and what exploits they need to look for.

The external siren is a great idea. I was thinking inside the house because it would be so annoying, but the outside one is "hey look over here!".

When our house was robbed it was in the middle of the day on a work day, they kicked in the back door, then opened up the garage door, backed a van in and loaded it up.
The stupid part is, we had a neighbor three doors down who was a deputy sherrif who was out front watering his lawn while this happened.

Our elderly neighbor from accross the street came out and she started yelling at them and they took off. they made quite a mess and cleaned out all of the electronics, jewelry, and over 1500 CD's. The cats would not go near a trash bag after that so that must be what they were filling up with. When I my neighbor called me at work I thought they were joking at first because it was April Fool's Day.

Wow. That completely sucks!