Just finished our new house with a long drive. Home Depot has an wireless alarm. Is it any good? Any advice?
Driveway alarm
- Thread starter Maggiemaeodie
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We have a 500 foot drive and I got a Dakota alert driveway alarm. They have three options to put at the end of your drive:
1- motion sensor. These are prone to give off many false alarms. If a leaf falls, deer walks by, shadow passes over etc you can get a false alarm.
2- magnet sensor. When a car drives by and interrupts the magnet field created by the sensor it gives off an alarm. They don’t always pick up every car/vehicle and can also pick up vehicles that drive near your driveway but not on it.
3- air hose. These are like the old service station air hoses that ring a bell when driven over. They are by far the least high tech but also the most reliable.
I went with the air hose and got 3 receivers. One upstairs, one downstairs and one out in the attic of my detached garage/ shop So I can hear it if I’m in the shop or working outside. They are available on Amazon and I highly recommend the Dakota brand based on my experience.
1- motion sensor. These are prone to give off many false alarms. If a leaf falls, deer walks by, shadow passes over etc you can get a false alarm.
2- magnet sensor. When a car drives by and interrupts the magnet field created by the sensor it gives off an alarm. They don’t always pick up every car/vehicle and can also pick up vehicles that drive near your driveway but not on it.
3- air hose. These are like the old service station air hoses that ring a bell when driven over. They are by far the least high tech but also the most reliable.
I went with the air hose and got 3 receivers. One upstairs, one downstairs and one out in the attic of my detached garage/ shop So I can hear it if I’m in the shop or working outside. They are available on Amazon and I highly recommend the Dakota brand based on my experience.
I put a Dakota MURS kit (https://www.dakotaalert.com/store/murs-alert-products/murs-bs-kit/) at our house - transmitter uses passive infrared detection and runs on batteries. Receiver is in the house about 500 - 550 feet away and higher in elevation - no major obstructions but terrain and trees. Unit has been flawless except occasionally we pick up some other radio traffic - might be law enforcement or fire/ambulance; there are switches to change frequency but have not tried that yet. Overall pleased with the unit.
I'm about 800 feet from the road, but placed the unit so that it was not obvious to traffic coming in; if they pass our transmitter we know that it's not a mistake. We do get alerts on deer and other critters as well.
I'm about 800 feet from the road, but placed the unit so that it was not obvious to traffic coming in; if they pass our transmitter we know that it's not a mistake. We do get alerts on deer and other critters as well.
It is pretty nice to be standard out front every time some one comes up the drive!
Here is the transmitter, hose and one receiver- https://www.amazon.com/Dakota-Alert-Wireless-Vehicle-DCRH-2500/dp/B006GUNRGM
Here are the extra receivers of you want to put hem in different locations- https://www.amazon.com/Dakota-Alert-DCR-2500-Cycle-Receiver/dp/B00OYVQBV8
Here is a pocket receiver that can be taken around the house/property with you-
https://www.amazon.com/Dakota-Alert-Wireless-Detector-PR-2500/dp/B00I0PIGZ8
Here is the transmitter, hose and one receiver- https://www.amazon.com/Dakota-Alert-Wireless-Vehicle-DCRH-2500/dp/B006GUNRGM
Here are the extra receivers of you want to put hem in different locations- https://www.amazon.com/Dakota-Alert-DCR-2500-Cycle-Receiver/dp/B00OYVQBV8
Here is a pocket receiver that can be taken around the house/property with you-
https://www.amazon.com/Dakota-Alert-Wireless-Detector-PR-2500/dp/B00I0PIGZ8
I don’t know what you are looking at specifically, but I have customers that have replaced the Mighty Mule. They weren’t happy because sensor to receiver range is only a couple hundred feet, and the alert/siren wasn’t loud enough. The solutions to those problems is significantly more expensive than the Mighty Mule, unfortunately.
