my $60 garage alarm system

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nineball
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my $60 garage alarm system

Post by nineball » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:48 pm

I wanted to have a basic alarm/theft deterrent for the garage and called around to several local alarm places. My garage is detached and has electricity but no heat or phone lines. Every place wanted me to do the same thing - buy a cellular tower to install in the garage. This was not something I wanted to do. I was (somewhat) willing to pay the monthly fee for the alarm service but I did not want to add another cell phone bill to the mix.

Next step was to scour the net looking for a stand alone system but after weeks of searching I could not find what I wanted. I really just needed something that could be left in the cold, had a motion sensor and an alarm/siren and did not operate on batteries. No one makes a basic system like that that I could find so I decided to build my own.

Went to home depot and bought the following items:

outdoor motion sensor with 2 light sockets - $14.95
2 bulbs for sensor - $8
16v transformer - $10
knockout electrical box - $1

Then I stopped over at radio shack and bought a 108db 12v piezo siren for $9.

I wired everything up and mounted it on a piece of scrap mdf. I had an old shopvac that has a blown motor so I cut the cord off and wired it into the system for power. I spliced the transformer into the lines for the light sockets so that the alarm only sounds when the lights go on (motion is detected).

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This gave me the basic system that I wanted but the problem was arming and disarming the system. I did not want it to go off every time I opened the door. The solution was found at Target for $10. I bought a westinghouse remote control electircal thingy. It has one piece that plugs into an outlet and then has 2 outlets built into it. It comes with a wireless remote and it's intended purpose is to allow you to turn christmas lights on and off without having to unplug them. Works like a charm for my needs.

Now I have a motion sensor alarm that is loud as hell (12v siren getting 16v), 2 flood lights, it can be turned on and off from the car, no batteries to worry about dying in the cold and only goes off if someone enters the garage from either door. Total cost was around $60 after tax for everything.

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JeffM
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Post by JeffM » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:01 pm

Very nice! :thumbup: Funny enough, I was just dreaming up a setup like this in class today. :-P

I DEMAND A DETAILED HOW-TO!!! :lol:
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nineball
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Post by nineball » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:08 pm

uhhh ok. buy everything. screw the transformer into the side of the knockout box. connect the pos/neg leads into the pos/neg leads for the light sockets. connect the plug/power cord to the pos/neg leads for the motion sensor. connect pos/neg of the siren to the transformer. mount the box to a piece of wood. screw the motion sensor onto the box. plug the remote thing into the wall and the sensor cord into that. attach to wall.

done.

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Post by SOKADAO954 » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:20 pm

WOW A+ for creativity.

Very nice.
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Post by nineball » Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:19 pm

I have had quite a few inquiries into this little setup, mostly people asking me to build one for them. If anyone would like one I would be happy to build you one for cost and ship it but the cost would be slightly higher as I don't have any more spare cords laying around.

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jetas
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Post by jetas » Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:44 am

pretty cool idea. Did u put it by the door or inside the garage?
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Post by nineball » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:42 am

it is inside the garage door. if anyone enters the garage it will go off. if it was outside i would get too many false alarms.

r/tguy02
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Post by r/tguy02 » Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:32 am

good stuff, who was the poor sap that had to test it? :lol:
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nineball
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Post by nineball » Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:13 pm

hehe i was, but with the remote control in hand it wasn't bad. now once i add the live 110v wire into the mix i will let you test for me.

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Post by Passt » Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:22 pm

Damn that is creative! I'm going to have to do this for my garage. Too many goodies in there to leave unsecured!
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Post by Paul56 » Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:52 pm

Don't forget to add battery backup for the whole thing... serious crooks cut the electrical and phone before entering the building.
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nineball
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Post by nineball » Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:16 pm

well there is no phone line to worry about and all the electrical was ran underground but thanks for the thought. the next step will be the wireless camera setup connected to the computer inside. someone tipped me off to a nice setup that is motion activated and not only records to a computer but also sends a text message to my phone if triggered. luckily my router is strong enough that i have full access in the garage which has been very helpful for the times i needed to look up something online while covered in grease/oil/whatever.

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jetas
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Post by jetas » Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:59 pm

nineball wrote:it is inside the garage door. if anyone enters the garage it will go off. if it was outside i would get too many false alarms.
and that was the exact reason for my question. Cool shit
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nineball
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Post by nineball » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:20 pm

it is actually mounted now above the garage door facing down and all the wires are ran in the rafters.

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Post by TNK » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:23 pm

damn. i'm gonna hafta do something like this, i dont have the most secure garage in the world, and something like this would be PERFECT.
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Swordfish2Cowboy
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Post by Swordfish2Cowboy » Thu Nov 19, 2009 1:56 am

Wonder if it'll pick up cats. Maybe I should, you know, like, fix my windows so the cats can't get it.

Honestly, I was thinking more along the lines of a pressure plate wired to a 12 gauge. :D
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Post by r/tguy02 » Thu Nov 19, 2009 8:12 am

Swordfish2Cowboy wrote:Honestly, I was thinking more along the lines of a pressure plate wired to a 12 gauge. :D
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