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[sheddyian]

As I sometimes have a variety of computer equipment in my workshop/shed, I thought it might be best to fit some sort of alarm to it to detect and deter people who don't fancy paying a few quid to a charity shop for old computer bits 

Searching Amazon and ebay, I keep coming across the same battery operated PIR alarm with two remote keyfobs for around the £5 - £6 mark.  Various brands, even the packaging looks the same except the printed insert card with the manufacturer name on it.

A bargain, but reviews are mixed - good for price, works well, stopped working soon after buying, false alarms, keyfobs are all the same (so could be disarmed by someone with same alarm at home) etc.

There's also a numeric keypad alarm with a door sensor (no PIR) for similar price, again mixed reviews.

Then the price of alarms suddenly jumps to the £70 - £100 mark, for multi-zoned alarms with keypads, auto diallers etc.

All I really wanted was something reliable, with ideally a PIR and a door entry switch, that wasn't too expensive.

Does anyone have any other suggestions.  Anyone else fitted (or made?) something they think is good?

Ian

[Black Sheep]

Do you have an existing house alarm ?? If so, I would be sorely tempted to link it in to that, and purchase a PIR (does it really need a door contact as well ?? How bloody big is the shed ??  ) Make sure the PIR conforms to the lower ambient temps that we experience in winter. 

[sheddyian]

Thanks for the suggestion Black Sheep which is very sensible except.. sadly I don't have an existing house alarm   

Your comment on the temperature range is interesting - I wonder if that's the cause of all the false alarms on the cheapo one I was looking at?

The shed is larger than average, but not enormous (sadly).  However, I liked the idea of having more than one sensor as a belt-and-braces approach.

Ian

[silversurfer44]

I have an alarm for my shed Ian. It is battery operated and has a PIR + radio sender receiver. The receiver is in my bedroom, the PIR unit is attached to the outside of the shed facing the house and is protected from the elements by the eaves of the shed. I can fully guarantee it's effectiveness as it did indeed deter a potential rogue from breaking into the shed. I sleep with my bedroom window slightly ajar, so when the guy tripped the alarm he heard it himself and scarpered. I had all this recorded on my cctv system so was able to give a picture of the guy to the police, who were very interested.  Now it would depend on the distance and obstacles, such as walls etc, whether this type of system would be of use. The PIR sender has been open to the elements in all seasons. The only protection is the eaves of the shed. It's not the cheapest on the market, but it works and works well. If you are interested I will post more details for you.

[Black Sheep]

Thanks for the suggestion Black Sheep which is very sensible except.. sadly I don't have an existing house alarm   

Your comment on the temperature range is interesting - I wonder if that's the cause of all the false alarms on the cheapo one I was looking at?

The shed is larger than average, but not enormous (sadly).  However, I liked the idea of having more than one sensor as a belt-and-braces approach.

Ian

My advice .................. get one installed NOW, before the horse bolts !! You can pick up a decent system with a couple of passives, couple of door contacts, back-up battery, outside bell and a roll of wire for approx. £70 the last time I installed one for a mate of mine.

Alarms are so easy to install, it's untrue. If you're semi-competent at running cables, and can read a basic diagram that would struggle to test a 15yr old, then you'll be capable of putting your own in. The only 'thang' you may need assistance with, is connecting to a mains (240v) feed, but again, if you're savvy and experienced enough, this too shouldn't be an issue ??

Do it !!!! 

[Berrick]

Hi,

Would something like this do you?

http://cpc.farnell.com/defender-security/ma-300/wireless-alarm-system/dp/SR07821

They do others, might be worth a look.

I also second Black Sheep, alarm installation (wired) isn't difficult, you need to think about where you are going to put IR sensors for various reasons or if you can use them at all if you have cats and dogs. Use the link below to see if you have one of these shops near you for a good range of alarms

http://uk-eshop.adiglobal.com/Company/Pages/storeLocator.aspx

[Black Sheep]

Good stuff from Berrick.

I've installed hundreds of alarms over the years (as 'Foreigner work', not as my day-to-day job), going back nearly 30yrs. I needed the extra cash back then when the kids were growing up. 
I had the odd issue with tamper switches, and a couple of faulty remote keypads, but overall the wired systems were pretty much trouble-free.

Then one guy asked if I could fit an alarm he had already purchased. It was a 'wireless' one, with the only 'wired' bit being the outside bell to the panel.  My god !! If I went back once I went back a dozen times on faults, until we ripped the damned thing out. The guy had got it down to interference especially when Taxi's went passed his house. I kid you not, this is what he said.

Since then I wouldn't touch 'wireless', but with technology changes and a recco from SS above, maybe 'wireless' is the better option for you ?? 

[Berrick]

Gotta agree 100% with Black Sheep again, wired all the way.

Having said that I just found out that with the introduction of the PD6662-EN50131/1 standard for wireless alarm equipment, such equipment will use the recognised 868mhz radio band frequency. So I'm guessing not very likely to suffer interference. Wonder if you can get jammers?

Still an alarm is a deterrent, if it is constantly going off all that happens is the neighbors get niffed and when it does go off due to a burglary they ignore it

[neilius]

We've had a wireless one for a 4 years now, as we rent it's easy to take it with us when we move. The siren has a 6v lead acid battery inside and is charged by a solar panel - ideally the siren shouldn't be installed on a north facing wall. The sensors (PIR and magnetic contact switches for doors) have their own batteries. So it all works when there is a power cut. It's damn loud and you can get versions of it that incorporate zones so you can arm different parts of the installation at a time.

It's been with us in 3 houses now, only thing that was a challenge was going up a ladder to install the siren on the wall. It's been extremely reliable, with us only needing to replace the battery in the siren after a few years of use.

It's activated by key fob controllers which is really convenient and there's also a keypad which we have as a backup. You can buy more fobs and sensors to expand it as well. Can't fault it. If I owned a house I'd probably go for a wired one though.

Edit: regarding jammers, these systems have jamming detection built in and will go nuts if they're jammed. Ours operates on 433MHz but the newer 868MHz ones seem to be more secure - more possible 'house codes' than the 433MHz ones etc.

[sheddyian]

My advice .................. get one installed NOW, before the horse bolts !! You can pick up a decent system with a couple of passives, couple of door contacts, back-up battery, outside bell and a roll of wire for approx. £70 the last time I installed one for a mate of mine.

Alarms are so easy to install, it's untrue. If you're semi-competent at running cables, and can read a basic diagram that would struggle to test a 15yr old, then you'll be capable of putting your own in. The only 'thang' you may need assistance with, is connecting to a mains (240v) feed, but again, if you're savvy and experienced enough, this too shouldn't be an issue ??

Do it !!!! 

Yes, I know I probably ought to!  I'm happy to tinker about with the electrics, so would prefer a mains powered one with a battery backup.  Like you, I'm a bit wary of wireless for such things.

It'll happen eventually.

I'm not being entirely complacent.  I seem to live in a rather sleepy sort of place where nothing much happens.  The neighbour 2 doors up has an alarm (which I've never heard go off - might be a dummy one) but nobody else around here seems to have one.

If burglary comes up in conversation, my elderly neighbour will always talk about the time when someone cut a hole in the wire fence in his back garden and was caught trying to make a hole in the back of his shed to get in to the tools. 

Since this was over 20 years ago, and there aren't any more recent events to discuss, it gives you an idea of what it is like around here 

My shed got focus for an alarm first because there's a window you can look in through and spot computers inside, and it'd be far easier to break into than a house.

Still, might catch them on my gardencam webcam whilst they're prowling around 

Ian

[neilius]

Put up a curtain so they can't see inside?

[sheddyian]

Thanks Nelius for the info on jamming - this was my 2nd concern about wireless after fears of false alarms triggered by passing taxis, mobile phones or the local Marconi spark-gap transmitter club.

Also thanks to Silversurfer44 for info on the portable wireless unit - I think I've seen that one when I was looking at different alarms the other evening.

In the end, I found a Friedland (of doorbell fame) alarm unit that does pretty much exactly what I want.  It has a central unit with a siren in it, armed/disarmed with a programmable remote keyfob.  The central unit has a PIR detector in it, plus it also has a separate door sensor, AND an additional sounder unit with "strobe light" (actually an LED).  All battery operated (might look into keeping it running with solar panels!)

It also has the feature that if the wire to the door sensor or the extra sounder are cut, the alarm sounds.  (Extra sounder has it's own battery).

I found it on ebay for £15 (new); from a bit of looking around it seems it's been discontinued (hope not for reliability reasons) but this guy seems to have some stock lying around.  B&Q used to sell them for £26 and it got good reviews at the time.

Ian

[sheddyian]

Put up a curtain so they can't see inside?

I was considering that, though I like the daylight!

Was also seriously considering getting a small comfy chair to put in the shed.  I saw an old 2 bar electric fire with lflickering log effect for sale in a junk shop a while back, and my mind started wandering about getting it and putting it in the shed, then building a little fireplace around it with scraps of wood and....

no this is getting silly.   

Ian

[tickmike]

A dummy alarm box is cheaper still  .
Or join 'freecycle' and get a free alarm.

In my shed/workshop I have heating, chairs, desk, radio, lighting, air-con (open the 4 windows, 4 vents and the door    ) stairs to first floor storage area,insulated walls/ floor/roof, double glazed windows, complete set of kitchen units and worktops out of our village hall when they had new one's , sink with hot and cold running water, toilet room, power, phone line.etc.
And 200 Mtrs pipe under the clay roof tiles (Hidden Solar collector for free hot water for the main house.)

All built be me 

[sheddyian]

In my shed/workshop I have heating, chairs, desk, radio, lighting, air-con (open the 4 windows, 4 vents and the door    ) stairs to first floor storage area,insulated walls/ floor/roof, double glazed windows, complete set of kitchen units and worktops out of our village hall when they had new one's , sink with hot and cold running water, toilet room, power, phone line.etc.
And 200 Mtrs pipe under the clay roof tiles (Hidden Solar collector for free hot water for the main house.)

All built be me 

My dream shed!