Those Driveway Alarms : How Sensitive are they??

[Clarence Martin]

Thinking of installing one of those wireless Driveway Alarms

BUT!!!!!!!


How sensitive are they ?? I would hate to have that thing ring every time a Deer, Rabbit, cat , Dog or whatever else runs across or up the driveway.

[Matt Meiser]

I looked into them quite a bit at our old house. I came to the conclusion that the only one I'd buy was the kind that has a proximity sensor that senses a large metal object. The photo eye and motion sensing types have too many problems with false triggers. There are some proximity models that have a wireless transmitter but they get mixed reviews so if I was going to do it I was going to install a wire all the way out--about 80'. I never did it.

[daryl moses]

The one I purchased was too sensitive. Anything and everything would set it off, no matter how or where I mounted it. Finally gave up and took it down.

[G. Brad Schmidt]

My Chamberlain consistently picks up rats from 10ft away. It's been in use for about five years now with no complaints.
Admittedly, it's not used conventionally, but if it can capture a small rodent at 10ft an automobile should be no problem.
It uses motion (read: passive infrared sensor PIR).

[Alan Rutherford]

If you mean those cheapies for $13-17 from Harbor Freight, for the money they're excellent.

Yes, they pick up critters. You can partly control that by not mounting too low and aiming above the ground. I've used one a couple of times when there was a raccoon hanging around the chickens to get me up in the middle of the night and dispose of the problem. Worked great for that.

They sense heat. They can miss a vehicle if the engine is too cold or if they don't "see" the engine because it's on the other end of the vehicle or they only see the side.

Moving shadows in strong sunlight might trigger them. Ours faces north and most of the drive is shaded. It works at maybe 75 feet with some trees in the way.

You can paint the shell black (not the sensor) to make it inconspicious. Tape over the red LED after you walk around to test the detection area.