That Dreaded Noise in the Night!

[Dennis1209]

Real life scenario, decisions and the legal ramifications.

History: In the past your burglar alarm went off at 3:00 A.M. Long story short, it took the county Sherrif deputy :40 minutes to arrive. You had to move from the bedroom to the kitchen to stop the screaming ear-piercing alarm on the control panel. You cannot hear the telephone when ADT calls, much less any conversation or anything else.

The deputy finally arrives and it was a false alarm, shifting box, insect crawling over motion sensor, or something tripped the sensor in the basement.

A few years afterward, you are awakened @ 2:00 A.M. to loud mechanical sounds and some banging, tapping. Half groggy you cannot tell where the noise was coming from, but it stopped when you got up and turned a light on. You do not call the cops because of suspicion. You stay up the rest of the night with your bed buddy in hand until dawn.

At first light you inspect the exterior of your house, and discover, sure enough, someone was using a tool(s) to pry to door open to your basement. You do not call the cops because you do not want to waste your time making a useless report.

You then harden your defenses to make entry into your home more difficult. You have your alarm panel moved into the bedroom so you do not need to leave, and can silence it from there.

Finally, the question and best course of action:

The ear-piercing alarm goes off at O-dark thirty again while in bed. After scraping yourself off the bedroom ceiling you have to think fast, 30 seconds to decide to turn off the screaming alarm to hear anything, before the call goes through to ADT. Or do I immediately turn it off so I can hear, and the alarm does not call it in?

Is this another false alarm I am thinking? Do I go “investigate” not knowing if it is another false alarm, but possibly the real deal? When ADT calls and asks, “do you need any assistance,” how would I know without checking first?

With the latter scenario, how will you react, and what steps would you take?

[MacGyver]

The monitoring company should generally call the home owner regardless of the “grace period” on setting off the alarm.

They should also be able to tell what sensor was tripped setting off the alarm.

Personally, I’d turn it off - if unsure of the source wait for a call and see what was triggered - If still unsure wait for the police to show up - then investigate alongside them.  That’s what you pay them for. 

[Wheelgunner]

My answer is in line with MacGyver. 

The next morning, I would probably cancel the alarm service. I tend to put more stock in dogs, reliable weapons, and friendly neighbors.

[Moped]

Make me a third, behind Mac and Wheelie. 

[monkeylizard]

It's going to be be one of 3 things:

1. A false alarm in which case you don't want the alarm to keep blaring. Turn it off.

2. An intruder who was scared off by the alarm. the threat is gone. Turn it off.

3. An intruder who wasn't scared off and the cops are 40 minutes away. You need to be able to listen for the intruder, hear and be heard on the phone call from the alarm central station/police, and possibly give the intruder commands that can be heard and understood. Turn it off.

 

Side note: Check with ADT to see if your volume can be adjusted. A home alarm doesn't need to be loud enough the wake the dead 3 doors down. It just needs to wake you up and let an intruder know that an alarm has been triggered. An NCAA basketball gymnasium buzzer isn't necessary.

If not, consider terminating ADT and getting a new alarm that doesn't suck and costs less. You can get a system where you can adjust the volume and duration of the alarm. SimpliSafe for example (lots of others do the same) lets you adjust the volume of the alarm and set the duration from 30 seconds to 8 minutes before it auto-silences. If Mr. Burglar hasn't fled in 30 seconds, he's staying for the duration.  See option 3 above.

[Alleycat72]

I'd check the the camera footage around the house as I sling my suppressed sbr, but that’s just me. LOL

[gregintenn]

I don’t have a security system, but otherwise, I’ve been there. 
I was awakened in the middle of the night to a thunderous banging sound. I wasn’t good and awake, and had no idea what had fallen, or what was going on. Finally woke up enough to grab a gun and go check things out. I looked the entire house over two or three times before I discovered where some meth head had tried to kick in the garage door to the basement.

As I live in a quite rural area, I had no idea where he’d come from nor where he went. I decided it was best to not go off down the hollow in the night looking for trouble.

I installed a Ring camera/floodlight over the basement door in place of an existing floodlight. If something similar ever happens again, I’ll be alerted on might phone as well as have video footage of who it was.

Personally, I’m not a big fan of audible alarms. I’d prefer to have the element of surprise on my side in such a situation.

Edited February 4, 2023 by gregintenn

[Alleycat72]

3 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

I don’t have a security system, but otherwise, I’ve been there. 
I was awakened in the middle of the night to a thunderous banging sound. I wasn’t good and awake, and had no idea what had fallen, or what was going on. Finally woke up enough to grab a gun and go check things out. I looked the entire house over two or three times before I discovered where some meth head had tried to kick in the garage door to the basement.

As I live in a quite rural area, I had no idea where he’d come from nor where he went. I decided it was best to not go off down the hollow in the night looking for trouble.

I installed a Ring camera/floodlight over the basement door in place of an existing floodlight. If something similar ever happens again, I’ll be alerted on might phone as well as have video footage of who it was.

Personally, I’m not a big fan of audible alarms. I’d prefer to have the element of surprise on my side in such a situation.

This is what I do.

I need a driveway alarm though. 

[gregintenn]

6 minutes ago, Alleycat72 said:

This is what I do.

I need a driveway alarm though. 

I’m at the end of a dead end road, and my neighbor up the road has a doorbell cam facing the road. He’ll have footage of anything that comes in or out. The way my property lays, you’ll either come by the basement door, or else scale a mountain to get to anything of mine.

Edited February 4, 2023 by gregintenn

[RED333]

I use dogs, we have 5, all bark LOUD, and a drive way alarm, uses an electromagnetic sensor buried in the ground and sends the signal wireless to the house. Even in silent mode the dogs can here the base unit "click" and they do their job, Barking LOUD!!!

Who would go into a house with dogs barking inside?

Edited February 5, 2023 by RED333

[BJB]

We have 3 dogs and ring cameras around our property. Best security you can get IMO 

[Dennis1209]

My closest neighbor is ¼ mile away in a rural setting. I know firsthand how a dog reacts to the screaming high pitch alarm; they go crazy whining. As you all know, you can become really attached to a dog (or any animal), and it deeply hurts when they die. I am hesitant to get another dog now.

In retrospect thinking a bit more, it is best to have a plan developed in advance and stick to it. As I mentioned, there is a 30 second delay when the siren goes off, before it signals ADT, for accidental activation purposes (I’ve done that twice over the years).

If you are like me, it takes a bit before your facilities and senses being suddenly awakened from a deep sleep. If there are too many false alarms, I understand there are penalties associated with them. That is why I am hesitant with potential false alarms.

I considered getting outside cameras, but when the alarm goes off, they are already in the house. With a groggy mind, fumbling with your handgun, tinkering with your smart phone trying to find the app for your camera, listening to the wife’s frantic babbling, etc. At 70 years old, that is more than I am capable of. Oh, to be 40 years younger!

So, God forbid, if it happens again, I will immediately silence the alarm, determine if I need to call 9-1-1 or not.

[Guest]

delete

Edited February 5, 2023 by OMCHamlin

[Sleep profit]

On 2/4/2023 at 8:38 PM, Dennis1209 said:

My closest neighbor is ¼ mile away in a rural setting. I know firsthand how a dog reacts to the screaming high pitch alarm; they go crazy whining. As you all know, you can become really attached to a dog (or any animal), and it deeply hurts when they die. I am hesitant to get another dog now.

In retrospect thinking a bit more, it is best to have a plan developed in advance and stick to it. As I mentioned, there is a 30 second delay when the siren goes off, before it signals ADT, for accidental activation purposes (I’ve done that twice over the years).

If you are like me, it takes a bit before your facilities and senses being suddenly awakened from a deep sleep. If there are too many false alarms, I understand there are penalties associated with them. That is why I am hesitant with potential false alarms.

I considered getting outside cameras, but when the alarm goes off, they are already in the house. With a groggy mind, fumbling with your handgun, tinkering with your smart phone trying to find the app for your camera, listening to the wife’s frantic babbling, etc. At 70 years old, that is more than I am capable of. Oh, to be 40 years younger!

So, God forbid, if it happens again, I will immediately silence the alarm, determine if I need to call 9-1-1 or not.

Understand completely it is always best to formulate a plan in advance. 

Edited February 8, 2023 by Sleep profit

[peejman]

My parents have an ADT system and we did too at our old house. I don't have one now because their monitoring fees got outrageous, defeating the system is super easy, and it's designed for detection, not prevention. 

There's no reason whatsoever for the interior alarm to be that loud. All it does is make you unable to hear anything for the following minute or two. In my experience, the "false alarm grace period" was much longer than 30 seconds.  More like several minutes. 

We have a big dog who barks his fool head off at noises.... while running the other way. But I'd guess the sound of a big dog is more intimidating than an alarm to the typical burglar. 

[pop pop]

We had driveway pirates Christmas Eve night on our road and another road across Hwy 96 E. I had all my doors locked on my cars and they never got anything from us. I don't leave valuables in my cars of trucks. some of my neighbors were not as lucky. 

I purchased a driveway alarm afterwards, and we have really used it. Purchased it from Amazon and it and one transmitter cost 245.00. It will take multiple transmitters. Installed it myself. I have the sender hid in a shrub beside the driveway and it had a magnetic detector and 50' of cable that runs back to the transmitter. On the other end of the cable is a magnetic detector which is buried in the middle of the driveway, and it sends a signal to the receiver inside the house. It even picks up my lawnmower, on the 2nd round, when my granddaughter mows beside my drive (60" cut") in my yard. My drive is 300 feet long and I can see every car coming in from my Lazy Boy chair and it wakes us up at night. My drive is situated such that all the cars must pass over the sender unit in the drive. I put the transmitter 50' up the drive so people just turning around don't set it off. I would highly recommend one. As far as I know it has worked every time someone comes in. The transmitter runs on 4, 9 V batteries, and they have lasted 14 months.

I am sure I run another porch pirate off a few months back because they come up my drive shortly after Amazon left a package on the porch. I took a few extra minutes to go outside to retrieve the package, and the dude seen me come out then backed 100' back down the drive and sped off. NO one comes that far up my drive and backs out to turn around. Like I said I recommend the alarm. It will let you know if your home.

My neighbor has one and is a retired Policemen. His alerted him to a guy coming to kill him. He testified against the thug when the county sent the guy to the pen. He got out and came to neighbor's house to waste him. Thank God the Deputy got there in time to arrest the drunken convict before he got into neighbor's house. Neighbor was in wait just inside the door with his 40 caliber on his hip and shotgun on the couch beside him. He is the one who told me to get the alarm. Glad I did. Hope fully it will wake me or let me know when someone comes. A few extra secs/mins will allow one to get up and come to himself, hopefully, if asleep. 

[Aloha8]

On 2/8/2023 at 10:01 PM, pop pop said:

Purchased it from Amazon and it and one transmitter cost 245.00. It will take multiple transmitters.

PP, mind sharing what unit you bought? We're planning to build a house in Old Fort (someday, real soon now ) and are planning to install some fashion of driveway alarm / alert. Just looking for actual experience with some options. Thanks.

[pop pop]

Aloha8, I don't remember the brand or model number. I purchased it from Amazon a good while back. Throwed the box away. I looked on the transmitter and receiver and they don't have any markings or brands on either. Sorry. 

[RED333]

I have a Dakota Alert system, mine is an older version, only 1/4 mile transmit range. It works great for us.

Here is a link for a newer model, 1 mile transmit range. Yes it is a bit of money.

https://www.amazon.com/Dakota-Alert-DCPA-4000-Wireless-Driveway/dp/B07PDZPF31/ref=asc_df_B07PDZPF31?tag=bngsmtphsnus-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80814222102124&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584413750059758&psc=1

[Jeb48]

I have a cheaper driveway monitor, it works 95% of the time but the sensor is buried beside the drive, would probably be better under the drive. Sometimes the UPS truck makes it in without setting it off and sets it off on the way out.

Mighty Mule Wireless Driveway Alarm (FM231) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003765W0W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have been thinking of buying the Dakota, hoping it would be 100% reliable, but would still like to burry beside the drive if possible. Would be hard digging to the center of the drive.

I live on a 1200' drive with a corner and lots of trees so the house is barely visible even in the Winter so I get very few unexpected cars. The alarm I have is setup by the corner about 300' from the house. I use to have it about 200' from the entrance but it was really unreliable with the trees and hills.

 

[pop pop]

ALOHA8, I have the Dakota system RED 333 has also. Thanks RED.

[Aloha8]

21 hours ago, pop pop said:

I don't remember the brand or model number.

No worries, pop pop. I have a year (at least) to finish researching.

[RED333]

The system I have is "line of sight" system, and is 100% reliable. However lighting will set it off as a false signal. Mine has 4 extra "switches" to activate other warnings, hook it into a house alarm, or make a light come on, or activate another horn to make noise for out side. The one draw back to mine is it works on house power, however the power supply that plugs into the outlet is a transformer that makes 12 v DC for the base. So just a matter of making a 12 v DC battery pack to power the base. The sending unit down at the drive way is powered by CR123 battery's, 8 of then. Battery's last about 18 months.

Something the wife does not like, the riding mower sets it off every time I drive by. Where it is at I drive by about 4 times every time I mow the yard. There is a volume control, but the base makes a click sound when it goes off, the dogs can here it across the house. Amazon delivers at 0 dark 30 sometimes, I am up but the wife is not, she is after the alarm goes off.

Spend the money just one time, you will not regret it in the long run.

[tacops]

I use the Chamberlain outdoor wireless motion alarm system.  I have one on the 300' driveway which works very well.  I added additional transmitters around the property perimeter and zones set to different tones. (1, 2, 3, 4 beeps etc.) this tells me from which direction or sensor zones have been activated.  I also have one located inside my detached garage in the event some one made it inside there.  They can be beaten if you know where they are yet they are concealed.  I have them set to prevent my dogs from activating them.  On rare occasions I have had deer activate my driveway sensor.

[QuackerSmacker]

On 2/12/2023 at 6:44 AM, Aloha8 said:

No worries, pop pop. I have a year (at least) to finish researching.

Hey fellas, regarding system from Amazon, in my experience Amazon order history is retained until manually removed, so if you didn't do that, just look back at your order history on the website to see exactly what you got.