Re: Thinking of installing myself...

[Robert L Bass <sales@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> So it's not neccessary to understand whether a PIR
> works better across the detector beam or that a
> microwave detector works better towards and away?

In most residential apps the motion detectors should be installed facing
diagonally across the protected room.  That's why I usually tell people to put
the detector in a corner facing into the room and not facing windows, etc.  That
way both the microwave and the PIR elements in the dual detector are likely to
trip from a burglar but not from extraneous stimuli.

Speaking of dual techs (which I greatly prefer over single tech detectors
anyway), no it is not necessary to worry about whether the PIR responds to
tangential motion and the microwave element works best with motion toward or
away from the detector.  Since both elements are installed in the same housing,
one is always optimized and the other never is.  That's not a problem if you use
a detector that's rated for the room size being covered.

> Just put em in the corner cause all perps walk to the corner!

Nope.  Corner locations are often ideal because the detector can cover a larger
portion of the room.  Many detectors cover a 90º angle or close to it.  Corner
locations allow such a detector to cover almost the entire room.

> No need to know what the range of the glassbreak is-