Re: Alarm questions indoor/outdoor stuff

[JoeRaisin <joeraisin@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'll leave most of the alarm comments to others as Bob has pretty much
covered the bases.  I'll just add that while the Lynx is a convenient
and portable solution it remains much more vulnerable than a standard
alarm panel.  Adding another siren can help.

The main thing I wanted to comment on was your question about whether or
not cameras are of any use if your not watching them all the time.

Cameras serve two purposes:

One, real time observation - in the event you hear a disturbance you can
check on the exterior of your home without exposing yourself to danger.
  Many folks use them to monitor the driveway and/or front door so they
can see who is here.

Two, evidence after the fact - IMHO cameras not connected to some sort
of recording device amounts to foreplay without the sex.  The real value
(again IMHO) of a camera be it in a commercial or residential setting is
in having the recorded images to use as evidence against the nefarious
asshats so it will be a while before they break into someone else's home.

If you have the money I would recommend to get the camera system and a
recorder, set the recorder to 'record on motion' without triggering an
alarm, you have the alarm system for that.

When you wake up in the morning you can view the nights wildlife
activities while downing your first cup of coffee.  I would bet you have
a lot of return visitors that your gf would love to give names to and
start setting out feed.

I've thought about that before and IF I lived in the country or even
semi-rural I'd do it just because I love watching critters.

Oh yeah - and you just might see someone lurking around...

With digital video recorders you and check the stored images without any
interruption in the recording.

I do suggest that the actual recorder be placed in a non-obvious spot
and secured in some fashion.

There is a thrift store here that is run by the Women's Resource Center
that had a break-in, after the thieves determined there wasn't anything
worth stealing they took the DVR and left.