Re: Mounting PIR's outside

[Robert L Bass <sales@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Anyone have any suggestions about mounting PIR's
> outside the house at about waist level in a secure
> enclosure?  I'd like something that couldn't be popped
> off the brickwork with a screwdriver in 5 seconds or
> less and perhaps had a keylock to facilitate easy
> *legitimate* access to the device.

One device that comes to mind is an STI enclosure.  They're tough
enough to slow but not stop an attacker.  They make a couple of
"Motion Detector Damage Stoppers" which you could use but they're
kind of ugly for a residential app.  These cost about $16-17
retail.  Here's a URL for one of them.
http://www.sti-usa.com/product.asp?PartNo=STI-9620

There are some vandal resistant motion detectors on the market.
Napco makes one they call vandal resistant but the lens can
easily be destroyed with a sharp object, exposing the circuitry
to attack.  The weakness is common with PIRs since the lens is
almost invariably made of thin plastic.

> I'm thinking of X-10 "Eye" series of PIRs...

Every X10 type motion detector I've tried falsed repeatedly.
Numerous others have indicated nothing but trouble from them.  It
seems there's insufficient attention to QC for anything X10 to be
used for security.

> I recall seeing wire-cage locking thermostats in office
> buildings but don't see anything like that on the net.

Those were probably from STI.  They make tons of them.  I used
one in a public area of my old church in CT years ago to cover a
dummy thermostat (the real one was hidden from view).  Almost
every week someone would "adjust the temperature", presumably
using a screw driver or coat hangar.  :)

> I assume chicken wire isn't going to massively inhibit
> the detection function of the PIR but that plastic
> enclosures might.

Chicken wire would be useless -- too flexible.  Plastic
enclosures would likely block the PIR completely.

Regards,
Robert L Bass
www.BassBurglarAlarms.com


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Regards,
Robert L Bass
http://www.bassburglaralarms.com