toxicmouse
Senior Member
I have a smallholding (homestead) that is remote. In the past 4 months it has been burgled 4 times. The issue is that I have a very large boundary and all the machinery/ equipment is sprawled around 2000m2, which is quite compact as the total stand size is 100 000m2. I need sensors that will detect when people are lurking about day or night, for which I am looking for ideas on this forum.
Part of the problem is that it will take 20 minutes to react to a situation, so the sensors themselves are at risk of being stolen, which is why CCTV cameras/ webcams with laptops for processing are not really an option.
IR beams would work but the burglars know exactly what the sensors look like and they are hard to hide. Maybe a few home made laser modules with sensors on the perimeter would be easier to hide. Any sensor that is obvious will probably be bypassed (and stolen).
PIR sensors are useless during the day but work just fine at night, and the PIR sensors that do work day/night are about 5 times more expensive than normal PIRs.
There are no trees, so LIDAR Lite V3 (sparkfun) is a nice option but I would need 6 units to cover the workshop area- gets pricey.
Ground radar worked out at R400 000 (USD 30 000), out of my budget.
Other ideas that I have thought of is vibration sensors in the ground (Distributed Acoustic Sensing) or some sort of capacitive cable on the ground to measure movements. I have no idea where to start with those.
Dogs are not effective as poisoning dogs is common here. I don't like the idea of a human guard as that is just putting a human life at risk.
My neighbours who live on their properties all use the same technique- lots of dogs and high powered rifles! I am not overly keen on following their example. Those who do not live on their property get everything stolen, even the roof, windows, doors and in one case even the bricks were stolen out of the brick walls- a real eye opener.
I would welcome any ideas.
Part of the problem is that it will take 20 minutes to react to a situation, so the sensors themselves are at risk of being stolen, which is why CCTV cameras/ webcams with laptops for processing are not really an option.
IR beams would work but the burglars know exactly what the sensors look like and they are hard to hide. Maybe a few home made laser modules with sensors on the perimeter would be easier to hide. Any sensor that is obvious will probably be bypassed (and stolen).
PIR sensors are useless during the day but work just fine at night, and the PIR sensors that do work day/night are about 5 times more expensive than normal PIRs.
There are no trees, so LIDAR Lite V3 (sparkfun) is a nice option but I would need 6 units to cover the workshop area- gets pricey.
Ground radar worked out at R400 000 (USD 30 000), out of my budget.
Other ideas that I have thought of is vibration sensors in the ground (Distributed Acoustic Sensing) or some sort of capacitive cable on the ground to measure movements. I have no idea where to start with those.
Dogs are not effective as poisoning dogs is common here. I don't like the idea of a human guard as that is just putting a human life at risk.
My neighbours who live on their properties all use the same technique- lots of dogs and high powered rifles! I am not overly keen on following their example. Those who do not live on their property get everything stolen, even the roof, windows, doors and in one case even the bricks were stolen out of the brick walls- a real eye opener.
I would welcome any ideas.