Portuguese Prepper
Driveway Alarms: Perimeter Security & Early Warning
By the time someone is kicking your door, it is almost too late. You have seconds to react.
A Driveway Alarm buys you the most valuable resource in a survival scenario: Time.
If you live on a rural property or have a long driveway, knowing a vehicle has entered your perimeter 30 seconds before they reach the house gives you time to wake up, check cameras, and arm yourself if necessary.
Range: Professional systems work up to 4 miles away.
Magnetic Probes: The secret to zero false alarms.
No WiFi: These use radio waves, independent of the grid.
The “False Alarm” Nightmare
Cheap driveway alarms ($20) use PIR (Passive Infrared). They detect heat. This means every deer, stray dog, or blowing leaf with a heat signature will set off your alarm at 3 AM. After three nights of this, you will unplug it.
The Solution: Magnetic Probes.
High-end systems (like Dakota Alert) use a probe buried next to the driveway. It detects large moving metal objects (vehicles). A deer cannot set it off. A person walking cannot set it off. Only a car or truck will trigger the alert.
The Long-Range King: Dakota Alert
Dakota Alert is the industry standard for farms and large estates. Their MURS-based radios transmit over huge distances (miles, not feet). You can bury the sensor at the front gate, and the receiver inside your house will chime reliably through walls and trees.
Which sensor guards your gate?
Tactical Application
Do not rely on just one.
Zone 1 (Gate): Magnetic Sensor. Alerts you to vehicles.
Zone 2 (Porch): PIR Sensor. Alerts you to people on foot.
Most receivers allow you to set different tones for different zones, so you know exactly where the threat is by the sound of the chime.
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