ELKM1 Gold and ISY Geo-fence of sorts

Looking for advise for somewhat a DYI newbee  here. Have Elk m1 Gold and ISY 994i.  Looking to set up somewhat of a geo-fence of sorts around the parameter of my home as final goal but want to start with the front yard/driveway.  Trying to decide what is best way to accomplish this.  This project would be if a vehicle or person enters the driveway/walkway to the front of house, the action would turn on all front lights (if dark) and voice notify "visitor". I can set this part up just fine.  I reviewed the Insteon Motion Sensor for my trigger but was kind of getting mixed reviews.  Than I saw that I could use a Dakota Alert Series 3000 with EZSnsRF which seemed to have better reviews.  I do have the occasional small critters (cats) so wanted to avoid false reporting as much as possible. If I like the results from the front yard, I will continue with back and side geo-fense (we back up to open park land so worry about easy in for intruders). The Dakota would allow up to 4 sensors that could be defined as specific breeches which seems to fit the bill.
 
My question here for your seasoned veterans is which would you recommend, the Insteon Motion Sensors or the Dakota Alert?  Or do you have a different suggestion all together that I did not come up with?  I am only looking for sensor to alert when entering the property as I am using my entry door alarm sensors to trigger turn on front or back lights for exiting purposes.

Hi Linda,
 
Disclosure: I work for Absolute Automation Inc, which is a Dakota Alert distributor.
 
That being said, a couple of quick suggestions:
 
1. If you decide to go with the Dakota Alert, definitely go to the 2500 line. The 3000 has been discontinued, has a weaker transmitter and is typically more expensive.
2. If you need to detect people, and obviously want to avoid false alarms, look at the DKBBT2500 dual break beam sensors. They've been working very well for us and can be placed up to 300 feet apart to form a 'break beam' perimeter.
3. The DKDCR2500 receiver for the system has a corresponding Form C (NO and NC) output for EACH of the four zones, so you can easily have your M1 activate different responses based on the zone being triggered.
 
I haven't had any experience with Insteon motion sensors, so maybe someone else can offer advice on those.
 
I'll include some links below to both the BBT-2500 and DCR-2500 as well as the DCMT-2500 (straight PIR motion sensor).
 
BBT-2500 - 
 
DCR-2500 - 
 
DCMT-2500 

LindaWCCA said:

Or do you have a different suggestion all together that I did not come up with?  I am only looking for sensor to alert when entering the property as I am using my entry door alarm sensors to trigger turn on front or back lights for exiting purposes.

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This might not work for a whole perimeter, but I use an IP camera with a digital output to the Elk combined with line Sighthound software's line crossing triggers (or Blue Iris software's motion sensing options) to to trigger my Elk rules for lights and emails/texts with pictures of who has violated the perimeter.  There can be issues with shadows, but I get pop-up photos and alerts this way, which I really like when I am not at home.

Thank you very much and I will hunt down this path I think.  I plan on connecting to the ISY instead of the ELK. I thought I had read somewhere that the 3000 was compatible with ISY but didn't see the 2500.  I'll go back and check again.  But I really like you idea. Thanks you very much.

Thanks for the info.  I do have a hardwire security camera system that works like a champ and I did try to "motion sensor" but I ran into problems with the spiders and cobb webs interfering all time. Also seemed to lose the best security picture if I wanted the motion detection. But I will checkout the software you mentioned as I might work with adding a dedicated IP camera just for the motion activation of the lights.  Thanks again for your input.

It looks like you already have an answer, but I had begun drafting my response so I will share my thoughts anyway. 
 
I’m a newbie here too with ISY and ELK M1, and I’ve been using the Insteon motion sensors outdoors in Minnesota for a year or so and they work well for my purposes (which is more convenience and deterrence than security detection).  They’ve held up well for me, and I’m using them to turn on lights after dark and send me a notification.  They’re relatively inexpensive and wireless, so it was quick and easy for me to deploy them.  They’re easy to move as well which has been good for me as I fine-tuned the coverage.  I also don’t mind tinkering and getting an occasional false alarm.  To reduce false positives, you could write a program to only notify if say two or more sensors are tripped within some time period.  Specs say range is 150’ line of sight (if betting, I might take the under there) but I’m only about 25 feet away.  These are not security devices but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with their performance. 
 
I also use a hardwired photoelectric beam on the front steps leading to my front door to send a picture of the visitor, turn on lights, etc. 
 
There are pros and cons to a motion sensor vs. a photobeam sensor.  A few that I can think of are that a motion sensor can cover a larger area (could be good or bad, depending on application).  A properly configured photobeam probably has very few false alarms.  However, a pedestrian could also “step over it” or crawl under and not be detected (vehicle, not so much…).  You’d probably need to think about the proper height for the photobeam.  Or, possibly consider an outdoor curtain sensor.
 
The solar charging batteries on the Dakota devices seem interesting, but this may also limit the locations you can place them (e.g. will they work if placed under a leafy tree?).  I know you said you would like to replicate the front yard to the back yard, but you may also have different needs that require different sensors at each location. 
 
Just my $.02

Thanks for replying.  I did pick up one Insteon Motion Sensor to play with since I wasn't sure what route I was going to go.  I did worry about them outside and withstanding the elements but I think if they held up outdoors in MN should be a piece of cake in CA.  I might play around a bit with the Sensor and see what happens. If figured I have to really do some adjustments for the front yard so it doesn't pick up every car or person that comes by until they step onto my property.  I think that was my original thought process that maybe the driveway alert would produce better results that the motion sensor that was so line of sight. But I will play with it and see if it can be controlled enough to manage the front.
 
Thanks again!