Motion sensor for a hallway -- difficult situation

[cornutt]

I have a hallway that I need to protect, and right now it looks like the best option is a motion sensor. At one end of the hallway are an entrance door with glass, and a window. About 12 feet away, I have a pre-wired box mounted in the ceiling, which is 8' high. The house is finished, and pulling wiring to any other location in the hallway would be difficult at this point, plus there's WAF to consider. And the other end of the hallway is open to a room, so putting a detector on the wall at that end isn't an option -- there isn't any wall.

So I'm stuck with the ceiling mount location. Plus, we have a cat. From what I've read doing searches here, manufacturer claims aside, the only truly cat immune motion detector is one that only covers heights above what the cat can reach.

Given that, I'm having difficulty finding a motion detector that fills the bill. What I have in mind is a beam detector that has a flat fan pattern, that I can aim downwards at an angle so it hits the end of the hallway at a height about 4 feet; that should be low enough to detect any adult who enters, but is above what the cat can reach (there's nothing at the end of the hall for him to climb on). It needs to fit fairly low profile to the ceiling, which is where I'm running into the problem. All of the beam detectors I've looked at are intended for wall mounting, and can only be used on a ceiling with a bracket that hangs down. That probably won't meet the WAF criteria.

Since I can't find anything like that, I'm considering taking a flyer on the Visonic DUO 240. It's a dual technology ceiling mount. It has a 360-degree pattern, which isn't needed in this application, and I'm a bit concerned the microwave could penetrate the exterior wall and cause falses. But since I can't find what I think I need, I may try it and just see how it does.

Anyone got any better ideas?

 

[Sandpiper]

Anyone got any better ideas?

No. I assume the door has a contact, and only the window is the item of concern. How about a glass break detector?

 

[cornutt]

Anyone got any better ideas?

No. I assume the door has a contact, and only the window is the item of concern. How about a glass break detector?

Yeah, it looks like this one stumped the panel. Unfortunately the door wasn't pre-wired, and I'm not sure I can get a line to that location now. I'm toying with a couple of ideas. One is to put in a wireless contact and back it up with a glass break, as you suggest. But it would be nice if I didn't have to worry about batteries in a wireless system. The other idea would be a dual-technology motion detector. That's kind of expensive, and I'm not sure it will work either (I'd have to set it up as an aux zone for a while and monitor it to see if the cat sets it off). But since I currently don't have any wireless zones, I'd have to buy a receiver, and that's kind of expensive too. Decisions, decisions.

 

[sic0048]

Depending on the system, most wireless contacts will last a long time on a single battery and generally will warn you when the battery is dying. So it isn't that bad. Of course if you don't have a wireless receiver yet, then you'll have the extra cost of getting one. But once you have it, you may find all kinds of wireless devices/contacts you want to add.

I'd definitely look into a wirelss contact for the door and window. You might also find a wireless PIR or beam detector that would fit the bill. If so, then you could use the wired box for a glass break. That would be the most rounded protection IMHO.

 

[cornutt]

Thanks everyone. Before I give up on the motion detector idea, I'm going to give the Aleph APX-101 multizone detector a shot. I'll set it up as an aux zone and log it for a couple of weeks. I can return it within 30 days. If it doesn't work, I'll probably do what sic0048 suggests, and go with a wired glass break and a wireless contact on the door. (The window isn't operable, so the glass break takes care of it.)

 

[cornutt]

Also: it still surprises me that no one makes a motion that can be mounted on a ceiling and fire a fan beam down a hallway or at a wall or door. I even looked at some of those spot detectors that are intended to protect paintings in museums. But all of them are meant to be mounted on the opposite wall, which seems kind of useless since they will detect every person that walks by.

 

[jrmahler]

Also: it still surprises me that no one makes a motion that can be mounted on a ceiling and fire a fan beam down a hallway or at a wall or door. I even looked at some of those spot detectors that are intended to protect paintings in museums. But all of them are meant to be mounted on the opposite wall, which seems kind of useless since they will detect every person that walks by.

Have you tried a spy4? It is a very low profile ceiling mounted curtain. I have mine pointed stright down in a hallway going to our living room. I don't see why you couldn't aim this anyway to see fit. You may even be able to mount it above the door at the end of the hall and aim it slightly downward and along the hallway.

http://www.visonic.com/Products/Wired-Dete...-control-motion

 

[cornutt]

Have you tried a spy4? It is a very low profile ceiling mounted curtain. I have mine pointed stright down in a hallway going to our living room.

I looked at the Spy4. It wasn't clear to me from the literature if it could be aimed to make an almost-horizontal curtain. Do you know if it is?

 

[jrmahler]

The manual shows it being able to be mounted on the wall (see introduction section under Spy4).

http://www.smarthome.com/manuals/7488.pdf

 

[cornutt]

I saw that, but I need to mount it on the ceiling.