Recent content by brettahale

That looks perfect for side yard and might keep the light from blasting the neighbors. :)

BSR, I considered the low voltage but I didn't see anything that would be bright enough for security. I think you're right about power though the more I research things.   Pete, That actually is a great plan. My grill is directly on the fence and it would be nothing for me to run an outlet to...

I need some additional lighting around my house and one of the more tricky spots is above some windows. It seems putting up a wireless light would be more cost effective. This is also the light for my grill area so it'd be nice for it to be enough light to be able to cook at night.   I've been...

What about these glass breaks? http://www.smarthome.com/united-security-products-724-window-bug-glass-break-detector.html   Also, the doors have some old roller plungers. Are plungers preferred or do recessed magnetic contacts work here as well?   I'm now looking at these for my windows since...

If you happen to dig that up, I would love to read it. That seems like it could be a major problem with they way things are progressing.

I would hope you don't need an internet connection to make these work. I get that their learning and logic is cloud based but they have an open API so I imagine a software based HA program or node.js running on a raspberryPi could be quite useful.    @LarrylLix Isn't wifi device limit a...

Has anyone seen this? Notion Sensors + Hub   If it's reliable, it's a pretty solid concept. I was recently toying with putting arduino's in every room to get several different measurements / alerts. I couldn't conceptualize how to keeps tabs on each room without tons of sensors all over. I'll be...

Ok, so I'll ditch the current sensors. That leaves me 4 wires at each window to utilize without having to patch drywall. :)   Are shock sensors needed on windows or contacts enough? I was planning on having ASC-SS1 paired with the 943wg but now I'm thinking that is overkill. Doors might be a...

The current panel that I'm replacing, old Radionics, has 4-wire viper vibration sensors home run from all the windows, plungers & vipers in series from the doors and motions.   The seem to be no EOLRs installed at the windows and doors, they are installed in the panel. Any series of sensors are...

@pct88 Ha! thanks for that post, I was actually going to ask that very question. And, @Del Thanks again.

I guess I'm thinking of best case scenario, dial, fail quick, move on but I'm too used to web technology :) it makes you wonder about Comcast and other providers offering services where they have a clear monitoring advantage.

That's good to know, I appreciate the answers. It's rather surprising though that there isn't a reliable and intelligent backup solution. I would seem instead of monitoring voltages, it would just try to connect and fail over otherwise. Or maybe that doesn't exist for home solutions /not...

The Telguard TG-4 looks like it would fit the bill for what I'm doing. Looks like it has dual paths too. Will most monitoring companies support this? Also, do any of these allow self monitoring while I test my system and decide on a company?   Looking at the Uplink product line, it seems I would...

What about recommendations on the equipment for cellular monitoring? Figuring that out has been a struggle for me. Or resources work too. Thanks for the reply Del.

Yes, is that not correct? I was told digital voice was VOIP or maybe I did a poor job explaining. Either way, I just assumed that was true.