Driveway sensor recommendations

JimS

Senior Member
Have been considering a driveway sensor for some time. (Should have grabbed the one posted several months ago...) I think the Cartell CP-2 is one of the better ones but I forget how much solid data I had for that - it has been a while. I did some looking around and there seem to be a couple similar ones. I want a wired, buried one that works on magnetic fields. I think they should be much more reliable than IR ones. How do the Mighty Mule FM138, Cartell CP-2, and Dakota alert VS-50 compare? Anyone have experience with any of them? I at first thought the Dakota alert P-50 would be a lot cheaper but then figured out that is just the probe and requires a control box which the VS-50 includes.
 
I have a Dakota Alert wireless model and it works great. Tried a bunch of different things over the past few years but they didn't work for me. The DA has been installed for a couple years now. Only time it has missed a car, it needed a fresh battery.
 
I have a Mier Products driveway alert. It's been in use for over a year and works perfectly. The only issue I have had is the landscapers cutting the cable.

I use the bi-directional one from Smarthome and have the outputs go to a couple Insteon IO modules for keeping HomeSeer up to date and for triggering events. Here's the link to the sensor:

http://www.smarthome.com/790908/Bi-Directi...m-P8000C/p.aspx

I agree with jb's comment about the major drawback is someone cutting or damaging the cable. Our landscaper cut ours too, but didn't tell me and tried to fix the wire himself. If any amount of water get's into the cable or the connections aren't waterproof, you'll get a lot of false alarms when it rains!


Best regards,

Todd
 
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