Where to place Strobe

[shenandoah75]

I have had the Elk Strobe for a while, but been holding off on mounting it.

Anyone have strong recommendations here?. I initially was thinking up high above the garage door where it's vibible to my neighbors. But as i have block walls, doing so would expose the wires on the inside where they could be easily cut (i could run in conduit i guess). My originally Moose was wired with a round/orange strobe attached to the underside of the soffit in the front. Would i get good visibility if the "bottom" of the strobe was facing our when mounted horizontally flat in the same location?

Even there i would think it's be realativly easy for a thief to disable it... I have two stories and could mount higher where tampering/disabling would be less likely, but getting the wires from the Elk up to the second story attic would be a challenge. But perhaps one worth making...

thx in advance for any ideas...
-brad

 

[hucker]

I have had the Elk Strobe for a while, but been holding off on mounting it.

Anyone have strong recommendations here?. I initially was thinking up high above the garage door where it's vibible to my neighbors. But as i have block walls, doing so would expose the wires on the inside where they could be easily cut (i could run in conduit i guess). My originally Moose was wired with a round/orange strobe attached to the underside of the soffit in the front. Would i get good visibility if the "bottom" of the strobe was facing our when mounted horizontally flat in the same location?

I have wondered the same thing and came to the conclusion that I will flash various interior/exterior lights using UPB. (I'm really tired of running wires) They would have to find the breakers to turn it off. In our house it would be hard to find sinch the panel is well hidden.

 

[ano]

I'd put the strobe inside, in the room where your most valuable items are, thus the room the thief won't want to enter.
A strobe has one main purpose, disorient the thief so he can't tell when there are flashing lights outside, and thus the police have arrived.

 

[brotsten]

I live in a wooded rural area. I mounted mine up high, 20' or so, with the intentions of making it easy for emergency response personnel to find my house.

Brian

 

[rfdesq]

I use strobes for three purposes. One for a visual deterrent at all times when off. Two, for emergency personnel to find the house, both ground and helicopter when flashing. Three, as a visual indicator that the alarm has gone off, flashes after the siren has timed out. I use ELK sirens and attach the strobes to the bottom of the ELK stainless steel enclosures.

 

[WayneW]

I'd put the strobe inside, in the room where your most valuable items are, thus the room the thief won't want to enter.
A strobe has one main purpose, disorient the thief so he can't tell when there are flashing lights outside, and thus the police have arrived.

That is the first time I have heard that theory, but I am not sure I agree with it. The security strobes I have seen only flash about once per second. Modern police cars twinkle with multiple strobes & LED panels at a much higher frequency. Unless you live in Mayberry with a single buggle gum rotating light on top of the car, I think most bad guys will know the difference instantly. Now if you do have enough noise and strobes to distract the bad guy or annoy him enough to leave, I think that is a good idea.

I plan to install my strobes outside or in the garage. I feel they are a way to warn you that something bad has happened before you even approach the house, with the bad guys possibly still inside. I feel that they are a way for people on the street to clearly identify which house has the siren going off. I feel that leaving strobes running until the system alarm is fully cleared doesn't annoy the neighbors like leaving a siren running would, even ignoring the noise laws.

 

[sandman]

Evening guys.

I really think the strobe is for "Hey look at me, I'm being broken into" rather than anything else. I think one of the most important thing to do with your strobe is only let it run for a relatively short period.. .somewhere between 1-12 hours.

Nothing is worse than going on holidays and the strobe flashing for a week. Its a great way for burglars to know you're not home !

 

[AutomatedOutlet]

I really think the strobe is for "Hey look at me, I'm being broken into" rather than anything else.

Actually, we use a strobe light a little differently in our office. If there is motion sensed outside of the building AND the system is armed, then flash the strobe light. That way the potential intruder sees that we have security and that he has already been detected. Perhaps it might prevent a break-in (that's the hope at least).

 

[ano]

Unless you live in Mayberry with a single buggle gum rotating light on top of the car, I think most bad guys will know the difference instantly. Now if you do have enough noise and strobes to distract the bad guy or annoy him enough to leave, I think that is a good idea.

LOL, no, a big city. In fact both our police and fire departments have a very sophisticated GPS system that receives and maps your location directly from data sent by the dispatcher. If your house had a flashing strobe or not, I don't think it would phase our police.

The true fact is that monitored system or not, a thief has several minutes to rob you before the police arrive, and they know it. If they know you have an alarm, they may move to the next house, or they may be so bent on drugs they don't really care. Maybe a flashing strobe could alert a neighbor, but to be honest, they should stay far away for their safety. Maybe they could call the police for you.

About the only option to protect your stuff is to make the inside of your house so unpleasent, the thief will want to leave. I once saw an alarm that would discharge teargas through your house, now that's an idea. I went with strobes and VERY loud interior sounders, and my wife can attest, that 30 seconds of that seems like 5 minutes.

 

[Digger]

I really think the strobe is for "Hey look at me, I'm being broken into" rather than anything else.

Actually, we use a strobe light a little differently in our office. If there is motion sensed outside of the building AND the system is armed, then flash the strobe light. That way the potential intruder sees that we have security and that he has already been detected. Perhaps it might prevent a break-in (that's the hope at least).

Breaking into your store is almost as ironic as breaking into the police station.