How to Detect Visitors in a Driveway Using Infrared Photoelectric Sensors

Sometimes you just need an extra minute to prepare for a guest’s arrival. When the doorbell rings, it’s often too late. Why not install a system that will alert you to the presence of a guest before they ever make it to your door?

Choose a quality set of industrial photoelectric sensors. Infrared photoelectric sensors may be used to detect objects in a number of ways. Mounting the sender and the receiver across from each other is known as a through-beam configuration and provides the strongest beam. Retro-reflective mounting places the sender and the receiver on the same side and bounces the infrared beam off an object when it is in close enough proximity. Diffuse proximity mounting uses the same layout as retro reflective, but also uses a reflector on the side opposite the photo eyes. Any of these three configurations may be used to set up a driveway monitoring system depending on what type of structures are adjacent to the driveway.

Evaluate the best location to mount the sensors. This may be a mailbox, a fence post, a brick building, a bridge, or whatever standing structure happens to be within range of the driveway. If you mount the photoelectric sensors in a through-beam configuration they do not need to be very close to the driveway, whereas the other two options will need to be much closer, depending on the type of photoelectric sensors used, like ten to fifteen feet

Trace a route back to your home for burying the sensor wires, but don't put the wires in the ground yet. Instead, extend the wires back to the house above-the-ground and connect the photo eyes to the appropriate power source or to an external amplifier if the photoelectric system includes one. Connect the output of the sensors to a buzzer or bell with a noise that is distinctly different from the sound that your doorbell or telephone makes so that you can easily distinguish them. Many photoelectric amplifiers include a relay output, so connecting them to a buzzer should be as easy as connecting a mechanical switch. See the manufacturer's website for wiring diagrams.

Test the system using different types of cars and trucks and also people. Adjust the sensitivity of the photoelectric system to the optimum level and mount the photo eyes at the right height from the ground to hit the midsection of most vehicles. When everything is set correctly, bury the conduit containing the wires and do your best to conceal the photo eyes from view. This system will provide a reliable means for detecting guests before they are standing on your doorstep and could also be interfaced with a security camera or lights. The opportunities are unlimited.

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How to Protect Your Family from Home Invaders

The security of your family is very important. Not everyone can afford home security systems or guns. This article describes several easy and inexpensive ways to prepare a home to protect your family.

Always know that if someone wants to break into your home badly enough, they will find a way. That doesn't mean that you should make it easy for them to do so. It is surprising to me how many people have told me that they lock the doors to their home only while away. This is very dangerous! Purchase a deadbolt lock for any doors that are easily accessible to the public and keep these doors locked at all times. Start a habit of locking all doors at all times. If you leave to go to the store, lock the door behind you. When you get home... lock the door behind you. Teach children to lock doors behind them and to always see who is knocking at the door or ringing the doorbell before opening the door.

If the home is equipped with wooden window panes, use a power drill to drill a hole in one corner of each window where the upper and lower panes meet. Make the hole large enough to insert a heavy gauge nail. The nail should be easy to remove in case of emergency. It's not a bad idea to tie a piece of string to the head of the nail to make it easy to pull out. The point of the nail is to make the window difficult to open from the outside.

To secure a sliding glass door, cut a broom handle or stick to fit the space in the track behind the door where it slides when it is opened. It is very easy to bypass the latch on a sliding glass door, so be sure to leave the stick in position while the door is not in use. If you have a fenced-in yard, be sure to lock the gate when not-in-use. Also lock storage sheds with a lock large enough that it may be seen from outside the fence.

Leave a light on during the night, both inside the house and outside. This may just deter someone from breaking in if they think someone may be awake inside the house. Also, it's easier for crooks to operate in the dark. If you own a dog, give them full run of the house during the night. They have amazing hearing and will let you know if someone is snooping around outside.

Cover all windows with shades or blinds at night so that it is difficult to see into the home. If it is easy for someone to see from the outside that you own the latest game system, a huge expensive TV, or maybe some expensive artwork, then it may prove tempting for a would-be thief to put your home at the top of their list. Actually, if you can afford all of these high-dollar items, then a home security system is probably a wise investment too. The bottom line is that your family's safety comes before all material things. If you find yourself in the situation where someone has entered your home, let them take your money or some of your belongings if it means that they leave without harming anyone. Then call the police and file a report.


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