Home alarms are thought of being an integral aspect of home security. Their main job is to caution you when there is an access violation. On the market today, you can find a wide variety of alarm systems, from the $10 do it yourself alarms to those which are sophisticated and expensive. Today, with the advancement of surveillance technology, you can even make use your own PC to build a simple but powerful alarm system.
Turning a PC into a burglar alarm can be accomplished by using a special software and a web camera (or an analog camera). The software will also function as a motion detector by noticing the changes of the images captured by your webcam. It depends on what you want to protect, if you want to be warned everytime there is a movement passing through a window then you need to direct the webcam to the window.
Depending on the type of the security camera that you use, you can even set up a wireless alarm system. This can be achieved by using a wireless analog camera. A stand alone power source is normally included in such a camera so you do not have to connect the adaptor of the camera to a wall socket.
Now, what kind of alarm signal you will receive? Depending on the surveillance software that you use, there are various types of alarm signals. Usually most software have already provided some audio files (e.g. in the form of siren, dog barking, etc). Just choose the one that will be generated once a movement is detected.
Of course you can also use a pre recorded warning message. This is a good choice to scare off intruders. However keep in mind that the the quality of the sound will also be affected by the quality of your speakers.
To prevent false detection some webcam security software also provide features like Alarm Delay. With Alarm Delay you can configure the alarm system not to generate warning messages when it detects short duration motions. Another useful feature which is also commonly provided by a surveillance software is Sensitivity Level. Just make some experiments to find out the proper settings that will fit your situation.
The advantage of turning a PC into a home alarm system is you can combine some security tasks. For instance you can set your PC to scare off intruders with a sound siren while at the same time record the event for future investigation. Moreover, PC is a multipurpose device which is quite easy to configure. For instance you may try to use more than two speakers to increase the quality of the sound produced and placing them in strategic locations.
Another advantage of setting up a home alarm system with your PC is you can also perform remote surveillance and monitoring. For better performance, this can be performed by using a high speed internet connection. This way, you will always be able to find out what is going on in your home.
Clearly, investing in a burglary system is always a smart investment. Knowing that you, your family or property are protected will help you keep peace of mind. These days, the prices of various alarm systems have dropped. With a little work you can even setup a simple but powerful home alarm system by using your own PC.
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