bergv - 2-7-2006 at 07:17 AM
Hello. This is my first post. My wife and I are buying a house south of town in Rosarito Beach and plan on living there roughly 60% of the time. We
want to install a home security system and would like to get anyone's suggestions and perspective on the topic.
Some things that come to mind:
What company should I use for installation and monitoring?
Who is monitoring and who responds - the police, a private company, or both? Which scenario is best?
Are there systems that use some kind of celluar or radio call in? I'm not used to thinking like a thief, but I think the first thing I might do is
cut the phone and/or power lines and then break a window.
Thanks.
Bob and Susan - 2-7-2006 at 07:55 AM
...an alarm sign is the BIGGEST deterent!!!
Why go there when the neighbor is SOOO much easier.
bajalou - 2-7-2006 at 09:56 AM
If you can't find a big dog, get a setup that sounds like a BIG dog
mcgyver - 2-7-2006 at 06:27 PM
Bajalou, you have that right!
A recording of a MAD dog and a big chain and food
dish and if you have to ,borrow a big pile of poop to put on the front door step, preferably from a Saint Bernand. Cheaper than an alarm system that
no one is going to answer in Baja.
Home security
oladulce - 2-9-2006 at 12:37 PM
There's a show on Discovery channel called "It takes a thief"
which I've been finding very interesting. A couple of reformed burgulars (one is now a teacher, and the other a PI) will case out a different target
for each show and offer the owner a complete home security system. But 1st , they set up cameras in the home and the owners sit outside in a van and
watch while one of the guys breaks in to their house to show them how vulnerable they were.
So far I've seen them choose homes in the city, suburbs, rural wine county and last night they were at an auto repair shop where the owner had his
entire life savings invested. Their main criteria when they're casing which neighborhoods and homes to pick is to choose a place where it looks like
people "feel safe" (open windows, big dogs, nice neighboorhoods, or average neighborhoods where people might think they have nothing of value to
steal).
It's a crack-up to see the reponse of some of the "guard dogs" to the presence of the burgulars. A german shepard ate food out of the burgular's hand
once, and the pit bull at the auto shop about licked the guy to death and then hopped in to the cab with the robber as he drove away with the guy's
truck.
I'ts very interesting to watch not only the break-in techinques that a burgular may use, but also the types of home security stuff that's available.
Here's a link to one product they recommend which we are going to look in to for Baja. It's a clear laminate that is applied to windows which keeps
the glass fragments together in the event of breakage. Seems especially useful in hurricane zones as well as for remote homes because ratones may be
able to break the glass but they will not be able to gain entrance to your home.
http://www.usace.com/diy/diy.htm
Some of the security products such as alarms systems are not particularly useful for Baja, but they show lots of other gadgets like heavy duty safes,
motorcycle locks, and key lock boxes which would be very handy.
Cincodemayo - 2-9-2006 at 02:29 PM
IED's work great.
bergv - 2-9-2006 at 05:59 PM
Thanks, oladulce. I'll check it out.
I've been told that getting a police response to an alarm is questionable, but the noise draws unwanted attention and may chase them off.
Tucker - 2-10-2006 at 01:06 PM
Leave lamps on timers, set in different rooms, also a radio on a timer. Extra car in driveway (have someone wash it occasionally). When I was in the
states my best deterrant was a 1300' driveway, one way in and out. Thirty years in isolated location, no breakins. About the time I left, home
invasions were in vogue, I countered with a sawed-off shotgun, never had to use it, sorry MrBill.