i’m in a bldg low floor 700sqft apt, so i am not worried about anyone breaking in thru my common hallway 30″ fire door (and i am meticulous about keeping it locked and never misplace my keys). i am only concerned with the often unlocked double hunt windows that someone from the street could push up and open, climb inside, etc.

what i want to do is put sensors at the window, but also sensors inside the apt that will know i’m inside home doing normal stuff, and logically deduce that it need not worry about the window sensors – until those inside sensors no longer detect i am home. i’m aware i may need to put interior sensors in more places around my home to detect my presence (movement, heat signature, whatever) than window intrusion sensors, but that is fine… the fewer false alarms the better. i would rather NOT have to carry an key fob that tells the system i’m home or not, but i could do it that way if it reduces false alarms and/or overall costs.

does such a diy installed kit system exist? what is the brand and model and where can i find one. i don’t need anything fancy that calls my app, or some human monitor, just activate some high decibel horn and strobe light to scare that burgler away. i don’t mind if it works over BT or Wifi or Radio, and i am willing to low volt wire if needed. i have plenty of AC outlets where they may be needed to power everything everywhere.

my main objective is that the system activates and deactivates without me even having to think about it. i come in or out the door, or anywhere inside my apt, it ignores my windows (so i can open and close them while home) and if i’m not home at all, it knows to take any prolonged movement, vibration or heat change at the window seriously and sound the alert device until that sensor is no longer being disturbed. i don’t mind paying extra for good quality so i don’t suffer a lot of false positives, like guest of wind, or the sun comes out or a truck rolls by…

So, a guy is coming by checking our car doors. And he’s doing it almost exactly 4 weeks apart each time. This is a condo, 6 units, all open carports.

I’m open to any ideas, including why he’s on a schedule.

Police say he’s looking for guns. Well he’s one dedicated asshole given this at least 8 months of this crap without finding a damn thing.

I have cameras but he always has a mask on.

I’m adding some trail cams to get a clearer picture of his eyes at least.

Any other ideas? Or any clue why he does this despite never stealing anything?

i’m nervous about my second floor windows (a limber person could climb up and get into). my coop has cameras and always on night lighting. i can’t metal afford window gates and having to arm/disarm some window sensor kit – i just don’t want to deal with all that. my windows all have a frosted film on them to protect my privacy from street lookie loos. i always have at least one light on even when i’m not home.

i figured i’d hook up some batteries to a tiny flashing led, and mount it behind my frosted glass windows so anyone casing out my windows from the street will think twice about my apt and move on to easier pray. i don’t want something bright, just subtle so if anyone does a doubletake they will wonder what traditional security system i may have employed, and avoid trying to find out.

so i was wondering from all you home security pros, what color led and location (double hung window) top, center side, bottom, or anything else you recommend that may help deter an experienced thief away from my windows. i have two facing the public sidewalk (most worried about) and two facing a high foot traffic (more camera coverage and lights) alley.

I am looking into updating and upgrading my home security system and integrating it into Home Assistant. I currently have amcrest cameras and amcrest NVRs and they work just dine at recording and playback. I’ve been wanting a better motion detection option that doesnt include cloud services and subscriptions. I found Frigate, the open source nvr software that seems to have really good ai capabilities that run locally!

My question is this, should I swap my equipment over to reolink? Or should I go through the effort of Frigate?

I’m not familiar with how well either one works. Amcrest has motion detection but I can’t get any push notifications to work, so I have to manually check the recording for “motion” in the recording and at night its just bugs or leaves. During the day its mostly leaves.

If i set up frigate I would only use it for the ai and use home assistant to give me push notifications, and leave the nvrs to record. All of my cameras are poe and soon im setting up separate vlans to keep all the networks separate.

Ideally using home assistant for push notifications allows me to control when I get a notification. I dont want notifications from all cameras if the alarm is off, but I do when the driveway camera sees something. And with extra automations I can tell it to ignore it when im using the driveway etc.

Now reolink is compatible with HA, but to what extent? I’ve read that it doesn’t offer as many features as I might need.

I’m just very unsure about all of this 😕

Hello everyone,

I currently run a small home/office setup based on a Unifi infrastructure (PoE switches and APs). Integration has always been my priority, but now I need to expand by adding a video surveillance system.

I’m torn between two main options and I’m looking for advice, especially from those who have experience running both systems on Unifi networks:

Option 1: Sticking with Unifi Protect

Pros: Full integration, single management interface (UDM), existing PoE wiring, no need for extra recording hardware if I use the UDM. Cons/Concerns: Unifi camera cost (tends to be higher) and less variety in models (e.g., mid-range PTZ lenses or cameras with affordable optical zoom).

Option 2: Adopting Reolink (which is the only one cam I currently use)

Pros: Cameras offer excellent value for money, a huge variety of models (PTZ, zoom, 4K), and the option to use a separate, more flexible NVR (e.g., a dedicated Reolink NVR or a NAS with third-party software like Surveillance Station). Cons/Concerns:

1. Compatibility/Integration: How “disruptive” is a Reolink system on a Unifi network? Are there any known issues with traffic, configuration, or stability?
2. Traffic Management: I’d manage the Reolink cameras’ video stream on a separate VLAN. Is there a risk of them somehow congesting the UDM or the network?
3. App Overload: Having to manage two separate apps (Unifi Network and Reolink/NVR) for my smart home devices.

My priority is reliability and functionality at a good price point. Since I already have the Unifi ecosystem, is it really worth “stepping outside” with Reolink to save money and gain more model options? Or does Protect’s integration offer superior value that justifies the extra cost?

Thanks in advance for your advice and shared experiences!

I’m looking for guidance on how to reassign the function keys on my (Vista-20p) Honeywell 6160 keypad, similar to this image.

This is a local-only installation, and the current function keys are set as follows:

A) Zone 95 – Zone Type 09 – Fire

B) Zone 99 – Zone Type 07 – Police “24-Hr Audible”

C) Zone 96 – Zone Type 00 – Date/Time

D) Zone 96 – Zone Type 00 – Date/Time

How can I assign the keys to functions like “Away” or “Stay” without first assigning them to a zone? Also, is the “Panic” button equivalent to “Zone 99 – Zone Type 07 – Police ’24-Hr Audible'”?

I have plenty of cameras, and I’m pretty confident that if someone hops the fence at night, they will get caught by a camera which will cause lights to turn on inside my home, and I will wake up

However, I’m looking for what solutions are out there to detect someone hopping over my fence without cameras? The fence is a standard wooden USA fence