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The Handyguys provide an introduction to DIY home security, surveillance and automation.
The Handyguys give an overview of these technologies in this episode. We may dedicate a show to each of these topics later in the year. If you have any specific products that you would like discussed or have any questions on DIY home automation, home security or surveillance, please contact us. We want to deter the creepy looking creeps from invading our personal space with a cool DIY project.
First off – The Handyguys discuss DIY home security
There are two primary methods of doing DIY home security: wired and wireless. A wired system consists of hard wired sensors on doors, windows, smoke detectors, motion detectors, CO2 detectors, etc. Those wires come back to a main security panel. 
When an alarm is tripped, it can notify a central monitoring service, your cell phone, email and/or sound an alarm. The main advantage of a wired system is that it is reliable and requires no batteries. In contrast, a wireless system is much easier to install and the prices are dropping but their entry cost is higher. Complete wireless and wired security packages are available from many different companies. Handyguy Paul is looking into Home Security Store as one possible vendor.
One wireless system that looks easy to install is the InGrid system Like other security systems, InGrid provides central station monitoring and a cool web interface. We may discuss InGrid in detail on a future episode.
The Handyguys then discuss home surveillance
Home surveillance systems are a network of cameras. Two types of video monitoring include overt and covert installations. 
The covert systems are virtually invisible with cameras in things like clocks or teddy bears. The overt system is what Handyguy Paul is more interested in. It includes an obvious camera hooked up to a PC based digital recorder. They are motion activated. Such a system can act as a deterrent and can also be used in identification of criminals and assist prosecution. One DIY kit is from wylife.com The Handyguys Podcast is looking forward to discussing the wylife.com solution in a future episode. If our listeners have a favorite DIY home surveillance system they want us to look into for our episode on home surveillance please let us know.
Finally, The Handyguys discuss home automation
How does home automation fit with home security and home automation? Home automation can traditionally do things like turn on and off lights, control HVAC, etc. Some home automation systems can interface with home security systems. The Handyguys ideally want to find an all-in-one system that can handle home automation, security and surveillance in one easy to use DIY package. One possible place to get everything needed may be smarthome.com Do any of our listeners have any other suggestions? Let us know.
Let’s face it we live in an unsafe world full of crazies and thieves just lurking in the shadows waiting to burglarize our homes. I am being a little dramatic but in a way what I am saying is true. You see we have the right to protect ourselves from the bad, yet rarely people do.
The smart people are the ones who want to protect what is theirs because they have worked to hard to lose there hard earned property and feel victimized. Burglars pray on us.
hello,
i usually dont write comments or read blogs but this one is different. i read it from top to bottom, && i really like the content of this blog, so do keep posting and keep the good work up.
enjoy blogging, thanks.
Well, I have read a lot about this kind of stuff and I must say that your post is nice. We all have the right to be protected from burglars but we must also do it ourselves. Home protection could be acquired from company providers or you can do it yourself as you suggest.
It’s not really as hard as many think to set up a good security system. I would encourage people to add a hidden camera outdoors as well.
Thanks for the link to your spycam site.
This is really good article .I think security alarm system is more suitable than Hidden camera. If people hide their face ,, no one catch them .
agreed – why try and take a picture of them, keep them out in the first place.
It is good that there are a lot people taking the effort in informing the public about home security. One can never be too safe , even if you think that you are living in the safest community – you have to prepare yourself for any unfortunate scenarios that might occur.
Hi, this is very invested article you wrote.
So many useful tips. Thanks a lot.
Thanks Mary
It would be best to be prepared or be caught unaware when danger occurs in your household. Reliability may not be proven 100% but there are still ways on how to be sure that your alarm system can perform well and send off alerts when the time arises.
Thanks – Care to elaborate?
Good article, lots of information about wireless security cameras
We just installed a security system at home last month. I chose the wireless home security because i think wires are so messy and hard to maintain. Just saying.
I put an ADT system in back in 2002 with an outstanding grandfathered monitoring rate. Our home insurance discount is $600 per year. We make money. The only problem is that it is tied to our hard line phone, which we want to do away with. We can tie it to a cell backup, but the equipment/install is $299 and the additional monthly fee is $12. Looking for better option.
Change is inevitable in our daily lives and being able to adapt to change becomes a crucial factor when coming to home monitoring systems. I recommend Oplink Connected as a reliable, affordable, and simple DIY (knocking out the installation fees) security/automation system that can be accessed through your smart phone from anywhere in the world. It’s a great alternative because it is a system that has an unlimited number of components you can add to it including cameras and sensors. Also it is convenient when you have to move the system to another location and has the option of a cellular backup.
Important: Prior to purchasing your home security/automation system, ALWAYS do your research!
Thanks a lot, this is very interested article you wrote. So many useful tips about wireless security cameras
Thanks guys for this article. I also believes that a security alarm system is more suitable for home security. Sometimes buying and installing these systems is too expansive and hassling especially for home renters or students dorms. I developed “Salient Eye” exactly for those cases – it turns an old android phone into a motion detector alarm system. I would appreciate if you try it out on your next show.
Great post. More people need to know that there are great options for DIY home security and automation. It is really so inexpensive to have an all wireless system monitored. Thanks for getting the word out.
Nice post…!!! Thanks for posting this useful article about home security, surveillance and automation. It will definitely help many readers who are looking for suggestion on home security services.