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Homebrew Security Systems?

Posted by fwagglechop
on Saturday, November 15. 2008

So I've been tossing around this idea for a while now. Our house is pretty big, and basically no one is downstairs at night once the last person is done watching TV, and the doors downstairs aren't exactly the greatest in security (someone with simple tools could easily pry them open).

So I've been thinking about trying to get a security system from a yard sale or whatever and installing it, but the problem is that I can't find any. Then there's the fact that most alarm systems probably won't do entirely what I want to anyway, and in true hungry hacker fashion I've been jotting down notes to try and build my own.

I don't have an oscilloscope any more, and I haven't done any research into the way that motion sensors and whatnot communicate with the control module - I think they're just either normally open or normally closed, and that's all there is to it. So I'm toying with the idea of writing a controller using an MSP430, and coming up with some kind of a concentrator system to allow me to fix many different detectors to a simple bus.

I think the cool thing about building my own would be that I don't always want the alarm to sound if something happens. For instance, it might be nice just to have the system beep if the door opens during the day, or what have you. Rolling my own system would let me figure out all the things I want to do. I could even build an intercom and doorbell system into it as well, and have the whole thing have different operating modes for when people are here and/or asleep.

The possibilities associated with this project are pretty exciting, and I think I can build the whole thing much cheaper than going and buying a system. I smell an article coming in the future, hehe. :-D

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Comments
The Hawg! on 2008-11-15 20:53 | Reply
Keep us posted! Now, I've got my own security system -- three dogs that bark at everything from leaves falling on the ground to people walking down the street.

Add those barking menaces to a wonderfully safe neighborhood, and we've got no worries.
Carole on 2008-11-16 17:10 | Reply
I hope you do write about it if you make your own security system. Our house is a newer home that was actually pre-wired for a security system, but we have no idea how to hook it up to anything ourselves. We also have a dog - a big, black, barky one, that thus far that has served as our security system too.
KrAzE on 2008-11-17 11:57 | Reply
buy a few wireless webcams' or usb powered ones and a few usb hubs and run motion detection through software and an old computer you have. You can even rig up some infared LED's and use a filter to get night shots that work. This way you can stream the cams over the net or over your lan and view them from everywhere!

Heck, even set up a script to send you a txt when it sees motion
fwaggle on 2008-11-17 13:22 | Reply
Thanks for the comments everyone. :-D

KrAzE: I've thought about doing that as well but one of the purposes for thinking up this scheme is to find a project to do MSP430 development (since I hit a road block in my paintball trigger board project, I need another excuse).

I was thinking about setting up some webcams for things like keeping an eye on my wife's grandfather, and I could tie this in to that system though.

I just need to find some webcams that I can make play nice with FreeBSD. :-(
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