We have two simplisafe systems. I love them. Bought the first one for my shop because ut has no phone line and liked it so much we bought another for the house, canceled the previous house alarm and phone line. Both units are cellular. I have it set up where I get a text any time anything happens. The text tells me which sensor went off it was a motion, door, which one, etc. The call center is super quick also. When I have accidentally set the alarm off I had a call in about 15 seconds. I can't say enough good about it and for 19.99 a month you can't beat it. The only downside is everything is wireless and takes batteries. AA I think. They last a good while but if you have a lot of sensors you might have a dozen things to change batteries in every couple of years. The alarm warns you when batteries getting low.
Cellular security options? No internet No landline
- Thread starter C4Ranch
- Start date
- Views: 5075
Thanks bdog! That's what I was looking for. I'm gonna get one. The good thing is, ranch house is so small I can almost cover it all with just 1 motion sensor. I also like the idea of a fire sensor.
Wish I could cover the barn with one unit but to far away and will be forced to pay 2 monitoring fees. Down side barn isn't AC so the heat will probably kill the unit and batteries.
Wish I could cover the barn with one unit but to far away and will be forced to pay 2 monitoring fees. Down side barn isn't AC so the heat will probably kill the unit and batteries.
TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark
Veteran Member
You should be able to do a remote sensor for the barn. Mount it outside, or do some ventilation to control the heat. There is more than one way to skin a cat. Like someone said, find a good local security guy and see what he can do for you. Should be able to get a free estimate, and if he's local, he should have ideas about your kind of situation.
Don't let your limited knowledge set the limit of what you can do. Get some professional advice.
Don't let your limited knowledge set the limit of what you can do. Get some professional advice.
My shop doesn't have heat or AC. It has a door sensor and four motion sensors. The batteries in those have been there nearly two years. The only ones I have had to change are in the keypad and the external siren.
The external siren eats the batteries the faster by far it only lasts a year if even that. I haven't changed a battery in any door or motion sensors in two years.
The external siren isn't necessary. The unit will sound a quieter siren from the base but the base is what transmits the alarm. I went with the external siren because I figured if someone were to break in and the siren would go off they would be drawn to it to stop it. If they stop the external siren no big deal but if the base is screaming they possibly could disable it before it transmitted. Like I said though mine has my phone ringing in 15 seconds so it is quick. I hid my base fairly well and went with the external siren for this reason.
My shop is an all steel building with no windows and the base has no problems transmitting signals out from in there. I was worried about this when I bought it but it has been flawless. The only issue I have had in the shop is the motion sensors have double sided tape to attach them or I think you can use screws. I have all the ones in my house stuck on with the tape and none have budged but one in the shop fell with the tape due to the heat I guess. I ended up moving it and just sitting it on a shelf.
The external siren eats the batteries the faster by far it only lasts a year if even that. I haven't changed a battery in any door or motion sensors in two years.
The external siren isn't necessary. The unit will sound a quieter siren from the base but the base is what transmits the alarm. I went with the external siren because I figured if someone were to break in and the siren would go off they would be drawn to it to stop it. If they stop the external siren no big deal but if the base is screaming they possibly could disable it before it transmitted. Like I said though mine has my phone ringing in 15 seconds so it is quick. I hid my base fairly well and went with the external siren for this reason.
My shop is an all steel building with no windows and the base has no problems transmitting signals out from in there. I was worried about this when I bought it but it has been flawless. The only issue I have had in the shop is the motion sensors have double sided tape to attach them or I think you can use screws. I have all the ones in my house stuck on with the tape and none have budged but one in the shop fell with the tape due to the heat I guess. I ended up moving it and just sitting it on a shelf.
Last edited:
I have had three different professionally installed alarms over the years. They are no better than the simplisafe in my opinion and the monitoring is double the cost. The simplisafe is simple. It has lots of options and they are helpful if you have questions.
I like having two separate systems because it is really clear which one is going off. I have them set up with the monitoring company as "House" and "Shop" It makes it easier for the dispatch to alert the police I think. At my old place with the professional system I had the house and shop together and while the system would tell you which sensor it was that went off when they called the authorities they just gave the address. Mine is set up where they say my address and "shop" or "house". Also I like being able to arm the shop in the away mode with motion sensors and all when people are in the house. This would be tricky with the systems combined. I pay $40 a month for cellular monitoring on both systems. My professional system was $50 a month for one system that wasn't even cellular.
Last edited:
I don't even use the app. I just pay for the enhanced because it has the option to send texts. I have my shop set up where it sends me a text anytime anything happens, arm,disarm,alarm, etc. If it is an alarm the text will say which sensor went off. On the house since people are always coming and going I just have it set up to send texts when an alarm goes off. The app may tell you low batteries I don't know. The keypad will warn you when batteries are low. It gives an audible alarm and a message on the screen when a battery is low.
No price break on the two plans but like I was saying it is cheaper for both than I was paying for one with the old company.
I don't remember exactly how I did it but somewhere in the settings you can set an entry delay and instant on. I think by some stupid law an alarm is supposed to give you 30 or 45 seconds after opening the main door to enter the code before it goes off. I didn't like this. MY professional alarm was the same way and they company would not change it because it is the law to prevent false alarms I guess. Anyway I set mine to like a 10 second delay from when I open the door to until the alarm goes off. The keypad is right by the door. I think this gives much better security though I have set it off a couple times when trying to carry an arm full of groceries in and opened the door and didn't enter the code in time. It is pretty self explanatory and you might play with it and set the time as short as you can before it triggers to increase the security.
I don't remember exactly how I did it but somewhere in the settings you can set an entry delay and instant on. I think by some stupid law an alarm is supposed to give you 30 or 45 seconds after opening the main door to enter the code before it goes off. I didn't like this. MY professional alarm was the same way and they company would not change it because it is the law to prevent false alarms I guess. Anyway I set mine to like a 10 second delay from when I open the door to until the alarm goes off. The keypad is right by the door. I think this gives much better security though I have set it off a couple times when trying to carry an arm full of groceries in and opened the door and didn't enter the code in time. It is pretty self explanatory and you might play with it and set the time as short as you can before it triggers to increase the security.
TomSeller
Super Member
Any video clip capability?
