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I live on a farm in a rural area, miles away from the nearest town and the sheriff's office is 18 miles away. I've had security issues here before, breaking and entering a vehicle, stolen tools, etc.
A few weeks ago (while I was gone) someone forced an entry onto my property at night and broke a locking device on my gate, coming onto the road leading up to my house. I suspect this time I got lucky as they came 1,200 feet up to my house and were scared off by my dogs.
I purchased two Eyewatch Outdoor Solar Security Alarms and installed them about 300 feet down the road leading too my house. I let them charge outside in the sun and came back the next day, about 30 minutes after sunset to turn them on. I tested them and found that they do not produce a false alarm when I rolled a small tumble-weed into the path, but they DO detect movement of a human and a vehicle and don't seem to trigger if the wind blows tall Johnson grass across my narrow road. (PLEASE NOTE... ONE REVIEWER STATED HIS WOULD NOT CHARGE IN THE WINTER. I HAVE NOT HAD THAT PROBLEM AND IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU NOT PLACE THESE ON A SHADED PORCH OR SOMEWHERE WHERE "THE SUN NEVER SHINES." I placed most of mine facing south so when the sun in in the southern hemisphere during winter months, the solar panel gets exposed to adequate levels of sunlight.)
The two blue flashing LEDs and a voice go off when the device is triggered. The lights and the voice got my attention each time I performed the test, and although the voice is not loud (I would have liked it to be heard half-way around the county) it is loud enough to probably make a crook believe the "Eyewatch Alarm" might be coupled to another device alerting me inside my home. Plus, the voice and the whailing alarm are loud enough to alert my dogs and start a "chain-reaction" to add discouragement to a would-be thief.
Prior to purchasing two of these, I read the reviews here on Amazon. One person complained the Eyewatch Alarm was too small. For me, I think the size is perfect. It's small, but so is a Chihuahua. I'd rather it be small so that a crook NOT see it and bypass it. And if they were larger, they would be noticeable and unsightly. They might be small, but they have a "Bull Dog" attitude.
I was so impressed with my first two, I bought two more to place around my farm for a total of four. They really spook my dogs and I trust they will spook a crook, especially when my dogs start barking at the electronic voice coming form the Eyewatch Alarms. (The dogs freak-out when the high shrill alarm triggers and I believe the dogs can hear these devices from 600 feet away.)
TWO PROBLEMS WITH THIS UNIT...
#1. There are two buttons on the bottom for turning the unit on or off and for selecting lights only, or lights and voice/alarm sound. It is IMPOSSIBLE to know when pressing these buttons, if they are in the "on" or "off" mode. You can only determine if the unit is on at night, and walking past the alarm... then determining if the "sound" function is "on".
#2. Out of the 4 units I own, two of them have had the rubber, weather-proof shields that protect the electrical contacts of the buttons COME OFF. The rubber is easy to replace, but they are terrible in the fact that they come off so easily. If they do, and it rains while these EyeWatch alarms are outside, they will probably be ruined. When the tiny rubber shield is off, that's the ONLY way during the daytime to see the tiny micro-switches underneath and determine if the are depressed (in the "turn-on mode" or not depressed in the "turned-off mode")
I would have given this a 5 star rating, however the voice is a tad weak (but what can I expect from a Chihuahua?) and I'd like to have the option of two or three messages, such as "9-1-1 has been called and law enforcement has been notified of your presence." And another maybe saying, "You have triggered an electronic security system and the home-owner has been alerted." Maybe a "Lock and load, hasta-la-vista baby" in Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice, followed by Clint Eastwood saying "Go ahead, make my day" with the sound effect of a pump shotgun being loaded would be cool, for old Army war vets like me :)
UPDATE JULY 10, 2011
One of these units has died and the others are still working fine. I suspect that since these are made in China (like our shorts, pencils, electric shavers --geeze) the quality and durability is vastly substandard to what it would be if engineered and produced here in the USA... That being said, I plan on buying a replacement and several more of these to place around my farm. I have found that I sometimes forget I placed these around the perimeter of my farm, and when I am walking my property at night, when I trigger one of these, it startles me. I've actually jumped and nearly stumbled last night when I went outside to check on coyotes. Yes, they sure are cheaply made and probably won't last very long, but when they are working, I do believe they would scare off a trespasser. And when I've triggered them at night, my dogs go ballistic.
UPDATE OCTOBER 8, 2011
I decided to purchase three more of these a few weeks ago because a predator (probably a coyote) was jumping my 4 foot tall fence and killing/absconding with my geese and chickens. I placed the new units around the perimeter of my chicken coop and it looks like they have scared and discouraged the predator from killing my birds. So, I'm ordering 3 more on Amazon today.
These units are made in China and while they may not be durable, they have exceeded my expectations. One died after a couple of months and another lasted about a year (I'm going to take it apart because I suspect the re-chargeable battery went bad. For me, this isn't too big of deal (the durability issue) because they seem to keep crooks and coyotes from coming onto my farm. The wailing sound of the siren is so annoying and loud that my dogs GO NUTS and bark and this must add a bit of synergy to deter people and pests alike.
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I bought one Homebright, screwed it to a plaque and nailed that to a board. I positioned it in the garden to scare away deer and rabbits. Since installing it a week ago, the deer avoid the area around the sensor. It emits a human voice announcing, "Warning, you have entered a restricted area," in a loud, authoritarian voice. My girl friend was startled once when she was working too late in the garden (after dark). I told her, imagine how the deer feel when a loud human voice yells at them while flashing blue lights and a squeel are emitted. I don't know if you'd want that going off at 2 am in your backyard but in a garden in the middle of no where it's great! I bought 3 more.Setting up the Homebright is a little difficult. Push the weather-proof button on the left to turn it on. You may need to leave it in the sun for a half hour to charge the battery right out of the box. Next, push the button on the right and move it about until it senses something. When the Homebright goes off, you'll know it's set for the evening. The sensor only works after dark so it won't annoy you during the day, only after sunset.
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