You should check my postings for some information I posted.
I have similar situation. The remote location I have is south of sunbelt, so there is no ice problem.
I do have break in problem.
The very first question you need to ask yourself "Do I trust my PC running for 8 months long with lots of power outages and without any human help?" PC is a very powerful tools which can control and monitor almost anything. BUT it breaks easily.
Human makes mistakes. PC and software created by Human are full of mistakes/bugs.
Next question is your budget.
Since you have landline already, Telespy is a not bad cheap solution.
Robodog or home made robodog with improvement is also OK.
MACE WIRELESS HOME SECURITY SYSTEM can dial your cell.
AUTO DIALER SECURITY and SAFETY ALARM can also call your cell.
X10 Pro Telephone Responder with X10 let you manually remote control your remote location ten x10 devises.
RCS X10 Bi-Directional HVAC Thermostat
Receive Current Draw(amps), Temperature and IP address by Telephoning the device.(expensive)
http://www.remotepowerswitch.com/remotepowerswitch.htmlWhole house control.
http://www.smarthome.com/4209/Deluxe-Programmable-Wall-Controller-HCCPG-1TW/p.aspxAdds lots of motion detect flood light plus dusk to down lights or even 24hrs lights is a good start.
It won't deter thieves with patient, but they won't steal those lights.
Another way is Winterizing Your Home and try to remove anything that can be burnt.
Also remove tools that can chop down your house to burn fire for heat.
Hello,
A friend has recommended that X10 technology may be the right "fix" for my problems and I have a few general questions before I delve deeper.
A few qualifiers before I ask questions:
We live in a rural setting and travel about 8 months/year in an RV. We have SLOW (21Kbps) internet dial-up access in our area. I have an old Gateway with Windows 2000 installed that could be dedicated to home security. Our rural electricity is renown for having outages periodically, sometimes several times/day but maybe for only a few seconds each. We do have a landline, but generally put it on "vacation" while we travel (although I can't imagine we could do this if we would like to monitor while away). We have a Verizon cellphone. I would like to remotely access just a few items of information: window breakage, door entry, motion detection and/or video recording if someone enters, and home temperature (and maybe even regulation).
Questions:
1. Since our rural electric service is sometimes sporadic (it can go months without problems then for a week be on-off several times/day), can the computer (and X10) system be rebooted remotely if needed? This is probably my main concern since otherwise any system would be useless to me.
2. Can one remotely connect to home dial-up internet to check monitoring devices, or do you have to leave the dial up internet connected at all times?
3. We have a heat-pump as a heating source. Is there an X10 device that could remotely change the thermostat from heat to AC?
4. Of the above factors, my one main concern would be home temperature monitoring, since if someone broke out a window I would not want to heat/cool the outdoors for very long:).
Any input would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Monte
