I've been wondering if I should add a glass break detector to my (potential) X10 set-up. Then the following link, which contains some notes about glass break detectors in general, and notes on alternative methods of perimeter intrusion detection.
http://www.police.edmonton.ab.ca/Crime%20Prevention%20toolbox/security.asp . It says about glass break detectors, "They tend to be sensitive to similar sounds, like jingling car keys or a dropped plate in the kitchen. If adjusted to avoid false alarms from anything other that the actual window panes, they may not work when those panes are actually broken. Fortunately, burglars rarely enter through broken glass. They reach through a broken pane to unlock and open the window frame or door (Burglars don’t want to get cut either). Opening the frame or door then sets off the alarm. Therefore, these should be used only when a massive glass area represents the obvious entry point and careful calibration must be used for effective detection."
It would be useful for me to hear users' experiences about whether the X10 glass break detector can be calibrated, or whether perhaps it already distinguishes well between glass breaking, keys jingling, plates dropping, etc. I think this website still sells glass break detectors, but I forget what part of the page I was at when I found it. A manual at any rate is at
ftp://ftp.x10.com/pub/manuals/gb10a-is.pdf. It mentions that the device senses vibration, which makes me wonder whether thunder or very loud music from passing cars might set it off? What are your experiences?
Best wishes, everyone.
