DIY: Build a Security Alarm Using Items You Probably Already Have

Aaron Spuler is a firearms enthusiast and recreational shooter. Follow more or his work at The Weapon Blog

These days, it is really easy to get a very sophisticated burglar alarm or a home surveillance system with plenty of features, but there is obviously a pretty steep price to pay. And let’s be honest – the times are tough and investments into such hi-tech measures are not on the cards for many of us right now. But that doesn’t mean that there is nothing we can do about our home security! In this article, I will start you off with the basic concepts of making your very own security alarms with minimal investments.

Building Small Motion-Detecting Alarms

What you can find on the market already are cheap vibration alarms that cost about one or two bucks. However, the problem of these alarms is that their use is rather limited, as they are only triggered by an impact. That is fine if you want to secure your windows, but you cannot just detect any movement with them.

There is a simple DIY solution, however – you just need to buy the alarm (or you might already have it lying around somewhere in its old-school form) along with a very cheap tilt switch (which is widely available at electronics stores at around $0.50). You should then be able to take the original alarm apart with a screwdriver, remove the on/off switch and solder the tilt switch in its place. And voila – there is your very simple motion-detecting alarm that can be placed on virtually anything.

Setting Up a Security Camera

If you have a smartphone and any kind of a web cam lying around, it will take only a few minutes for you to set up a security camera system that will stream the video to your smartphone and even alert you whenever it detects motion. Sounds good?

Well, there is an iCam application available for various smartphones at a cost of $5, so the first step is to download it (unfortunately, there are no free apps that do the same right now). Then, simply install the application on your computer as well and set it up with whatever web cam you have lying around. That’s it – the only thing that remains is for you to configure the settings according to your preferences. For example, you can reduce the motion detection sensitivity in order to let your pets wander around without triggering the alarm, or you can activate the notification option which will let you know about any movement detected without forcing you to watch the stream all day long.

Get Building!

As you can see, it is easy to use some very cheap options and build your own security alarms. Such alarms will obviously be pretty basic and the most ingenious of thieves will be able to find away around them, but, as we all know, every bit counts when it comes to security and the fact that you have at least some kind of features installed will deter quite a few burglars from even trying to break in, as, rather unfortunately, there are still plenty of homes out there that have no security at all!