Tempsc Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 Hi. I have a possibly challenging alarm installation enquiry. At a charity event we have erected a large aluminium framed marquee which is manned at all times 24 hours a day. In the early hours of this morning a person attempted to gain entry to the marquee and was disturbed by the people who were in the marquee overnight. We have some expensive equipment in the marquee and our insurance requires that the marquee is manned at all times. Due to the attempted intrusion we have begin to think about the possibility of installing a temporary alarm. I wondered whether a scaffolding type alarm might be useful which would be mounted on independent scaffolding poles driven into the ground rather than the marquee frame as there is movement due to the exposed location it's erected on. Can anybody suggest or advise whether we're heading in the right direction with this or whether there are other Solutions that we could look at which would resolve our problem and protect both the equipment and the person's within the marquee overnight for any possibly intrusions. Thanks for your help and sorry for this very long winded enquiry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempsc Posted August 2, 2018 Author Share Posted August 2, 2018 Just to clarify my above post. We are looking to protect the main marquee area. There is a small adjacent marquee which is where the two overnight individuals always sleep and that area isn't needed to be protected - only the marquee main area thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norman Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 I'd be looking at external beams Quote Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satsuma01 Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 Is there CCTV installed on the site or is there only security fencing around perimeter of the main area Quote "If you carry your childhood with you, you never become old. Why rush to end life when happiness is in the blissfulness of childhood innocence.""We all die, the goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will." 07475071344 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixwheeledbeast Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 3 hours ago, norman said: I'd be looking at external beams Yep, Active IR beams covering inside the perimeter would be my first thought without seeing the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterJames Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 Is there power in the Marquee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempsc Posted August 3, 2018 Author Share Posted August 3, 2018 Hi all. Thanks for the responses. So. Yes, we do have power in the marquee and some limited CCTV inside too. For info, the marquee is only up for 10days a year for a charitable event. Rather than exterior mounted equipment, I'd prefer interior such as the IR suggestion by sixwheeledbeast or even interior PIRs. On a related note, due to the exposed site, the marquee does take quite a buffeting and thus the frame, although securely staked down, does have some movement. If I attached the IR beam system or the PIRs to it and the frame moved, would this create a false detection? Do the detectors only activate when sensing heat as opposed to movement? If so, I'm guessing we could just drive separate fixtures into the ground, independent to the marquee itself, to mount either type of detector? Thanks for any further advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norman Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Movement will cause false alarms, detection inside would also not be ideal for the same reason. Quote Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempsc Posted August 3, 2018 Author Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thanks Norman. So, would I be correct in assuming that if the (PIR?) detectors we're masked to only cover the ground, they would be OK and only alert on detection of someone crossing within its detecting area/range as I'm assuming that the ground won't move? Would it be a similar case with IR beams too as I assume that any movement of the marquee would have to break the beams? If I positioned correctly......? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixwheeledbeast Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 You would not be able to use standard passive IR, possibly external type (like Redwall's) but from what you say about the movement in the sides it's a bad idea. Passive IR detects changes in temperature moving ideally across or within its beam pattern, movement of the device itself would likely cause an alarm due to this. Mounting any detection device would need to be solid. The Active IR beams I suggest have a transmit and receive which need line of sight. Poles could be mounted or driven into the ground in the corners, beams could be mounted to these in a staggered pattern. Alternatively there are all in one tower units that are designed to be free standing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempsc Posted August 3, 2018 Author Share Posted August 3, 2018 I'm confident we could install very solid supports for any device which would be secured to the ground and totally independent of the marquee structure itself. I'd be really interested in learning more about the free standing towers too. Is there a link available please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aissecur Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 (edited) Just reading this post & I agree that beams installed internally would be the way forward, I have always used OPTEX and found them very reliable. Have you had any thoughts on what the alarm will trigger? Siren / GSM dialler etc, if there is expensive kit in there as you say then it may attract professional thieves Edited August 7, 2018 by aissecur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempsc Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 Hi Aissecur. So. The Optex beams would only trigger an alarm when broken by 'humans' that cross the beam and not some other form of movement within the marquee due to weather buffeting for example? We would position them to ensure no chance of beam break by tarpaulin (marquee panels) for example. Ref what it would trigger....my thoughts are that a simple siren would be sufficient to deter opportunistic intruders and would also alert those who sleep there each night too. On previous occasions when we have had a 'unwelcome visitor's, an unambiguous response has been sufficient. Thanks for any further guidance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixwheeledbeast Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 No, Active IR is line of sight they would need installing where the line of sight would only be blocked by an intruder. I would be installing them to an intruder alarm panel then you can arm and disarm and have somewhere to terminate and diagnose the zones if a fault occurred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aissecur Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 I concur with SWB, the optex units (dependant on choice) usually fire out dual IR beams, both of the IR beams are centimetres apart and have to be simultaneously tripped to cause a trigger event.. They come as a pair, One of units is the transmitter & the other a receiver, I certainly would look at installing to an alarm panel as a minimum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petercts Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 Beams are ok for a semi permanent install but if only for a few days? still a nice repeat install contract Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempsc Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 So. To understand correctly. Each of the Optex units (transmit and receive) are wired back to the panel? Is there a type of unit which operates on a reflection type basis ie: with less wires to run? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixwheeledbeast Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 14 minutes ago, Tempsc said: (transmit and receive) are wired back to the panel? Yes 14 minutes ago, Tempsc said: Is there a type of unit which operates on a reflection type basis ie: with less wires to run? There wouldn't be less wires depending on the site and how its installed. Reflection wouldn't be reliable or secure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petercts Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 I have used optex and before that pulnix reflection towers at the request of a cost cutting customer and the loss of range is minimal but beam alignment is critical and not as secure . The mounting surface needs to be rock solid as with any beam system if the unit is disturbed it will not work The portable system we used involved a wooden pallet set in concreate and then spiked into the ground with a scaffold pole in the center and weld mesh to protect the units one mounted at 2 feet and the other at 3 feet worked well and proved reliable but not the cost if only for a single use for a few days Would a motion detected cctv system be a cheaper and quicker install Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.