I know, I know, you can buy these for a song but I want to build my own...because I feel I have the ability to do so and just the 'coolness' factor of doing it myself and having it work is worth the time and effort for me.
In any case here is why I am posting.
I have the First/front side mirrors in plenty (30 mirrors between 10-13 inches long and 1-2 inches wide and a friend who works at a local glass manufacturer who can cut these for me in any lengths I wish for free) and I have mounts so that isn't a concern. I have the electronics knowledge to build my own control/alarm box with remote, so I can activate/deactivate the system from outside my apartment...I used an old car alarm, modified it so it will use not only it's vibration sensor (which will be attached to my front door), but also an IR beam detection sensor (I have a few laying around) built into a circuit that will activate if the beam is cut. Oh, also instead of the LOUD and VERY ANNOYING car alarm, I changed it out for a slightly quieter, programmable alarm circuit (Oh the geeky fun I can have with the alarm...)
In any case, I'm down to lasers and mounting. I'm sure I would want to use something like 808nm laser diodes (IR) but the problem is I am not sure the power I would need, what I may need to do for the beam as I will be bouncing it around A LOT, and the best positioning.
I have included a VERY ROUGH diagram of my crappy apartment below. I wanted to cover all my windows but with the bedroom doors shut, there is no way I can do this with just one beam. Sure I am covering the majority of my apartment, but I have ~$60,000 in computer equipment in my Den and that is the main concern I have, but I can't just focus on protecting that room.
I was thinking of three separate systems, with the two remote bedroom units connected via a wire to the main unit for coordinated activation/deactivation/alarm modes but I don't have the parts right now for three separate units, even if the two auxiliary bedroom/den units are simplified laser/beam detection only systems. I want to keep this as simple as I can...you know the engineering maxim "The more complex a system is, the greater chance of system failure"
Also, I am thinking about bouncing the beam around my apartment in one direction, so the top 1/3 of my windows are covered, then back so the bottom 1/3 of my windows are covered..basically creating a dual beam system instead of a single beam system that someone could sneak under or over easily with out even knowing the laser is there. Given I would be essentially doubling the distance the beam would need to travel, would I need to use a more powerful laser or would I be able to get away with using some lenses to re-focus the beam?
The "X"ed out areas I don't care about. Closets and the Bathroom I am not concerned about covering for obvious reasons.
Finally, when we are looking at front door, I was thinking of a diagonal beam instead of a horizontal beam. Should I just look at a dual horizontal beam instead like the rest of the apartment?
Thanks for any help in advance.
Oh, I forgot to mention, I was looking at ~200 to ~250 feet total distance for a one-way beam.
In any case here is why I am posting.
I have the First/front side mirrors in plenty (30 mirrors between 10-13 inches long and 1-2 inches wide and a friend who works at a local glass manufacturer who can cut these for me in any lengths I wish for free) and I have mounts so that isn't a concern. I have the electronics knowledge to build my own control/alarm box with remote, so I can activate/deactivate the system from outside my apartment...I used an old car alarm, modified it so it will use not only it's vibration sensor (which will be attached to my front door), but also an IR beam detection sensor (I have a few laying around) built into a circuit that will activate if the beam is cut. Oh, also instead of the LOUD and VERY ANNOYING car alarm, I changed it out for a slightly quieter, programmable alarm circuit (Oh the geeky fun I can have with the alarm...)
In any case, I'm down to lasers and mounting. I'm sure I would want to use something like 808nm laser diodes (IR) but the problem is I am not sure the power I would need, what I may need to do for the beam as I will be bouncing it around A LOT, and the best positioning.
I have included a VERY ROUGH diagram of my crappy apartment below. I wanted to cover all my windows but with the bedroom doors shut, there is no way I can do this with just one beam. Sure I am covering the majority of my apartment, but I have ~$60,000 in computer equipment in my Den and that is the main concern I have, but I can't just focus on protecting that room.
I was thinking of three separate systems, with the two remote bedroom units connected via a wire to the main unit for coordinated activation/deactivation/alarm modes but I don't have the parts right now for three separate units, even if the two auxiliary bedroom/den units are simplified laser/beam detection only systems. I want to keep this as simple as I can...you know the engineering maxim "The more complex a system is, the greater chance of system failure"
Also, I am thinking about bouncing the beam around my apartment in one direction, so the top 1/3 of my windows are covered, then back so the bottom 1/3 of my windows are covered..basically creating a dual beam system instead of a single beam system that someone could sneak under or over easily with out even knowing the laser is there. Given I would be essentially doubling the distance the beam would need to travel, would I need to use a more powerful laser or would I be able to get away with using some lenses to re-focus the beam?
The "X"ed out areas I don't care about. Closets and the Bathroom I am not concerned about covering for obvious reasons.
Finally, when we are looking at front door, I was thinking of a diagonal beam instead of a horizontal beam. Should I just look at a dual horizontal beam instead like the rest of the apartment?
Thanks for any help in advance.
Oh, I forgot to mention, I was looking at ~200 to ~250 feet total distance for a one-way beam.
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