Workshop Alarm System

When an eye for an eye just isn't good enough...

If you have ever been robbed or had your property broken into, you know it is not a good feeling. It took not one, but two break-ins to my workshop before I knew something had to be done to stop intruders. And every good defensive driver knows: the best defense is a good offense. So that it what I set out to do.

First I needed a secure detection system. To accomplish this I installed two hard-wired motion detectors and a magnetic door sensor. The main controller, an x86 based computer system, has a redundant backup battery power supply in case an intruder attempts to kill the power. To alert the neighborhood of an intrusion, there are two loud sirens inside the workshop and a loud bell on the roof. In addition, there are strobe lights and red siren lights inside the room. To expel the intruders promptly after a break-in is detected, the following occurs:

1) The sirens, alarms, and lights turn on

2) An intimidating voice (mine with the frequency lowered by about 20%) says, "Intrusion detected! Initiating auto-lockdown sequence!"

3) A 2,500 lb thrust motor slowly closes the seemingly manual lift workshop door

4) The voice then says, "Releasing toxin into atmosphere"

5) An explosively charged toxin (which I would prefer not to mention by name) is spread from the corner of the room into the air

6) Either the assailant flees the scene, or I find a body when I return to my workshop. Either way, the place is protected and I can sleep at night knowing I have a formidable (but not impenetrable) defense.

Due to security reasons, not all sensors and response systems are mentioned here. While I wouldn't rely on security through obscurity, it does add an extra layer of protection from the average thief.

As a side note - there hasn't been a break-in since I threw the system together.