What can low-cost scams do?
28.11.2018
Translation: machine translated
Burglars are in high season at the moment. They can get into your home at lightning speed via balconies and windows. Can inexpensive gadgets put the crooks to flight?
I don't know if you've noticed, but the days are getting shorter and the nights longer. It's autumn, soon to be winter. This is especially good news for crooks, thieves and bandits. They can now break into your place in the afternoon under the cover of darkness. While you're checking your social media channels for the last time at work.
In my case, for example, the fact that I live on a mezzanine floor makes things even easier. Any untrained person can shimmy up there. However, I've never worried about safety measures. Until now, I've relied on the outdated façade to signal to burglars that there's nothing to get here.
But as I'm open to new things, I try out a few fairly inexpensive products from the security category. My choices are a window/door lock, a window alarm, an alarm doorstop and a TV simulator.
Window security
Rather heavy, but high-quality workmanship. That's my first impression. I don't get much further than that, as it quickly becomes clear that the thing has to be screwed into place. So I would have to drill holes in my window frame. I can't do that to my landlord. Unlike holes in the wall, holes in the plastic frame are not so easy to eliminate.
Conclusion: Keep your hands off it if you're renting
Window alarm
A plastic device, plus a small sensor, adhesive and drilling device and instructions. I really need the latter here and in retrospect I also understand why it says at the beginning that you should read through everything first. As an impatient person, I naturally had the feeling after each step that I knew what I was doing and put what I had read into practice. This resulted in the sensor and alarm device having to be refitted several times. And that's a bit daft, as the adhesive strip on the sensor sticks bombproof, so I tore the sensor apart and damaged the adhesive strip. There's nothing that Araldite can't mend, but it's still better to read the instructions first.
These are: Place the device and sensor no more than 12 millimetres apart, so that the device sticks to an immovable part and the sensor sticks to a movable part. The thing works by magnet and triggers the alarm as soon as the 12 millimetre distance is exceeded. It works perfectly and therefore annoys everyone in the home.
Conclusion: Read the instructions from A-Z so that you don't have to keep correcting the steps you've taken like I did. Then the alarm works great and is loud enough to wake you up at night.
Door stopper
This pack is really neat as it consists of just the doorstop. This has an on/off button on the back, but it does not react. No battery, as is often the case. So I unscrew the base at the bottom and immediately realise that it doesn't take AA batteries. No, I need a 9-volt block, which I don't have at home. After a quick trip to the supermarket, it works.
The system is simple. The upper part of the stopper is movable; as soon as it is pressed down, a shrill alarm sounds. Placing it under the door, on the other hand, is a bit tricky for me. I can only place the stopper on the far right, otherwise the door gap is too narrow. That in itself is not a problem, but if I don't place the stopper perfectly, it slips away instead of being pressed. Then the part remains silent.
Conclusion: The system is simple, I like that. But unfortunately it doesn't work perfectly for me due to occasional slipping. And I would have preferred AA batteries to the block.
TV simulator
No batteries, no writing down, no attaching: I like this thing even before I've tried it out. The enclosed cable is plugged into the simulator with one end and into the socket with the other. Then you place the light side against the wall and switch the thing on. The light colour and intensity changes every few seconds, just like a real TV. It works perfectly and looks really authentic through the window. Just make sure that the simulator is not clearly recognisable from the outside.
Conclusion: I like this thing. It's installed in no time and looks real.
Does this really scare off burglars?
I can't answer this question, as my criminal activities were limited to stealing jelly babies from the village shop. So I don't know how a burglar thinks and feels. But I do believe that these things can work. But even if they're only good for calming your nerves, that's worth a lot. However, I probably wouldn't bring the security gadgets into my house as I wouldn't want to install them all over the place. A window is not enough, as I don't know which way the burglar will choose. And they are too disruptive and not visually appealing enough for me. Except for the TV simulator, which I really like.
My life in a nutshell? On a quest to broaden my horizon. I love discovering and learning new skills and I see a chance to experience something new in everything – be it travelling, reading, cooking, movies or DIY.
Security
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