Making a home security system with an RPi

Yes, I’m seriously considering doing it. I want privacy and security. I have some preliminary ideas, so I figured I’d lay it all out and see what you all think

  • Wired sensors (door/window open sensors, window break sensors, motion sensors)
  • Security cameras (I’d prefer not to break the bank on this, mainly just a big enough buffer for whenever the security system is activated and/or there is movement near the doors
  • Raspberry Pi as controller
  • LTE radio or similar to inform authorities
  • Battery backup
  • Smoke/CO detector

This is a lot to try to do, but I may be moving into a city (in an area surrounded by high crime neighborhoods), and I want whatever house I have there to be secure. I want to do wired, or at least wireless on a frequency that consumer equipment can’t jam (so no 433MHz). Any ideas on things I need to do, and/or flaws with my plan?

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Our beloved overlord Ryan did a topic on one of your interest recently, unfortunately it has 433Mhz:

You can set it to do an alarm when it detects jamming. But think about it. If someone is jamming your alarm, you may be pretty much be screwed already as those are really some savvy criminals, or worse, 3 letter government organization.

That video actually inspired this post. Of course I’m not completely protected from the government trying to murder me, but I would like to prevent a simple attack such as buying a $2 remote from Amazon and jamming my alarm. I am willing to hardwire the sensors.

If someone starts jamming you, you should pretty much set the alarm to go full blast already. Its pretty much equivalent to someone forcibly opening your windows and triggering the window alarm. There is a bonus point in that you are slightly ahead of the attacker with the alarm and already sending out warnings just before they do the actual braking in.

Yeah, I can have it notify me at an urgent level, but I can’t trigger the alarm on 433MHz because things like baby monitors run on it, and I don’t want the police automatically called because my neighbor turned on their baby monitor.

I think what you desire can be solved by the various arduino projects already out there. Do be aware of the sheer number of wires you will be attaching around your house. This may be impractical if you do not own the house and will definitely make your house look like a fire hazard of sorts. Wireless may be the way forward for you, depending on the density of the houses around you.

Wireless is a choice, we will most likely be owning whatever house we move into. Are there any window/door sensors outside of that frequency range? Home density will be quite high, with at most 5 feet between houses, if not multiple in a single building.

I have multiple sensors, a mix of 433Mhz, x10, zwave, wifi, and wired sensors. 433 Mhz and x10 are cheap, like F16 and F15 fighters, you can have them cover things like a mailbox. Zwave and Wifi sensors are like the F35s, pricey, so you would limit them, maybe like a back door. Then you got wired which is solid and secure, no batteries to replace, the F22, maybe monitor your garage door. Back it all up with Radar… a camera system.