Burlar alarm

madmikejt12 · #1 (**permalink**) 18-10-2006, 05:06 PM

hi, in GCSE electronics, i am making a burglar alarm and I am a bit stuck on the specification, i need about 30 points and i have about 22, any ideas?

so far i have:
Design
My alarm does not need to be portable
It must alert people that the house is getting broken in to
It must be vandal proof
The keypad must be easily accessible if I use one
It must be safe to use
It must be strong
It must be a basic colour
It must be appealing
It must be easy to use
It must not be too big
It must not be too small
It must be able to be installed in the average household
It must be a basic shape

Circuit
The alarm must latch when activated
It needs to be heard by other people
All circuitry must be hidden
If using a keypad, the alarm should only be de-activated by entering the correct code in the right order
The alarm must be activated if the correct code is not entered in a certain time
Must be tested by the user regularly
Must have various sensors to cover all areas
Must last a few years (last longer if mass produced
It must not be activated by accidents
It must cover all windows and doors
Must be easy to use

Thanks,
Mike

paulthomasno6 · #2 (**permalink**) 30-10-2006, 04:50 AM

A big hungry dog would be cheating, I suppose?

madmikejt12 · #3 (**permalink**) 30-10-2006, 11:18 AM

Lol. Our electricity is down for a few hours. Someone put a match down the grid or something and 3 alarms have been going off all night! Im replying on my phone!

paulthomasno6 · #4 (**permalink**) 30-10-2006, 12:47 PM

Aha, I rest my case!
It's like the story about the differences between American thinking and Russian thinking. Back in the days of the Space Race, when they realised that ballpoint pens wouldn't write in zero gravity, the Americans immediately set out to rectify the problem. They came up with a pen that worked in outer space and also at the bottom of the ocean. It wrote in all conditions of weather, extreme heat and cold, at any angle - basically, anywhere, at any time, and in any situation.
It took God knows how many man-hours, and cost millions. The Russians got around the problem by using a pencil.