Product Description: The WPA3000 is an extremely reliable driveway alarm that is used to detect vehicles only. The transmitter operates on one 9-volt battery and has 50' of direct burial wire connecting the probe to the exterior case. The probe is buried parallel to the driveway, and will detect vehicles passing by within approximately 10-12 feet. The direct burial cable can be run to a tree or post nearby, where the transmitter box is located. When a vehicle drives by, the transmitter will send a signal to the receiver up to 3,000 feet away (actual range may vary depending on the local terrain). The WPA3000 is ideal in locations where there may be deer or other large animals that would cause false signals with a motion detecting system. Also, because the probe is buried underground, it will be the least noticeable of our wireless systems. The transmitter is weatherproof and meant for exterior locations. Up to four zones can be monitored with additional transmitters. The transmitters can be programmed so they will each sound a different tone at the receiver. (Note: The Dakota Alert 3000 Series products use the latest technology. Therefore, they are not compatible with eariler alerts.)
Owner user Works poorly, does not work consistently beyond 400 feet and stops working at one whim or another. I have used this product with three transmitters and none worked as advertised, 3000 feet is a dream. Make sure of the companies return policy before ordering this product.
Excellent vehicle detection, driveway doorbell This unit has worked reliably for 3-4 months. We have a long driveway and I buried the inductor in the middle of the driveway (dirt) near the end. Any vehicles entering the property trigger the receiver bell. Passing vehicle traffic on the road does not cause false alarms. We've had a wet summer and there were 1 or 2 days when a few false alerts occurred as the saturated soil made for a larger inductive field. Other than those isolated instances it has been perfectly reliable. The unit has several form C relays, so one could (in theory) integrate this into an existing alarm panel.
Just what I wanted - easy and reliable This alarm was a snap to install - the only thing I had to adjust was the sensitivity dial, which was set at one-half and needed to be at three-quarters in my situation. It took less than an hour to install, including reading the instructions, and it is working exactly as promised. It detects both cars and ATVs.
Keep in mind that this will not alert you to people approaching your house on foot or on a bicycle, but on the plus side, it won't go off every time an elk or deer walks by. It is also nearly invisible. If your driveway is more than 12 feet wide, it is possible that some vehicles traveling on the outside edge will not be detected.
Maybe a 5 star in awhile When i first got it it would only go off when the car was leaving the driveway, not on entering. Go figure. After reading directions I saw that it was suppose to be 12 inches down. I dug further down. Then it seemed to go off "sometimes" and after a lightning storm it would go off with a lot of false signals. I would unplug it for awhile. Then it would work for a couple of days before again going off. I changed sensitivity and battery with little success. Since I didn't use the full length of cable, I had folded it together and covered it. I then dug it up and moved the probe so the full length of wire was laid. It has now worked every time for the last 2 weeks. I have my fingers crossed since it is working perfectly now!! But still have worries about the false singles of the past. If, after a couple of months I have no problems I will have wished I gave it a 5, but for now I feel a 4 is right.
A reliable end to false alarms I live at the end of a twisting, hilly, gravel rural driveway. About 200 yards from the house vehicles are easy to hear, but the bell of the receiving unit will confirm that it has passed the neighbor's property and is headed up the hill to my house. The location of the sensor/transmitter is about 200 yards away, but still in sight of my home through fir trees.
I had tried a cheap ($30) infrared sender/recieving unit, and was very annoyed by the frequent false alarms. Finally, due to cheap design water got into the sensor unit and a component on the circuit board failed. At last it was dead! I celebrated! I could shop for something superior now.
After much shopping I chose the Wireless Probe Alert and shelled out the dollars for it. The manuals were brief but helped me understand how to program the indoor receiving unit and the transmitting unit.
Burying the roughtly foot-long sensor (about the size of a large road flare) next to the road, and shallowly concealing the (long) wire took about fifteen minutes. I mounted the outdoor enclosure discreetly using the included screw behind a tree. The outdoor enclosure is very well sealed and allows for programming a unique ring tone (one of four) for the bell, so that if I wanted to purchase more than one sensor/transmitter, I suppose I could detect vehicles at different points along the drive.
I have not been disappointed - it reliably detects cars (and sometimes a bicycle). It never misses a car and it never rings for animals or mystery sources. After four months the battery on the sending unit is still working strong. Ah... and end to jumping up to repeated false alarms in the middle of the night.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
