Many would like to put an alarm system in a garage, summer cottage or other place, but difficulties with installation, placement of sensors, wiring and ensuring their uninterruptible power supply stops.
Photo Express GSM works on batteries for up to 6 months, is controlled by a remote control, reacts to movement, when triggered, sends SMS and calls the owner, in addition, sends a couple of photos to E-mail and Telegram.
The Photo Express GSM is available in two versions - powered by two AA batteries or powered by a CR123A lithium battery. In unheated rooms it is better to use the lithium battery option.
A sim card of any operator with GSM (2G) support is put into the alarm. This means that in Moscow you cannot use SIM cards from Tele2 and its virtual operators (Danycom, Tinkoff Mobile).
In order to ensure a long working time, the GSM module is only switched on for 3 minutes after installation batteries (for receiving setup commands), in case of alarm and once in a specified number of days to send SMS about status.
Communication with the alarm control panel is two-way (the key fob indicates the status of each command execution by the LED color). There is an additional power saving mode, in which control of the key fob is possible only after the motion sensor is triggered (in this case, an alarm delay is set and the alarm must be disarmed immediately after entering the protected area).
The initial setup is done by SMS commands, and they can be sent both from the phone and from the manufacturer's website using the setup wizard.
The alarm is mounted on the wall so that it "looks" at a potential intruder. Leaving the room, you need to arm the system with the first button on the remote control.
If the PIR sensor detects movement, the first thing the alarm will take is a photo, send an SMS with the word "Alarm" and the name of the object. Then she will call the owner. Then he will take a second photo and after 5-10 minutes send both photos to E-mail, and if this is enabled, also to Telegram.
The notification system is configurable - you can only send SMS, you can only call, you can both send SMS and call. Up to 6 phone numbers are supported (if it was not possible to get through to the first one, the next one will be called). The time after which the second photo will be taken (6-30 seconds) is adjusted.
The maximum photo resolution is 640x480 pixels, there is an IR illumination for taking pictures in complete darkness. The camera module in the alarm is completely primitive and does not have an IR filter, so the colors are rather strange.
An example of a photo in the daytime in natural light.
Sample photo at night with built-in IR illumination.
In photographs of this quality, it will hardly be possible to make out the faces of intruders, but the fact of penetration can be seen.
If you wish, you can purchase a wireless siren, also battery operated. Then, when triggered, the alarm will scare the thieves with a loud sound.
After the alarm, the alarm returns to the armed mode. To disarm the system, press the second button on the remote control.
Once at a specified time (15 minutes-30 days), the alarm sends a status SMS, which indicates the basic settings, the signal level and the message "replace baht." If the batteries run out. Sending the same message can be requested manually by pressing the third button on the remote control.
If you set the status to be sent once a month, during normal alarm operation, you will only need one SMS per month and nothing else. In case of alarm, one SMS will be sent, the call will be free (you can immediately throw it off, because the microphone is in the alarm no) and about 0.06 MB of mobile Internet will be consumed (one photo as "good" takes about 30 KB).
Optimal for use in this signaling will be a tariff without a monthly fee with disabled package options. In normal mode, only 2 rubles per month will be spent (for one SMS), in case of an alarm, 2 rubles plus a fee for the minimum amount of Internet (in the new tariffs 26 rubles, in the old about 1 ruble).
The alarm sends SMS on its own, and the photo is delivered through the manufacturer's server. In 2016, the server address changed, so sending photos in alarms released earlier stopped working. I spent the whole evening trying to get the photo to be sent with the 2014 alarm, and in the morning I called technical support and they changed the server address in the alarm with one SMS. But now sending photos not only to e-mail, but also to Telegram (if the alarm itself sent E-mail, such a functionality update in older devices would be impossible).
Photo Express GSM is produced in Novosibirsk and costs 6920 rubles.
Of course a complete CCTV system with multiple cameras and a GSM alarm system with multiple sensors much better than this simple device, but such systems are much more expensive, more difficult to install and require a network nutrition. Photo Express GSM allows you to install an alarm system anywhere in five minutes - in the garage, shed, dacha, in the car and even in the nightstand at work, so that colleagues do not steal cookies. :)
P.S. I do reviews of Russian alarm systems for free. If you are a manufacturer of one of these systems, write.
© 2020, Alexey Nadezhin
The main topic of my blog is technology in human life. I write reviews, share experiences, talk about all sorts of interesting things. My second project - lamptest.ru. I test LED bulbs and help figure out which ones are good and which are not so good.