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GSM intrusion protection

Intruder detection is anything but a new concept, but it is still a crucial aspect of security prevention in South Africa today. The latest statistics from the SAPS indicate that residential robberies account for 16,6% of all serious crimes reported and robberies at non-residential premises making up an equally disconcerting 14,4% of national crimes during the past year.

Centurion Systems, a South African gate automation and access control company has ushered intruder detection into the Space Age with the groundbreaking D-Series range of gate motors.

The Centurion D-Series operators have been equipped with an intruder detection dynamic duo in the form of the Ambush Alarm and the Break-In Alarm. By simply connecting the gate motor controller to a set of infrared gate safety beams and enabling one of the onboard intruder-detection alarms, the user creates a formidable home surveillance system.

The Ambush Alarm works by activating the controller’s onboard buzzer – or an external third-party alarm – whenever the infrared beams have been interrupted for a predefined time. In other words, should a criminal somehow cover the beam lenses so that the gate will remain open, the system will detect this override and sound the alarm. The benefit of having such a system in place is twofold: Firstly, it provides an audible notification for the homeowner – enabling him or her to contact the local authorities – and, the sound emitted by the buzzer or alarm system quite often serves as an effective deterrent itself.

The Break-in Alarm, on the other hand, activates an alarm if the closing beam on the outside of the property is interrupted, providing the resident with instant warning should an intruder be trying to gain access to the property or loitering in front of the gate. This is intruder detection at its most intuitive, arming home and business owners with the sort of vigilance that only Centurion-grade technological innovation can provide.

Audible notifications are of course supremely effective, but what if someone tries to break in while you are out? Last year alone, there were over 200 000 reported cases of residential burglaries and, for the most part, it is probably safe to assume that the unfortunate homeowner was none the wiser until he arrived home to find his residence burgled. So what can be done in terms of remote monitoring?

The Centurion G-SWITCH-22 is a GSM-module that can be used to monitor and control up to two electrical devices via dual inputs and outputs. The module can be interfaced with the abovementioned intruder-detection alarms and easily configured – either via text message or by making use of the unique online user interface, G-WEB – so that it will send the user an SMS the moment that the Break-in and/or Ambush Alarm is activated. The system is password protected, so there is no chance that an intruder can learn their own numbers into memory, and the G-WEB interface allows for the uploading of detailed transaction logs.

The D-Series range of gate operators and G-SWITCH-22 are available from Centurion and leading security outlets.

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