Given what we spend, if you are concerned then REAL cameras aren't that expensive. Making sure your insurance covers the loss will at least address the financial side, but many would probably need additional coverage or a separate floater over basic home owner's/renter's.
Jerry, Only 8 people know where my Phoenix home is, and 6 of them are family and know how to keep a tight lip. The other two are close enough friends to call family. I am not too concerned about criminal activity there because it is in a securely guarded area, and there is no way to get a vehicle around the back., unless it is a submarine....... The walkout goes out to the pool area only. Also, the train room is only a part of the basement, and the passage to get there is not obvious. There are full restroom facilities in the basement so no worries about tracking through the rest of the house. And one can get into the basement via a private entrance that also acts as a freight entrance. Security is in place such that the door leading to the upstairs has a secure locking system on both sides of the door. If you do not know the codes, neither side of the door will open, and only I know all the codes. The house was designed with retirement in mind so there are no stairs, only curving ramps to go up and down. The idea is to have the train room self contained so there are plumbing fixtures, a work shop with a paint booth. And the best part is, the house temperature is a constant 72 degrees year round and a constant 20% humidity. And the bar & grill area is where the crews would go to relax. The other issue happened mostly because no one was there. It was on a parcel of land I was building as a summer home up near Showlow AZ. If there was a better full time presence, nothing probably would have happened. I hired security folks to reside on the property in Showlow so that that would not happen again.
I know a guy who has designed and now manufactures anti-theft devices for homes his thought is along the line of cameras, alarms, etc bring the police after everything is gone thus, his device, uses a burst of pepper spray dousing anyone who attempts to break in, leaving them unable to continue their attempt I admit I think it is somewhat overkill (literally)...but, he seems to do well in sales! ;-) Gary
Thiefs, security systems and never mind. Once a thief knows the lay of the land there is so many relatively simple ways around these security systems that they can be in and out before you know what hit you. I'd share with you how but then there might be a sticky fingered SOB out there paying attention. The only thing in our favor is resale value. However, changing the face of things is the e-pay syndrome, it seems to be the hot spot for fencing stuff. Comparing to: It's not like stealing the wife's diamond ring and necklaces ...OR... the gold you've been panning, as a part of another hobby. However, desperate thieves dieing or so they think... for a hit will do desperate things. There's always a shill willing to work the grab and a fence wiling to buy the stuff. A former friend of mine (well that was what I thought at the time) stole from me to support his drinking problem. I recently discovered, almost 6 years after I told him to never cross my threshold again, that I'm missing train video tapes, movies and some tools. It was a sort of game to him to see how much he could steal before I noticed. It's all stuff but when it happens at the hands of what I thought was a trusted friend. GRRRRRR! So, I got me some watch cat's trouble is they are tearing up the cork road bed. Just don't know who to trust....right? We nailed a thief back in Dayton, Ohio. He'd been stealing from a number of us. A little sting, officers on hand, he took the bait and justice was served. How about those Layout Tours and Open Houses. Do you dare to open? We held a Open House, Layout Tour last year and very few attended. Harrumph and there again a sigh of relief. I will only open to fellow model railroaders who understand the above. The rest can go home. Still gritting my teeth.hboy:
