Fence Mounted Piezo Detection

♦ Fence Mounted Piezo Detection – Would you recommend the use of fence-mounted piezoelectric cables as a legitimate perimeter detection system?

A: Piezoelectric cables are a mature taut-cable detection technology. These sensors function when mechanical stress is applied to a piece of piezoelectric material where it induces a voltage that breaches a threshold and triggers an alarm condition.

You’ll want your system of choice to have a piezoelectric coefficient of 0.25 pico-Columb per Newton. Be aware temperature changes will vary the coefficient. This is no problem if the digital signal processing of the system is clever.

Standard systems will generally have a control unit and 4 pairs of cables linked to the analyzer unit of each zone. Importantly, this analyzer is mounted at the perimeter where the cable sensor is.

If you want to run everything home without taking power and comms to the fenceline then you can use coax or Cat cable to bring the signal to a central location. When the system is being installed, make sure it only goes on a fence that’s very well built. You want buried footings and no loose mesh to flap around in a strong breeze and induce vibrations.

Finally, build some slack into the sensor cables between 1.5 and 3cm to allow some fence movement.

#SEN #SENnews #security #electronics