Ideas on how to secure controllers

[PaulXmas]

Ok I am trying to figure out how to secure my controllers.

Last year they (2) were at the side of the house behind a locked gate.

This year they (7) will be out front.

I was thinking I would cement some 4X4,s and scew the boxes into the 4X4's

But the wife vetoed the idea of 4X4's in the ground year round.

Our front yard is open , no trees or bushes.

Any ideas?

[cenote]

Here is a shot of mine. It is a concrete sleeve in the ground, with a bolt threw the pipe during the season. Next picture shows box over it. Box has two bolts that go into frame. So, basically, you need a wrench to steel.


Attached files

[cenote]

P.s. box wasn't done yet. Wife painted it to look like a present with a bow on it.


Attached files

[PaulXmas]

So do you have a pipe comming out of the ground all year around?

[cenote]

Nope, medal pipe is welded to control, that slips down into a sleeve in concrete.
Off season, pull a bolt, pull pipe out, put a sprinkler cover over hole in ground.
Looking for pic now

[WhitePlainsNY]

Would she agree to a sunken anchor that's covered over the rest of the year? I haven't needed to do this but I think its a solution for those of you that want to safeguard your equipment. Bury an anchor (not just a verticle post that could be pulled up and out) with a sturdy screw eyelet attached to the top. The idea is to have the eyelet's hole just below grade so you can move a little dirt to access it when you need to.

Build a sturdy wooden box that you could mount your controllers on the inside and access them from a secure, hinged, lockable lid. The floor of the box can have a hole that allows access to the eyelet where you can attach a sturdy chain or cable.

The concept is to have the box easy to work on with the lid up but impossible to move the box and disconnect it from the anchor point when its locked.

Paint the box, add a bow and lights and most people wouldn't be able to figure out what's its more than just a yard decoration.

[bisquit476]

Cenote,

That's a very nice setup you got there, I like the framework idea,

Bill

[PaulXmas]

WhitePlainsNY wrote:

Would she agree to a sunken anchor that's covered over the rest of the year? I haven't needed to do this but I think its a solution for those of you that want to safeguard your equipment. Bury an anchor (not just a verticle post that could be pulled up and out) with a sturdy screw eyelet attached to the top. The idea is to have the eyelet's hole just below grade so you can move a little dirt to access it when you need to.

Build a sturdy wooden box that you could mount your controllers on the inside and access them from a secure, hinged, lockable lid. The floor of the box can have a hole that allows access to the eyelet where you can attach a sturdy chain or cable.

The concept is to have the box easy to work on with the lid up but impossible to move the box and disconnect it from the anchor point when its locked.

Paint the box, add a bow and lights and most people wouldn't be able to figure out what's its more than just a yard decoration.

Yes!

She doesn't want a big ugly 4X4 all summer long.

I thnk she will like cenote's idea, because she meantioned something about making boxes that looked like presents.

[basis21b]

I used some spiral tie-out stakes as anchors. (Example - http://www.petco.com/product/6001/PETCO-Spiral-Tie-Out-Stakes.aspx)

I ran a length of cable from the stake to the controller. Once the ground freezes the stake is not going anywhere till spring.

[jimswinder]

I am going to have 5 mini trees (4-1/2 feet high each) which will also go into sleeves cemented in the ground like cenotes'.

Each mini tree "trunk" will be made out of a 10' x 1-1/2" conduit...2-1/2' in the ground, with about 3' of space before the actual base of the tree starts. In this 3' space I will bolt on my enclosures (each tree will have 4 controllers - 64 channels).

Each tree will then be able to be taken apart so it is just the "trunk" and the lights (which will be permanently attached to the "tree" part). Should take less than 2 -3 minutes to set up.

Each Mini Tree will also hold one end of my arches...

Sorry...don't have pics yet, which I am sure would better explain my set up. LOL Might have some in a few weeks when I have actually attached the lights to the "tree" part.


PS..I also like your set-up cenote...very nice. May have to change up my design a little and make a "Christmas Package" instead of using an enclosure.

[huskernut]

jimswinder wrote:

I am going to have 5 mini trees each tree will have 4 controllers - 64 channels).

Holy Cr*p, 20 controllers just for the mini trees???

I dont even know you but already I like your style!!!!!!!

Rick

[jimswinder]

huskernut wrote:

Holy Cr*p, 20 controllers just for the mini trees???

I dont even know you but already I like your style!!!!!!!

LOL...no...

There are other things in the vicinity...like my 4 Mega Arches (36 channels), 8 Mini Arches (40 channels) and what I am calling, my 9 "Streamers" (which will use 216 channels), plus strobes and stars on each of the mini trees...

[jldavis1969]

Speaking of tie out stakes

Harbor Freight has them at $2.99

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95489

[rwertz]

cenote wrote:

Here is a shot of mine. It is a concrete sleeve in the ground, with a bolt threw the pipe during the season. Next picture shows box over it. Box has two bolts that go into frame. So, basically, you need a wrench to steel.

Chuck, I really like how your enclosure is open on the bottom. I don't want to sink sleeves in our yard. But doing a similar design with legs might be a better idea than the storage totes I've been using.

[jldavis1969]

cenote wrote:

Here is a shot of mine. It is a concrete sleeve in the ground, with a bolt threw the pipe during the season. Next picture shows box over it. Box has two bolts that go into frame. So, basically, you need a wrench to steel.

cenote:

Can you do us a favor and give us a detailed list of parts to make your frame Please.

[Brian Mitchell]

In my five years on the forums, I have yet to hear of a single case of controllers being stolen from a display. I have heard of two cases where controlers were destroyed by vandals using hammers and wire cutters.

Mine are either screwed to the house or bolted to a fence post or grade stake in the ground.

[jimswinder]

Brian Mitchell wrote:

In my five years on the forums, I have yet to hear of a single case of controllers being stolen from a display.

I guess we want to keep it that way...

[Surfing4Dough]

I agree with Brian on this one. Visitors and/or teen vandals to your display aren't going to even begin to understand what controls your display or recognize what is valuable on your display unless you draw attention to it. They are more apt to destroy your fancy display items (mega trees, destroy arches, smash presents, etc) or be attracted to something you are obviously making major efforts to secure ("must be valuable if it looks like Fort Knox.") I am of the camp of making the controllers look as boring as possible. Some have even painted them black, and make them look dingy (I love my controllers too much to do that). I think the biggest threat is teen vandals that just want to destroy, not steal (they aren't that smart). I would think they would be attracted to the "big pretty present with the bow on it" to either smash or if wanting to steal, that gift would look cool as a souvenir to a vandal. Plus it could get to the point where you spend nearly as much money securing your controller (factoring in supplies and time building) as it does to just replace the controller during a sale (don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean one should be careless about it).

The route I have gone is using two 3' U-posts (fence posts, pictured below, ~$3 at Lowes) driven parallel into the ground 6" apart and mounted a controller to them. The bolts went through the heatsinks of the controller and then through the enclosure case and bolted to the posts. I could have mounted them directly to the posts this way, but I mounted the enclosure to a piece of plywood first and used L-brackets to attach a second small piece of plywood to create a "roof" over the enclosure and mounted this upside down L-shaped plywood cover with the controller attached to it to the fence posts (thus creating an extra weather shield). Used 3-4" bolts that went through the heat sinks, enclosure, plywood, and then the fence post. In order to bolt/unbolt it, access to inside the enclosure was needed (which was locked). Worked well. Difficult to get a single fence post out of frozen ground, and since the controller ties 2 of the posts together, it is impossible to pull out 2 together--hence can't pull out the controller. Kept the boxes very secure, and off the ground. Once the ground softened, I was able to pull the individual posts out of the ground, but only one at a time. I had removed the controllers off the posts though 2 weeks earlier just to get them indoors ASAP.

This route was easy, cheap, and didn't draw attention to my controllers (both from an aesthetic and security standpoint).

While on the topic of fence posts, I will mention that I also used a 6 ft T-shaped fence post to mount/anchor my mega-tree pole. Sustained 60 mph gusts this year, and was very easy. See here if interested in this topic.

[jimswinder]

I don't know about cenote, but I am using a cemented sleeve in the ground for several reasons...1) being ease of set-up, 2) my mini tree is also going to be an anchor point for a guy wire to my Weber tree up on the roof, 3) my "Streamers" are going to run up the guy wire (so need the stability of it being in the ground) and 4) for security.

Several people have mentioned using the fence posts, which I think is a great idea...but they also say when the ground freezes, it would be difficult to pull out. Well...not all of us live in the frozen tundra of Northern Minnesota!! LOL

Living in Seattle, and getting a lot of rain in December would make the ground very soft and therefore very easy to pull out a stake or two. :cool:

[PaulXmas]

I agree trying to secure the controllers too much could draw attention to them.

2009 I had them screwed into the side of the house, I don't really have that option this year.

I was just looking for some way of keeping them off the ground and prevent someone from walking away with them.