3 Simple Ways to
Share What You Make

With Instructables you can share what you make with the world — and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts.

PhotosPhotos

Share one or more photos of a project, recipe, or whatever you've made, quickly and easily.

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

Step by StepStep-By-Step

Share your step-by-step photos with text instructions of what you made so others can do it too!

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

VideoVideo

Share your how-to video. You'll need your embed code from a video site such as YouTube.

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

Favorite

$5 Dollar Burglar Alarm!

video $5 Dollar Burglar Alarm!

I made a Burglar Alarm for under 5 bucks, and items I found laying around the house! No soldering required. (soldering optional)

25 comments

Nov 4, 2009. 12:59 AMramirolzek says:

Seems so simple! It will be very useful tip to <a href="http://www.800amalarm.com">alarm system install companies </a>.

Oct 14, 2008. 3:16 PMcowscankill says:

LOL I have done that before with a plastic cd case!

Oct 2, 2008. 9:42 AM143 says:

yarrrrrr how to download it?

Feb 3, 2008. 7:24 AMMayolaTikaka2 says:

damn great idea right to me wats ur group

Jan 31, 2008. 5:24 PMschimmi says:

that was very maguiver-like

Dec 5, 2007. 7:47 AM

PKM says:

Beautifully simple, and I love your prototyping technique with just cardboard, elastic bands and paperclips- I'll have to remember that one. If you are connecting free wires together you can solder without an iron- just twist the wires together, heat in a flame and add solder. Another possible source of louder buzzers is an old smoke alarm- watch out for radioactive sources when dismantling them but it would give the alarm a real bite! +

Jan 28, 2008. 6:35 PMFunkNattidelic says:

radio active? what the hell could be radio active in a fire alarm?

Jan 30, 2008. 10:13 AM

PKM says:

As Mr Slippy Fist says, in some smoke alarms there is a tiny radioactive source, which is used to detect smoke by sensing when the radiation crossing a small air gap decreases, caused by the presence of smoke particles.

Jan 29, 2008. 10:54 AMMr Slippy Fist says:

Have you never changed a battery in one? Theirs a little black thingy with the radioactive sign on it.

Jan 29, 2008. 12:59 PMFunkNattidelic says:

oh, really? I've never noticed that before.

Dec 5, 2007. 9:04 AMjohnnyrockstah (author) says:

Thanks for your comments! Also thanks for the tip on how to solder with heat from a flame and solder :)

Dec 4, 2007. 4:44 PM

theRIAA says:

i really hate bringing this up, but if you don't mind waiting a couple weeks, you can use this as your buzzer:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.826

Jan 28, 2008. 6:33 PMFunkNattidelic says:

i bought one of those from the dollar store and it can change from alarm to chime. It is unbelievably loud though, it says 90 Db on the package but it only gives out 90 Db the first time its used. It sucks up life from those tiny batteries very quickly.

Dec 12, 2007. 4:26 PMsunitgir says:

Yeah but with that one you can't make a trip wire... anyway, this one is great for what I was looking for, I needed an alarm "trap" for my LARPing and this works brilliantly, simple enough to arm and disarm without any real skill!

Dec 4, 2007. 4:56 PMjohnnyrockstah (author) says:

Yeah...I own a couple of those alarms. I found out about that alarm AFTER I made this video. I could have saved a buck or two. You can always modify this burglar alarm with a louder buzzer (alarm). Anyway, thanks for watching my vid :)

Dec 29, 2007. 10:55 AMPatented says:

nice i like it its very simple to make and it work great!

Dec 6, 2007. 1:16 PMHawaii00000 says:

How about you make it a ten dollar alarm. Attach the string to a five dollar note and do the rest as usual. When someone takes the money the alarm goes of.

Dec 6, 2007. 1:22 PMjohnnyrockstah (author) says:

LOL!

Dec 6, 2007. 1:17 PMHawaii00000 says:

I mean off.

Dec 5, 2007. 4:59 PMAar000n3y says:

Can you please include actual instructions on how to make the alarm instead of just a video version?

Dec 6, 2007. 7:45 AMjohnnyrockstah (author) says:

When I uploaded this video to the VIDEO section it did NOT give me an option to post detailed instructions along with my video.

I read the Instructables Blog for Nov 30th, and here's what it said:

..."We hope that Videos will support and help grow the site by making a specific section for how-to videos that don't quite need our step-by-step format."

http://www.instructables.com/blog/

Anyway, thanks for watching my vid :)

Johnny Rock Stah