Integrated Taut Wire Sensor Alarm Monitoring System

For many years mechanical taut wire intrusion detection systems have played a key role in protecting high risk facilities. The taut wire sensor has the advantage that it combines a physical barrier with an intrusion sensor, a useful feature where no fence is installed or planned. However, mechanical taut wire sensors have proven to have several major disadvantages, including: no sensitivity adjustment, no sensor self-test feature, no remote control capability, and inflexable mounting constraints. This paper deals with a new generation of solid state taut wire sensor which overcomes the deficiencies of the aging mechanical design. The new sensor uses a microprocessor to filter out sources of nuisance alarms, yet maintains exceptional sensitivity to intrusion and tamper attempts. Being solid state, the new sensor can be mounted in any orientation, even upside down. Moreover, when combined with a new, advanced alarm monitoring system, the solid state taut wire fence will support remote sensitivity adjustment and remote sensor self-test control.