Workin in an upscale hotel but the issue is at most in my city. They break in to the vending machines and remove money etc. Anyone have a foolproof system for warning us or setting off an alarm to warn us of the breakin? Video camera are in place but only as good as person sitting and watching the all night. Spray paint and or a little something to blur images are all it takes. Once in place they must be moved so maybe a motin sensor on the machines?? Any help appreciated.
The video camera should be connected to a time laps tape recorder. This is the way we do security systems. Then the tape can be reviewed to see who was there. The cameras should be well hidden, so that the person does not know that he is being watched.
It is possible to put an alarm system on the vending machine. It would have to employ a properly set up vibration sensor.
If you are loosing money from vending machines and having damage to them, it may be a cost savings for you to have proper security installed.
There are new vending machines that have been coming out, that only take credit cards and bank cards. This way, there is no cash to take.
About the vib. sensor, what if someone shakes it to try and dislodge a soda or other product that got stuck on its way to the chute? Or someone accidentally hits the machine? You don't want to have to have someone get up to turn off the vending machine alarm all the time.
Also, what if some> The video camera should be connected to a time laps tape recorder. This is
Nothing is going to be foolproof. If someone wants to steal from the vending machine, they will do so.
That said, I'd think a few things might help...good lighting in the area where the machines are might do more than you'd think for security. Moving them to a frequently occupied area might also produce an improvement...it's simply harder for a thief to work at compromising the machine in good lighting and with a crowd present.
If that's not enough, have you considered restricting access to the machines in some way? An iron bar cage around them with openings only big enough to work the machine and retrieve the product it vends might work. This could have a gate that opens and is heavily protected, or it might open from the back via a more conventional locked door. I've seen this done before with vending machines in public areas, and the formation of the bars can be decorative while remaining functional.
On the electronic protection front, a magnetic action or reed switch could be used to sound an alarm when the machine is forced open. Of course, one would have to turn the alarm off before filling the machine, but that's likely with any alarm solution.
As far as your camera problem, putting the camera out of reach or where it can't be easily seen might help...if it's possible to do this. There are cameras available that look like everyday objects, such as smoke alarms or ceiling mounted speaker systems. Sometimes the object they're built into is also functional.
Just an idea, but I worked on an alarm to monitor TV sets in hotels. It used a 2200 ohm resistor inside the TV set so that if the line was disconnected or shorted, it set of an alarm with the room number in the office. The same would work with an internal door switch inside the vending machines. The alarm would go off in the office and security could hurry to the machine and catch the thief in the act. Use a walkie talkie to tell the office which machine is to be opened so they can mute that alarm, and then call them again when your done to reset the alarm.
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