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How to Make Homemade Alarms

An alarm system will only prevent entry if every door and window is equipped with an alarm. But alarms can keep a home safe by preventing strangers or thieves from entering it.

Things You'll Need

  • Wire strippers
  • Four pieces of coated wire
  • Battery clip
  • 1.5-volt buzzer
  • 1-foot x 1-foot plywood
  • Gloves
  • Soda can
  • Box cutter
  • Sandpaper
  • Gator clip
  • 1-inch x 1-inch cardboard
  • Fishing line
  • Batteries
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Instructions

    • 1

      Strip the ends of two wires with the wire stripper. Attach one wire to the positive terminal of the battery clip, and attach the second wired to negative terminal on the battery clip.

    • 2

      Strip two more wires and connect one side to the positive terminal of the 1.5-volt buzzer. Attach the second wire to the negative terminal of the buzzer.

    • 3

      Glue the buzzer and battery clip to the plywood using the hot glue to do so. It does not matter how close or far away from each other they are just as long as the buzzer and battery clip are not touching.

    • 4

      Put on your gloves and cut off the top and bottom of a soda can with a box cutter. Cut the circular remainder down one side so that there is a long rectangular piece left over. Cut two strips off of the end of the rectangular piece, and cut them in half. There should be two small rectangular shaped pieces left over about a half an inch in width and length.

    • 5

      Sand down both sides of the two small aluminum pieces. Be sure to get the entire label off of the front and all of the coating off the back.

    • 6

      Put hot glue on the back of both of the pieces of aluminum. Apply the positive wire running from the battery clip to one piece of the aluminum while the glue is still hot. Place the wire and aluminum piece on the bottom jaw of the gator clip.

    • 7

      Grab the positive wire running from the buzzer and glue it to the back of the other aluminum piece. Apply glue to the top jaw of the gator clip with hot glue. The buzzer should sound once the gator clip is closed. Glue the gator clip to the piece of plywood with the hot glue.

    • 8

      Attach the loose wire of the battery clip, which is the negative wire, with the loose wire of the buzzer, which is also the negative wire.

    • 9

      Cut out a 1-inch-long piece of cardboard. Puncture a hole in the center of the cardboard with either a hole punch or a pencil. Tie a string around the cardboard. Fasten the loose end of the string to a window handle, window pain, door or other area you want to cover.

    • 10

      Put the batteries in the battery clip. Place the cardboard between the two jaws of the gator clip. When someone opens a window, the string will pull the cardboard out of the gator clip. This will cause the two metal pieces to touch and will complete a circuit, causing the buzzer to sound.