Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Normally, I’ll only review a product that really impresses me, or really disappoints me. Sadly, this falls in the latter category. We all want to support American companies, but we expect a superior product. I’ve had my last driveway alarm for about seven years. It was a reliable system from a company in NH, but I figured it was time to try some newer technology. I liked the features of the Guardline system....zone identification, different alert tones (more on that later), range and system expansion. So far, the sensors have worked as they should, hence the two stars instead of one. Here are the issues I have encountered. I installed two sensors along my long circular driveway. System worked. That night we had a moderate rain. Next day, system not working. Checked sensors...both were facing the ground! The rain hitting the sunshade forced the unit to rotate down towards the ground. And yes, I tightened the screw in the ball and socket to the max. I had noticed prior to mounting that it didn’t tighten sufficiently.....on any of the four sensors I purchased. How could these possibly stand up through New England winters?! I contacted Guardline who stated they knew of this problem, offered to send me new back plates, but couldn’t guarantee they’d be any better. REALLY?! You know of a pretty important flaw, and haven’t addressed it yet? Wait, it gets better. Their solution was to take the units apart and sand the ball and socket to roughen up the surface so it wouldn’t move as easily. Didn’t work. I used a file to really scratch it up, and that helped a little. Still don’t think it’ll hold up in a snowstorm so I drove a 6” lag screw into the trees under each sensor to keep it from moving downward. Not exactly the plug and play unit I was hoping for. A consumer should not have to make modifications to a $250 unit. I was concerned that using the sensors without the shades would lead to water penetration that other reviewers have complained about. Which leads to design flaws 2,3 and 4. Flaw Number 2.....there is no gasket between the front and back (a likely cause of water penetration) of the sensor which you....design flaw 3...must remove four tiny screws to change the batteries, leading to design flaw 4...these four tiny screws are not captured screws which leads to lost screws. And finally, design flaw 5. The mounting plates are as cheap and flimsy a plastic as you could find. Mounting these plates to trees, which have a tendency to grow, will end up snapping these plates. My last sensors had steel plates and the overall plastic of the sensors was superior to Guardlines. Now, about those 32 alert tones. I cannot imagine 32 worse security alert tones to choose from! Guys, really, you can do better. These are horrible. It took us fifteen minutes to cycle thru and pick just two of the four tones we need. Guardline states they worked on this product for two years and this is all they do. I ask this question of every company that puts out a product with this many flaws. Do you ACTUALLY use the product you sell? I personally, would be embarrassed.