I hope someone here will be kind enough to assist with my problem. I am not a professional installer, but a FAIRLY knowledgeable end-user. In the living room of my home, I have a G.E. "RCR-Pet" motion detector. This is the second unit of this type my installer and I have tried. The first such sensor was installed over a year ago when another technology (floor-joist load-cells) proved unsuitable. The load-cells themselves were a replacement for another brand of motion detector which proved unsuitable.
The sensor is mounted SLIGHTLY above the maximum recommended height - the top of the sensor is at 8ft. 1in. above the floor. It is mounted on an "over-hang" prohibiting lowering it, if the 1-inch overage was actually significant. There is a 10lb cat as well as 2 dogs in the room. The dogs are large (Rhodesian Ridgeback and a Saint Bernard/Collie cross) BUT they are crated when the system is armed. The Saint Collie's crate is BEHIND the sensor, under the over-hang, outside of the coverage pattern. The ridgeback's crate is outside of the sensor's set range and was, until recently, outside of the coverage pattern. She is also smaller than the 80lb immunity claimed for the unit.
When the first sensor was first installed, it was mounted flush to the wall of the over-hang. It was set to detect only within 9 feet. I noticed a problem: it did not "catch" well for people passing through the most likely path of an intruder in the room. We installed a "swivel-bracket" and angled the unit approx. 45 degrees toward the ridgeback's crate, which is approximately 12 feet from the unit. During walk-testing, catch was improved noticeably.
A few days ago, the sensor falsed. Afterward, I noticed it was detecting BEYOND the set 9 foot range. Suspecting the unit was defective, my installer and I replaced it. The new unit is also detecting beyond the 9 foot range, as well as detecting BEHIND the unit (despite the fact that G.E. advertises no "back-lobe"). The unit is still on the "swivel-bracket", but is now oriented straight ahead as the first one was. I have an "RCR-A" in the master-bedroom (no animals in there when system is armed) and it's range-detection is flawless.
Have we gotten 2 lemons, or is this model junk? Thanks in advance for any help.
Andrew Wood