Looking for a driveway alarm that won’t drive you crazy with false alerts?
Most motion-sensor alarms will go off if a large dog walks by, or sometimes just because it’s windy. The DCRH-4K PLUS takes a different approach – it uses a rubber hose laid across your driveway. When a car or truck rolls over the DCHT-4000 rubber hose sensor, the air pressure change triggers the alarm. Simple physics, reliable results.
The system sends a wireless signal up to a mile away to let you know someone’s coming. If you’ve ever pulled into an old gas station and heard that “ding-dong” when you drove over the hose, you already know how this works. Dakota Alert just made it wireless and way more sophisticated.
Hear Dakota Alert Driveway Alarm Receiver Sounds
Listen to Dakota Receiver Sounds
What makes this different from the regular DCRH-4000?
Everything’s the same except for the receiver. Instead of just getting a basic chime box, you get the RE-4K-PLUS receiver, which has some handy connections on the back. You can wire it to strobe lights, louder sirens, or even integrate it with your existing security system through two relay outputs (with normally open, common, and normally closed contacts) plus a 12V DC output. Pretty useful if you need more than just a pleasant chime.
The receiver also gives you 16 different alert sounds to choose from – everything from classic ding-dong chimes to Westminster bells, even fun ones like William Tell or Canon in D. You can tell the difference between your front gate and back entrance, or set up different tones for different family members if you’re running multiple sensors.
Setting it up is pretty painless
Just push the 25-foot rubber hose onto the transmitter nozzle and lay it across your driveway – no digging required. Mount the transmitter box on a wooden post or tree at least 4-5 feet off the ground for best range (avoid metal posts as they can interfere with the signal). The transmitter runs on a regular 9V battery that should last about a year.
The receiver plugs into any wall outlet and pairs with the transmitter using simple code-learning – just hold the mode button, pick your chime, and press the button inside the transmitter box. Takes maybe five minutes total.
The whole thing is built to handle weather from -30°F to 120°F, so you can set it and forget it. The transmitter box is weatherproof and the rubber hose can take whatever Mother Nature throws at it.
Room to grow
One nice thing about Dakota Alert’s system is that it all works together. You can add up to 16 different sensors to one receiver – maybe a motion detector for your back yard, a magnetic sensor for just detecting metal vehicles, or additional hose sensors for other driveways. Each one can have its own distinct chime so you know exactly what’s happening where.
Advanced setup options
The RE-4K-PLUS receiver has DIP switches on the back that let you customize exactly what happens when a sensor triggers. You can control whether the LEDs flash, whether it plays a chime, and whether the relay outputs activate. The relay and 12V outputs can be set to stay on for 1 second, 5 seconds, 15 seconds, or even 5 minutes – perfect for triggering lights that need to stay on long enough to be useful.
Each of the 16 sensors you can connect can have completely different settings, so your front driveway might play Westminster chimes and turn on floodlights for 15 seconds, while your back gate just flashes the LEDs with no sound.
Why Dakota Alert?
They’ve been making these things for over 30 years from their shop in South Dakota. When you call their support line, you get real people who actually know the products. Everything comes with a standard 1-year warranty, and honestly, these things tend to just keep working.
Whether you’re keeping an eye on deliveries at home, monitoring a business entrance, or just want to know when someone’s coming up your long driveway, this kit does the job without the headaches.
What You Get
- RE-4K-PLUS receiver with relay outputs and 12V connections (plus power adapter)
- DCHT-4000 transmitter with 25-foot rubber hose
- Up to 1-mile wireless range (line of sight)
- Vehicle-weight activation (no false alarms from animals)
- 16 different alert tones: Ding Dong (high/low), Westminster, Fur Elise, Alarm/Siren, Coo Coo Clock, Bird Chirping, Twinkle Twinkle, William Tell, Canon in D, Morning, Toreador March, various beep patterns
- Weather-resistant operation (-30°F to 120°F)
- Battery-powered transmitter (9V battery, not included, lasts about 1 year)
- Expandable up to 16 sensors per receiver
- Easy surface installation – no trenching needed
- Two relay outputs (NO, COM, NC contacts) for external devices
- 12V DC output terminals
- Adjustable output timing (1 sec to 5 minutes)
- Wall-mountable receiver with four volume levels
- Full reset capability and low battery indicator
