Pro tip: using a cheap phone camera to check sensor alignment saved me 2 hours today

I've always been a 'just eyeball it and adjust' kind of guy when mounting door contacts. Been doing it that way for probably 5 years. Today I had this tricky metal door frame with only a tiny gap and kept getting false alarms on the test. After the third time climbing down the ladder and back up, I grabbed my phone and stuck the camera right up in the gap to see where the magnet was lining up. Saw it was off by maybe a quarter inch. Rotated the magnet bracket and bam, perfect alignment first try. Why did no one tell me this sooner? Any of you guys use a borescope or just the regular camera?

2 comments

2 Comments

christopher3851mo ago

That eyeball method works until it doesn't man, I think that's the rule for most things in life where we get too comfortable with shortcuts. We all find the hard way first before figuring out the smart way.

lee.lucas1mo ago

Yeah the eyeball method is just guessing with extra steps... I've been burned so many times thinking I had it all dialed in. Always ends up with me redoing the whole thing later when it doesn't line up right.