STI ED-50 Rex Plus Electronic Watchdog, Barking Dog Alarm

by Safety Technology

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Rex Plus is the electronic watchdog that never sleeps and the soothing sounds of the rainforest! Choose from four settings: continual tranquil sounds of the rainforest, alert sound of an angry and protective watchdog, soothing sounds to alert you of a guest feets arrival, and alert sounds of both the angry watchdog and a warning siren. Rex Plus can inchessee inches through thick doors, walls and glass. Once you plug his cord into any standard 110-VAC electrical outlet, he feetll stay on duty around the clock. Ideal for homes, apartments, mobile homes, RVs, jewelry stores, hotels, public and private buildings of virtually every kind.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B002XITC5G
• Item model number: ED-50
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,673 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
  • #63 in Home Improvement > Safety & Security > Household Sensors & Alarms

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE IT, January 25, 2008

By 

C. E. Walker "lvrose3" (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I've had mine about 6 months. Sure, it takes a bit of time to position it just the way you want; sooo? Big deal if it barks when I'm leaving the house; I just say, "Guard the house." hahaha. Sounds just like a german shephard and scares the mailman.
A cop friend of mine said that it's great for a single person living alone, and no burglar is going to waste their time trying to decide if it IS or if it ISN'T real, when they can go to the next house that DOESN'T have a dog.

75 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love it after its dialed in., May 31, 2010

By 

anon (Shingle Springs, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: STI ED-50 Rex Plus Electronic Watchdog, Barking Dog Alarm (Tools & Home Improvement)

When I first plugged it in I was disappointed like some other reviewers here. It has two problems. First, it sounded like a broken record and second, it saw behind itself better than it saw outside. You are probably wondering why I gave it four stars. Well I have been using this for several months now and it wasn't easy to get it dialed in but it now works great and I want to help others get this work right because it is pretty cool when it does.

First, you need to understand this has 3 barking stages. The first stage is a single woof, as you move closer then the second stage is several woofs, and if you continue to move or get closer then the third is several rapid woofs that blend together. It will continue to repeat stage 3 as long as movement is sensed and after a couple times it becomes obvious it is not a real dog because it sounds like a broken record. To solve this problem you should put Rex in a place that sees the approach but not while the person is waiting at the front door. I am fortunate that my living room is about 3 feet in front of the front door so it will not continue to bark at stage 3 while the person is waiting at the front door.

The bark doesn't sound so realistic inside the house but through the wall it sounds very realistic as you approach it. I have had guest ask me where the dog is when I open the door. I actually have a well mannered Labrador Retriever but she never barks at people and she is normally asleep in the backyard anyway.

I fixed the other problem of it seeing behind itself by making a metal shield using a piece of 24 gage stainless steel cut 10" by 16" and shaped it into a curve. It would sometimes bark when I was upstairs directly over it so I added a piece of stainless to go over the top and this did the trick. I placed Rex in the corner behind the sofa with the metal shield around it. Now I can sit on the sofa without triggering Rex but it can see outside about 15 feet with the sensitivity knob about half way. I can't turn the sensitivity up anymore without setting off Rex when I sit on the sofa but 15 feet outside is sufficient since my drive way is only 5 feet away and I don't want it to see the street. I also got a wireless remote from Wal-Mart for about $15 so I can turn Rex off without moving the sofa. I just hang the remote on the wall next to the alarm panel in the hallway. I have watched solicitors walk up to the house and turn around as soon as Rex started to bark so I know it works. I knocked one star off because I really think the manufacturer should make this product better by shielding the back of it better from inside the plastic case, but ultimately I got Rex to work exactly as I needed it to, it just cost me a little more money. Something interesting I learned is that I need to turn Rex off on windy days because the tree moving around in the front yard triggers Rex.

Without a doubt, it is great addition to my arsenal of home security and I would definitely buy another for the peace of mind I get by having this lets me sleep at night knowing that nobody is going mess with my car in the driveway without waking me up.

79 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as a real dog in burglar prevention., August 30, 2006

By 

D. Lautenbach "Disco Dude" (Long Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

The electronic sound of a dog barking does not sound like a real dog. The sound is distorted and sounds electronic. It fools people initially, but if they hang around, they soon catch on that it is not a real dog. Perhaps it may be just enough to deter a burglar though, and that would make it worth it's expensive price.

The device monitors an outside area, but it monitors the inside area even better. This means that everytime you go near it, even while inside the house, the alarm activates, which you don't really want it to do. I tried putting heavy books around the back and sides of it, but it still activated everytime I went near it while I was inside the house. Ideally, you would need to place it somewhere that you do not go near while you are at home, or else only activate it when you go away from home.

The good news is you don't have to clean up after it or feed it, and it stops barking when you turn the juice off.

It's very easy to set up, just plug it in and adjust the sensitivity and volume control knobs, that's it!

Despite it's shortcomings, I may even buy another one for my side door as I am paranoid about burglars. It does have a wow factor when your neighbors learn about it. I don't know of anything else quite like it on the market.