Tinkering is good.

Hunter alert had a very inexpensive product, but at the expense of being cheaply made and rapidly failed if wet, plus only worked for about 100 yards. Still, you got 4 sensors and a receiver and each sensor triggered a different light on the receiver so you knew exactly which one sent the signal. The whole set cost $25, but the tsunami in Japan wiped out the factory and the product isn't made anymore...
http://www.hunteralert.com/

The problem I have had with all of them, however, is that the don't detect hogs. They detect anything that moves (assuming they work). So they detect deer, coons, turkeys, coyotes, buzzards, and sometimes squirrels and rabbits. You can't just detect hogs while you sleep. You detect whatever moves. So this notion about being able to sleep until the hogs arrive is a be of a misdirection. Nobody has made a hog detector.

The Dakota Alert MURS is expensive, but I would not call it too expensive for the masses. Joebob weekend hunter ain't buying it because Joebob doesn't know about it.

I don't see Joebob carrying around a great big honkin' 6 v battery for the base station either, right.

Will detect 8 sensors? Cool. If you don't know which and where, then where does that leave you? Eight sensors have the potential to not let you get any sleep, LOL. You will know that there are animals out there, somewhere, and one or more anonymous locations.

Dakota Alerts only gives you the option of 4 per channel, granted, but each at least identifies itself by number.

You are on the right track, but maybe the wrong train. The issue isn't clear cut and the solution isn't entirely simply.

The Dakota Alerts MURS system isn't the be all to end all answer either. It doesn't have vibration alert. It is pricy. The alerts are a fixed recording that are annoying (but do perform as advertised). The sensors are not preset to accept solar power, but do operate for a out 3-6 weeks on 6 rechargeable AA batteries). The handheld receiver will run for 10+ hours on a single charge, which is okay, but not great.

I like tinkering as well. Cool idea all around and hope you get it perfected! The game cam systems with realtime pictures that upload to the net or text to you would work wouldnt they?That way you could see what triggered not that it was triggered, check the timestamp. Could you save each cam as a different contact do when it texts you it says the cam name? Again, pricy but effective. Does anybody use these? How quick do the pictures get to you?

OK, first, you can get this much cheaper than at Northern Tool...

Second, it doesn't have to be mounted 40" off the ground (my manual says 3-5 feet and appears to be more suggestive than a must). I think the idea is to avoid false alerts by being too low (i.e., rabbits, skunks, possums and whatnot.). Positioning of the sensors will be critical. You want to avoid having anything in front of it that the wind can blow (i.e., small branches or tall grasses/weeds, etc.)

The headset, of course, is one of my modifications. It is not terribly technical, but as I have learned, beyond the skills or know-how of a reasonable percentage of our society. You also need to delete the sonolert.

Another thing is that the base is generally set up for AC with a DC backup. I think you'll find that the 4 little AA's won't run the base all that long. Thus, the addition of the 6 volt feeder battery which can be kept going for a very long time with a small 6 volt solar panel. Again, not all that technical, but requires a little basic knowledge and skills.

The actual downfall to me is the sensor power. With a lot of activity those 4 AA's won't last all that long. There are solutions of course, but each adds expense.

My goal from the start was to come up with something that was affordable to a lot of folks. Something simple. The Dakota MURS system is way too sophisticated and costly for the masses. I haven't added it up, but to cover multiple areas it would be very expensive. This system can monitor up to 8 sensors for less cost than one Dakota base and "sensor" unit. I'm sure the Dakota is great, but Joe Bob weekend hunter ain't buyin' it.

Something else I have been working on as an addition is a wireless RF vibration alert. You would be able to place it in your pocket and let it wake you. Headphones or an earphone is fine, but I'm wondering if the vibration wouldn't be better?

Lastly, I don't have a bright mind. I just like to think about hunting solutions and tinker...

I think the vibrate idea will be more effective then the head set!! Well try it out and let us know how it works. at my jobs it works great. And about the base battery it will only be on when your hunting right? Do you really think it will go off like crazy that it will kill the AA batteries right away?

i have the Hunter Alert system and it does work. it works too well. it detects all movement including moving bushes and limbs. i ended up mounting under my feeder facing down. something has to move under the feeder before it detects. one night i didn't get the ear piece plugged in all the way on the reciever and it sounded out loud and never spooked the hogs at 70 yards.

it is a cheaply made system and i wouldn't leave it out all the time but a more water proof (for rainy/misty nights)system simular would work.

dfwroadkill, I would buy a couple units as soon as you can start producing them. Dakota units are nice but way too $$$ for what you get and if you have multiple locations that you want to hunt moving the units around is a pain not to mention risking breakage.