The National Hardware V805 peephole-door viewer, is easy to install, and an inexpensive way of adding an extra layer of protection to your home, but installing it is not enough; you have to actually use it. I live in what you would call a safe, low crime area, and I am often teased by family members and friends for my obsession with security preparedness.
My home has just about every gadget imaginable, including a monitored alarm system, security cameras, high-security door locks. I even have two yard sign warning burglars of how well protected my home is. You would think that something as basic as a simple door viewer would have made my list. Click here for the Top 10 Best Peepholes and Door Viewers.
As security conscious as I am, I somehow neglected to install a new peep hole when we replaced our front door. At the time, it really didn’t seem like that big a deal, after all what burglar would be stupid enough to ring my door bell, with obvious signs of the home being occupied. The reality is that stupid or not; this is how a lot of the push in robberies and home invasions start.
This point was driven home with a well-publicized home invasion that occurred in a supposedly safe neighboring community, where the homeowners were brutally assaulted and robbed. After this incident, I went from being labeled as a paranoid security nut, to being chastised for not doing enough to protect my family. Needless to say I was online the next day purchasing a National Hardware V805 door viewer.
Simple 10-minute installation
Installing the V805, was as simple as drilling a centered half inch hole about 60 inches high on the door, inserting and tightening the two-component parts. The entire process took no more than ten minutes from start to finish, or rather it only took my brother 10 minutes.
I probably could have installed it myself, but was worried about drilling the hole in the correct location and straight. My main concern was really that of self-preservation, since the door in question was hand-picked by my wife, and she happens to be very proud of it, and if it was ruined during a botched installation, a home invasion would have been the least of my worries.
The extra-wide viewing angle
At first, I thought that the wide-angle viewing feature was just another marketing gimmick, but after actually using it, I am amazed that this feature is not standard on all devices of this type. The peep hole that was installed in our old door came with a relatively narrow viewing angle that only allowed us to recognize a visitor if they were standing directly in front of the door.
The problem is that this left huge blind spots where a criminal could hide. It wasn’t until I actually used the V805 door viewer for the first time that I realized how much I was missing. An entire basketball team could probably have hidden right outside my door, and I would not have seen it. Now I can clearly see the whole area in front of my front door, and not just the person standing in front of it.
Protection against annoying salesmen as well as home invasions
The first test of my brand new state of the art door security device came on a Saturday two weeks after installing it, but no real crime was involved, unless disturbing me on my day off qualifies as one. Apparently, my home seems to attract salesmen in droves. I am not sure what it is, but they seem to know that if they can just get someone to open the front door and engage them in conversation, they are almost guaranteed a sale. The proof of this can be found in junk that currently fills my garage.
The solution to this problem was our new house rule of verifying the identity of the person at the front door and not opening it to strangers. And as far as I am concerned any salesperson ringing my doorbell on a Saturday afternoon is a stranger, besides if I really need a new vacuum cleaner, there is a Target home store within driving distance.
Even though that well dressed smiling person at your front door, trying to sell you an overpriced vacuum cleaner, may be just a harmless, although annoying salesperson, and not a criminal, the wrong time to find out who they are, is after they are in your living-room.