Guide · Gates & fence tamper
Farm gate sensors and fence tamper alerts, explained.
A gate someone forgot, or a chain that's been cut, and stock are on the road or in the wrong paddock before anyone notices. A gate sensor on LoRa alerts your phone the moment it happens, even from a back paddock with no mobile signal.
Last reviewed: 29 September 2026 · by Alien IT Solutions
What a gate sensor tells you
A gate sensor reports open and closed. Add a tamper alert and it also flags a cut chain or a downed fence. At the gate and the sheds, a motion sensor adds vehicle-or-person detection.
We log and keep every reading, so you have a record you can stand behind: proof a gate was shut, and the time it opened.
How the alert gets home with no signal
The sensor sends its reading over LoRa, a low-power radio that reaches well past mobile coverage. A single gateway can pull in sensors several kilometres out, with no SIM in each device. If a hill or a shed blocks the path, a repeater or a second gateway covers the spot.
From the gateway, readings go out over whatever the property has: cellular where it reaches, satellite where it does not. Before a sensor goes on a gatepost, we walk-test the coverage so it mounts where the signal is. The full chain, from node to gateway to dashboard, is in how LoRa sensor monitoring works.
Alerts the moment a gate opens
You set the rule once, say any opening outside scheduled access, and the alert goes to your phone by SMS, email or push.
On the dashboard it reads like this: east gate opened 02:14, no scheduled access. You hear about it while it is happening.
What it runs on
Gate and door sensors run for months to years on primary batteries. Every report costs a slice of battery, so a far-off sensor that has to report often gets solar: size the power budget first. The gateway, and any repeater, needs solar or mains, since it listens all the time.
Buy a standalone gate alarm and you get another app and another monthly bill. On one platform the gate sensor lands on the same dashboard as your pumps, soil probes and frost points, and every sensor you add reuses the gateway you already have. One sensor platform, many uses covers the economics.
Questions people ask
Can a gate sensor work with no mobile signal?
Yes. It reports over LoRa to a gateway on the property, and the gateway sends the readings out over cellular or satellite. The paddock end needs no signal and no SIM.
What does a fence tamper alert catch?
A cut chain or a downed fence. The gate sensor itself reports open and closed, and both alerts reach your phone by SMS, email or push.
How long do gate sensor batteries last?
Months to years on primary batteries. A far-off sensor that has to report often gets solar, and the gateway and any repeater need solar or mains, since they listen all the time.
Do you install it?
Yes. We fit and seal the sensors, stand up the gateway, set your alert rules and set up the dashboard. Where a job involves licensed electrical or security work, we bring in the right licensed trade.
Know when a gate opens.
Tell us which gates and fences worry you and where they are. We will come back with a plan and a price, no pressure, no jargon.
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