We have a RE204 driveway sensor which works ok, but probably 25% of the time will not trigger when a car comes up the drive. The sensor has sensitivity adjustments but if we turn it up a notch it then starts triggering when large trucks pass on the road. Unfortunately we don’t have a lot of flexibility to reposition the sensor. Are there other options for driveway sensors that are more reliable?
I’m not aware of one.
A few things with the RE204:
The orientation of the sensing element inside can affect performance. Rotating the head is usually a good trial and error test to get better sensitivity for smaller cars with less metal/more plastic components.
Ants. You’ll definitely know this is an issue if you pull the components out to swap batteries, but ants do love to get into electronic devices. Considering how and where it is mounted, the RE204 is a prime target for this. One of the biggest problems they’ll cause is bringing moisture into the housing. Typically this will be an obvious problem so I am guessing since it wasn’t mentioned, it doesn’t apply, but just in case I am adding it.
The distance from the driveway to sensor should be around 6-12 feet I believe for best results, and at least 24 feet from the street to avoid traffic. Instructions state ideal mounting at door handle height. I know you stated not a lot of flexibility, but if it is outside of these recommendations performance can be affected.
By no means is this an “Official” method, but what I used is a wireless driveway detector and connected it to a zwave door sensor. It personally works great for me. I followed this video to create mine: https://youtu.be/2z3810t3nbU