The security monitoring system employs an electro-magnetic field disturbance principle based on two unshielded (or 'leaky') coaxial cables buried about 10–15 cm deep and located at about 1 metre apart. The transmitter emits continuous Radio Frequency (RF) energy along one cable and the energy is received by the other cable. When the change in field strength weakens due to the presence of an object and reaches a pre-set lower threshold, an alarm condition is generated. The security monitoring system is unobtrusive when it has been installed correctly, however care must be taken to ensure the surrounding soil offers good drainage in order to reduce nuisance alarms.