oldinstaller
10-23-2002, 11:53 PM
in keeping with AIG sub forum on mobile audio...
Vehicle security is the other thing that people tend to get either
by fear of losing what they have, the past experience of loss
before, or just the peace of mind so they can sleep at night.
Obviously, remote control alarms are the way to go since every
manufacturer on the face of the earth makes them.
Features are key in vehicle security. But the most important features one should consider are the ones that will help protect
the vehicle first.
The first thing to consider is "how damn loud is this sucker"?
Wimpy sirens won't even scare small animals let alone the
potential thief. Make sure its loud.....loud...and loud....period.
Adding on things like horn honking, multiple sirens, and the like
help the alarm do one thing important, protect your car and protect itself too.
Second consideration, what other type of attention getting devices can i do to my alarm? Flashing the parking lights is
a given. Head light flash is not a good idea since newer halogen
light bulbs don't last too long with constant powering up and down for a minute or too. They need to stay on and cool off
gradually if you want them to last. Strobe lights are cool if
you can get them bright enough to be seen. The interior lights
(dome light) can also add to the confusion.
The good ol talking alarm can be questionable. How much fear
does the words "warning, protected by security system, stand back" strike in the hearts of die hard theives? Very little. Its more of a novelty for the price. Your money can be better used for different features that are more valuable.
Sensors. Now these are devices that trigger the alarm system
and makes all hell break loose. Shock sensors, glass (audio) sensors, motion sensors (exterior mass motion, not the old school motion detectors of back in the day), tilt sensors ( the good ones that have a memory of position of the vehicle when last parked) are all good to have. Decide which ones you feel
will give you the most peace of mind. Personally speaking,
a proximity sensor that detects the movement of mass outside
the car is the best since it will deter the theft even before the car is even touched. But make sure its not set too sensitive so that
a little bird poop sets it off.:D
Starter kills and ignition kills. The most used is starter kill since
most cars are automatic transmission. That way, trying to start
the car is like the battery is dead. (click, click goes the ignition)
Ignition by definition is when the car cranks but it won't start.
This is very dangerous especially if this feature malfunctions while
you are driving. Picture yourself driving along and all of a sudden,
the car justs dies in motion. No more steering, brakes, etc.
Can you say "oh f**k"?
There are systems that utilize a anti car jacking set up where
that the car dies after the car jacking has taken place but will only kill the engine after the car reduces speed down to a crawl
and the brakes have been engaged too. Thats a little more
acceptable. And also disables the use of the remote control to
bypass the anti carjacking mode. (ie. clifford blackjack)
Switches. These are the funny looking metal or plastic thingys
that control the dome light in the car. When the door is opened,
it triggers the alarm to sound the siren, flash the parking lights, etc. They can be added to the hood and trunk too. Sometimes
there are factory ones in the hood and trunk that can be used
too.
Pagers. This is the one thing that I seldom recommend unless
you plan to be no farther than like 50 feet away from your car
at any given time. Pagers do only one thing, beep when the alarm is going off. If you cant get to your car in time, (say like in under 15 seconds) forget it. Plus if there are more of them than
you and they have more weapons than you too, think that one out.:eek:
All the other stuff. Now this is where you get all the cool stuff like
door locks, trunk release, window roll up and down, remote start, and even turning on and off your stereo. You can even set it up
to remotely open your garage door, turn on your front porch light, and even make a call on your cell phone to the police.
These are all the add ons that give you convenience more so than
security. ( I know the people on the east coast feel remote start
is a must for those real cold winter mornings so I'll let that one
pass as a must).
If youre gonna get all those other things too, just make sure you are getting all the security things first before the toys.
I can go on and on, but I think this will cover the basics.
feel free to ask about other things and I will give my opinion.
I hope this helped answer some questions many of you wanted
to ask but didn't know who to ask.
:thumbs: :thumbs:
Vehicle security is the other thing that people tend to get either
by fear of losing what they have, the past experience of loss
before, or just the peace of mind so they can sleep at night.
Obviously, remote control alarms are the way to go since every
manufacturer on the face of the earth makes them.
Features are key in vehicle security. But the most important features one should consider are the ones that will help protect
the vehicle first.
The first thing to consider is "how damn loud is this sucker"?
Wimpy sirens won't even scare small animals let alone the
potential thief. Make sure its loud.....loud...and loud....period.
Adding on things like horn honking, multiple sirens, and the like
help the alarm do one thing important, protect your car and protect itself too.
Second consideration, what other type of attention getting devices can i do to my alarm? Flashing the parking lights is
a given. Head light flash is not a good idea since newer halogen
light bulbs don't last too long with constant powering up and down for a minute or too. They need to stay on and cool off
gradually if you want them to last. Strobe lights are cool if
you can get them bright enough to be seen. The interior lights
(dome light) can also add to the confusion.
The good ol talking alarm can be questionable. How much fear
does the words "warning, protected by security system, stand back" strike in the hearts of die hard theives? Very little. Its more of a novelty for the price. Your money can be better used for different features that are more valuable.
Sensors. Now these are devices that trigger the alarm system
and makes all hell break loose. Shock sensors, glass (audio) sensors, motion sensors (exterior mass motion, not the old school motion detectors of back in the day), tilt sensors ( the good ones that have a memory of position of the vehicle when last parked) are all good to have. Decide which ones you feel
will give you the most peace of mind. Personally speaking,
a proximity sensor that detects the movement of mass outside
the car is the best since it will deter the theft even before the car is even touched. But make sure its not set too sensitive so that
a little bird poop sets it off.:D
Starter kills and ignition kills. The most used is starter kill since
most cars are automatic transmission. That way, trying to start
the car is like the battery is dead. (click, click goes the ignition)
Ignition by definition is when the car cranks but it won't start.
This is very dangerous especially if this feature malfunctions while
you are driving. Picture yourself driving along and all of a sudden,
the car justs dies in motion. No more steering, brakes, etc.
Can you say "oh f**k"?
There are systems that utilize a anti car jacking set up where
that the car dies after the car jacking has taken place but will only kill the engine after the car reduces speed down to a crawl
and the brakes have been engaged too. Thats a little more
acceptable. And also disables the use of the remote control to
bypass the anti carjacking mode. (ie. clifford blackjack)
Switches. These are the funny looking metal or plastic thingys
that control the dome light in the car. When the door is opened,
it triggers the alarm to sound the siren, flash the parking lights, etc. They can be added to the hood and trunk too. Sometimes
there are factory ones in the hood and trunk that can be used
too.
Pagers. This is the one thing that I seldom recommend unless
you plan to be no farther than like 50 feet away from your car
at any given time. Pagers do only one thing, beep when the alarm is going off. If you cant get to your car in time, (say like in under 15 seconds) forget it. Plus if there are more of them than
you and they have more weapons than you too, think that one out.:eek:
All the other stuff. Now this is where you get all the cool stuff like
door locks, trunk release, window roll up and down, remote start, and even turning on and off your stereo. You can even set it up
to remotely open your garage door, turn on your front porch light, and even make a call on your cell phone to the police.
These are all the add ons that give you convenience more so than
security. ( I know the people on the east coast feel remote start
is a must for those real cold winter mornings so I'll let that one
pass as a must).
If youre gonna get all those other things too, just make sure you are getting all the security things first before the toys.
I can go on and on, but I think this will cover the basics.
feel free to ask about other things and I will give my opinion.
I hope this helped answer some questions many of you wanted
to ask but didn't know who to ask.
:thumbs: :thumbs: