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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!ihnp4!pesnta!pertec!scgvaxd!chris
From: chris@scgvaxd.UUCP (Chris Yoder)
Newsgroups: net.auto,net.consumers
Subject: Re: Protecting Car Stereos
Message-ID: <348@scgvaxd.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 27-Jun-85 23:56:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: scgvaxd.348
Posted: Thu Jun 27 23:56:07 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 30-Jun-85 00:11:30 EDT
References: <273@phri.UUCP> <1110@peora.UUCP> <172@tekcrl.UUCP>
Reply-To: chris@scgvaxd.UUCP (Chris Yoder)
Organization: Hughes Aircraft Co., El Segundo, CA
Lines: 56
Xref: watmath net.auto:7202 net.consumers:2467
Summary: 

[bug poison]

     First of all, I hate car alarms.  I would never have one in my car for the
simple reason that I find them to be more of a pain and a worry than
anything else.  (Note that I happen to own this year's model of last year's 
most stolen car...)  Car alarms are forever going off in parking lots and no 
one pays any attention what-so-ever to them.  In fact, I have heard of cases 
where people have *helped* other people to shut the (*&^$%#&^% things off.  

     Now that I have made this blanket statement, I will say that I do find 
certain tricks to be very useful (at least on the surface) at keeping
thieves from running off with my car.  I must say that those red (sometimes
quickly blinking) lights on car alarms are great!  Just put one of those
lights in your car in a nice obvious place.  This causes the potential thief
to think about the fact that you have a non-standard alarm system, with the
(hopeful) result that they will stay away since there is no (obvious) cut
and dried manner to defeat it.  A friend of mine has an amp on his stereo
that has a red pilot light that glows when it's on.  When he is in a
neighborhood that isn't so great he just leaves that on.

     The other favorite trick to hide a fuel cut-off switch about that 
remains closed if no power is applied to it.  You hide a switch somewhere 
in the car (find a *really* obscure place for it!).  If the thief does break
in and run off with the car, he'll get about two blocks and the car will
die.  Hopefully he will then decide to part company with the car and leave
you to find it...  The obvious problem here is what happens when the cut-off
switch breaks.  I guess that I'd rather have this problem than no car.

    As for saving car stereos... just don't buy an expensive stereo.  In my
case this is even more critical as I have a convertible.  If a thief wants
your stereo, he'll get it (actually, same with the car).  I have heard of
people who have stripped the mounting screws on the stereo to make taking
the stereo out impossible, but this makes upgrading (or simply replacing)
your stereo very hard.  I've not had any problems with units costing ~$200,
but I have had problems with flashy looking speakers (turns out I was going
to replace them anyway because they were junk...).  I figure that if I can't
afford to replace it w/o going into major economic hardship I can't afford
to have the stereo in my car (just wish that I could have the same attitude
about my car, but that's what insurance is for.)  

     Oh well, I've rambled on enough, but remember in protecting anything, 
the more thought that you put into being tricky, and the more false trails
that you throw at a potential car (stereo) thief, the more likely he is to 
give up and go find an easier car (stereo) to steal.  Never rely totally on
an protection system that someone else thinks up.

-- 
				-- Chris Yoder

UUCP --- {allegra|ihnp4}!scgvaxd!engvax!chris



{  The opinions here are representative of Huge Aircrash, not me and 
   *especially* not of my poor little keyboard.    8-)=
}