Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site scgvaxd.UUCP 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-)= }