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A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

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Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#131
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We had that in the 90's and 00's, cars still got stolen

I lived in Chicago at that time, you heard those car alarms constantly and they were just ignored. I still remember the sequence of beeps, whoops, and buzzers of the popular alarms. For the device in TFA, I don't see what prevents a thief from just bypassing the thing with a jumper from the battery + terminal.

Do you remember the the birds which adapted their calls to mimic the alarm noises?

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Raking house locks is a) not difficult and b) not expensive. You don't need to be a professional to do that. But also, bricks through windows are equally not difficult and not expensive, though they do leave a bit more evidence. When my neighbors have been burgled, this is the preferred method of entry I've seen.

"But also, bricks through windows are equally not difficult and not expensive, though they do leave a bit more evidence" But that would be loud. You don't want attention when breaking in. (Unless you are a fucked up junkie not caring about anything anymore) But yes, my parents for example are paranoid about always locking the front door 2 times(and get angry if I don't do it when I visit), but have a glass door in th…

> They are illegal to purchase (in most places), I would not know, where to start looking.

amazon. Not much of an investment needed https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-20-School-Toolbox/dp/...

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#133
post #84

1.2 million grant for this? Now I’ve seen grift, but come on. I want to hire their grant writer. Literally a relay in the starter lead. This looks like one of my afternoon projects, and I’m not even joking. I have a 1990s montero diesel and it leaks power, and I often forget to disconnect the terminal. So I bought a relay from AliExpress (same one shown in this photo but one size up) and hooked it up with an esp32 an…

Speaking as someone who's reviewed for NSF before, I'd have expected this grant to also include resources to get the product to market, which I'm assuming you haven't done.

Well say we give him 30 more minutes?

(Also, their device is supposed to be tamper proof. That sounds more difficult)

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#134
post #87
post #74

The GM EV1 had this solved early on: they didn't use keys at all - just a numeric PIN that you entered on the door and on the center console to start. ;) http://www.kingoftheroad.net/charge_across_america/graphics_... Slap your PIN in and hit the RUN button and it'd fire right up.

I believe Ford has a patent on keypad entry. Many of their vehicles have it.

I love the keypad on my F150 I seriously wish all vehicles had it.

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#135

Couldn't they just make the car blare non-stop alternating sirens for 10 minutes at a time, 4 times an hour for 12 hours, loud enough to get through drywall and double-paned windows, at the slightest perturbation? Although I don't own a car, I'm happy when I hear throughout the day and night that my neighbor's cars are well protected.

This approach is not mischief proof and will become an easy way to get back at the owners and/or your neighbors.

All a thief has to do is trigger enough false alarms (directly or indirectly) to annoy you and the neighborhood that you either disable it or learn to ignore it as false alarm.

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#136

This is a tech solution for a non-tech problem. Why is there an uprising in car thefts? Why do people feel the need to steal someone's expensive property? Deal with those issues first. Or someone will smash a window to steal something valuable no matter what you try.

You want to eliminate all crime before doing anything to prevent crimes? Righto boss I'm off to remove all locks from my house for the cause

People used to use horses for transportation. You can't lock a horse, but there were substantial penalties for stealing a horse. It maybe was a capital crime at some point?

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#137

This is a tech solution for a non-tech problem. Why is there an uprising in car thefts? Why do people feel the need to steal someone's expensive property? Deal with those issues first. Or someone will smash a window to steal something valuable no matter what you try.

Yes great idea Captain! Let's solve all of societal issues before bothering to do any protection for your own personal assets. You've figured it out.

And you know property crime is only a recent phenom of the last couple years. Never existed before the 1980s or you know tomb robbers etc.

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#138
post #91

I knew someone with a shitty pickup truck where he wired a light switch into the fuel pump and hid it under the steering column. The truck would be stolen something like 5 times a year and every time he would find it abandoned a km or so away when the gas in the line ran out. I drove in it once to get lunch and near the beginning the car begins sputtering and he's like, "oh right, you're thirsty" and reached under an…

Our local police department had a guy get his squad car stolen TWICE during traffic stops, and they installed an ignition interlock switch on their entire flee to prevent it happening again. Also they relegated the guy to motorcycle duty after that. Another story is once my friend called me for help because his car would't start. I looked it over; tested his battery etc, but it wouldn't turn over. I asked him if he h…

Wow! Who steals a police car, and with the cop nearby? Would love to hear more.

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#139

This is a tech solution for a non-tech problem. Why is there an uprising in car thefts? Why do people feel the need to steal someone's expensive property? Deal with those issues first. Or someone will smash a window to steal something valuable no matter what you try.

If you think like that, then no problems should be solved by tech because there are completely viable non-tech solutions:

Uber: just hail a taxi

Amazon: just visit your local bookshops

netflix: Renting DVDs is perfectly fine.

Spotify: all the music you need is on AM/FM.

Instagram: just meet up with friends in person

Zoom: Conduct face-to-face meetings

Zillow: Work with a real estate agent

Yelp: Ask locals for restaurant or service recommendations

Doordash: Call the restaurant directly for takeout or delivery, or cook at home.

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"But also, bricks through windows are equally not difficult and not expensive, though they do leave a bit more evidence" But that would be loud. You don't want attention when breaking in. (Unless you are a fucked up junkie not caring about anything anymore) But yes, my parents for example are paranoid about always locking the front door 2 times(and get angry if I don't do it when I visit), but have a glass door in th…

> They are illegal to purchase (in most places), I would not know, where to start looking. amazon. Not much of an investment needed https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-20-School-Toolbox/dp/...

Not avaiable. (at least for me from germany)
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