Why do they still make car alarms? (2015) • Hacker News Board

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#411

Post by burnthrow » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 6:18 AM UTC

ryanmercer wrote: post #333

burnthrow wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> rides his bicycle around even int he dead of winter That maniac!

I mean, it gets down to about -17F here in the winter. And we're pretty rural. Town is all of 0.38 square miles and he'll ride his bike for miles and miles down US 40 through farm country on the shoulder. While screaming about the government coming for everyone and shouting random profanities. And damaging people's property. Definitely not normal behavior.

> I mean, it gets down to about -17F here in the winter.

Did you know that Minneapolis is considered the best bicycling city in the US?

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#412

Post by unit_circle » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 6:26 AM UTC

bhandziuk wrote: post #223

unit_circle wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a city and also own a converted van. The van typically has little of value inside it unless I am traveling. This van has an aftermarket alarm. I had this alarm installed after a nasty break-in in Vancouver BC which reminded me never to leave nice things in a vehicle. It makes some noise itself, but also comes with a fob and app that both also make noise. It has served me on at least one occasion where someo…

It'd be cool if the alarm turned on the stereo with a loop that says (loud enough for the thief to hear but not loud enough to be obnoxious to other people) "The owner is being notified you're in their van" (or to that effect).

This is a good idea.

I've had lots of ideas about alarms and how they could be better after that break in.

I have a fence electrifier that I'd love to get set up but I don't want to fry anything inside the van.

Another idea is something that sets off something _extremely_ loud inside, like a firework.

Sadly the off the shelf part does the job well enough that I will probably never invest much time tinkering. I've asked the vendor about public APIs but they are not interested.

If someone builds a simple car alarm kit with cell connectivity I will gleefully rip out the old system.

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#413

Post by speedgoose » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 6:27 AM UTC

jojobas wrote: post #382

greggman3 wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> theft from parked cars is the number one problem in most neighborhoods You forgot to add "in the USA" (or some other country). Where I live (Japan), AFAIK, theft from cars is practically non-existent. Leaving things in your car visible is not an issue. I don't think I've ever seen a pile of glass from a car window busted the entire time I've spent here (14 yrs) where as in SF, several times, I'd walk by Dolores Par…

You're talking about an ethnically and culturally homogeneous society, which are in short supply these days.

Kicking out all the immigrants of San Francisco and keeping only the native Americans Ohlone may fix the car thefts issue indeed. Because that would be very few cars.

About ethnicities and theft, correlation does not imply causation.

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#414

Post by bobthepanda » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 6:33 AM UTC

KLexpat wrote: post #374

thwarted wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't this usually attributed to the Reagan administration's repeal of Mental Health Systems Act? Not that the situtation was necessarily all that great before it was repealed, but my understanding is that the federal government making this change ended up putting a lot of people on the street. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_Health_Systems_Act_of_1...

Yeah they did, we have had similar problems in Australia The thing is, it's still a lot better than the mid-century horror stories of institutions; electrotherapy, lobotomy, people being drugged into a permanent fugue state, sexual abuse, etc. Those concerns are what drove these changes to the system.

The Carter Administration had funded a transition to community-based outpatient mental health. Then the Reagan administration proceeded to pull the rug out by repealing the MHSA and leaving it to the states. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_Health_Systems_Act_of_1...

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#415

Post by denni9th » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 6:36 AM UTC

onion2k wrote: post #335

jiofih wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Light flashes twice, the mirrors fold. Visible at any distance.

The curvature of the Earth will stop you seeing the car from about 5 miles (assuming you're 6 feet tall and the lights are 2 feet above the ground.)

But are you really locking your car from 5 miles away? I doubt the radio in the key will be strong enough for that distance.

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#416

Post by namdnay » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 6:38 AM UTC

greggman3 wrote: post #294

anonymousiam wrote: post #112

If the author had a Ring doorbell (and looked at their crime reports), or participated on NextDoor, they would know that theft from parked cars is the number one problem in most neighborhoods. An alarm is still a good deterrent for people who do not park their cars in a garage.

> theft from parked cars is the number one problem in most neighborhoods You forgot to add "in the USA" (or some other country). Where I live (Japan), AFAIK, theft from cars is practically non-existent. Leaving things in your car visible is not an issue. I don't think I've ever seen a pile of glass from a car window busted the entire time I've spent here (14 yrs) where as in SF, several times, I'd walk by Dolores Par…

Where you live theft in general is pretty much nonexistent (or at least, blue collar theft is). So I’m not sure it’s specific to cars

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#417

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 6:40 AM UTC

peteretep wrote: post #327

everyone wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you need evidence to refute the idea that 'a free market can solve all problems' That would be an insane thing to assume in the 1st place. Where would you even get that notion from?

High school econ class, for one

[deleted]

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#418

Post by fulafel » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 6:46 AM UTC

kbutler wrote: post #380

ineedasername wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It amazes me that, in wealthy countries, there are significant homelessness problems due to economic displacement. I consider it an existence-proof of the idea that a free market cannot solve all problems. I think homelessness due to other causes-- mental health for example-- are more complex but similarly demonstrate fundamental flaws in the framework of society. Only once was I able to give a homeless person a meal…

I asked a panhandler what meal to order for him from the restaurant where he was begging. He ate one bite, asked me again for cash, and threw it away. Begging on the streets is unsafe for the homeless and for the public - giving that way promotes the activity. It's generally much better to give to public service organizations that can coordinate broader care. That said, if you feel you should give to someone, do it.…

Of the basic needs for a person to live non-homelessly in western countries, food is probably the cheapest and easiest to come by from charity sources after water. But people unfamiliar with the life find it easiest to think about food, and if a panhandler mentions food it's often an advertising strategy. For acquiring money for living, there's a parallel to selling your services as a software developer, solving stupid programming games in the interview, even though 90% of your time is spent on things other than writing code :)

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#419

Post by xiconfjs » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 6:47 AM UTC

the_mitsuhiko wrote: post #149

l72 wrote: post #87

Now if we could just disable the feature that causes the horn to honk when locking the vehicle with the key fob... As someone who lives on a residential street, but with a hospital at the far end, we have tons of patients, families, doctors, and nurses that park on our street to avoid paying for the garage. I get to listen to horns honking at all hours. A few cars (Acura comes to mind), do a bit better, in that they…

Cars in Europe don’t honk on open/close. It’s not illegal but there are some non honk areas and because of that manufactures don’t enable it.

Mercedes-Benz has this feature for sure and it sucks. Usually it‘s only used by old people and dumbasses here in Germany.

Re: Why do they still make car alarms? (2015)

#420

Post by sgt » Wed, Jan 20, 2021, 6:51 AM UTC

ineedasername wrote: post #261

spiritplumber wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It prevents the fuel pump in the engine from working (I had to add an electric fuel pump because the original one isn't doing very well). Yes on the hot meal. I've been homeless and it stinks.

It amazes me that, in wealthy countries, there are significant homelessness problems due to economic displacement. I consider it an existence-proof of the idea that a free market cannot solve all problems. I think homelessness due to other causes-- mental health for example-- are more complex but similarly demonstrate fundamental flaws in the framework of society. Only once was I able to give a homeless person a meal…

General advice: do not give money to the homeless, just give them food. There are of course exceptions in life like with anything, but if your city has a homelessness problem then you and others will only gradually make it worse by giving money.