Q: if this is the equivalent of a password, what’s the mechanism for resetting the password? For example, you are selling a used car. Or you have many cars each of which you don’t use too frequently. Or you have a tractor that you use seasonally. In those cases, it’s totally reasonable that you would have forgotten the password. How do you reset it if it’s wired into the power line?
A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves
471–480 of 576 posts
Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves
#472I 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…
In the UK in WW2 for a period of time everyone had to disable their vehicles when unattended by removing the rotor arm https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/47622/
A local Chevy dealer once got a Silverado pickup with the 454 (7.5 liters) V8 in it. As an anti-theft measure, they disconnected four of the spark plug wires when they parked it on the lot. It got stolen anyway - it turns out that a 454 will still run on half it's cylinders.
Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves
#473I 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…
During the summer when I was 16 I bought a pair of subwoofers and promptly installed them into my mom's Honda Accord. To make it so that she could drive without bumping Delilah, I wired them to the defrost switch. It wasn’t long into winter until I was forced to take them out.
My family's little econobox had a few interesting 'features':
The slushbox would shift into high gear and lug the engine unless you drove it like you stole it. The ignition didn't really need the keys unless you purposefully locked the steering column The exhaust split down the middle, giving the car a great sporting growl, and last but my favorite, the radio would often lock itself to the particular station and volume you were last playing. Sorry mom, hope you like metal at 11!
Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves
#474I 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…
My car in high school had a similar system. The radiator fan didn't turn on automatically, so my dad wired it directly into the AC controller. (The AC also did not work. It was not a great car.) If you got in the car, and did not specifically turn the AC to the correct setting, the car would overheat about a mile down the road. Luckily for me, I never had a chance to put this into practice, because nobody stole my ca…
I'm the type of person who will start a cross-country road trip with a nearly broken car with locking pliers and zip ties in the trunk just to try create some fun adventure along the way.
And even I wouldn't do something that stupid.
Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves
#475Earlier quoted context omitted.
Doesn't the system already check the latency from key fob to car antenna? Better yet, you could use two antennas in the car, and triangulate the key fob.
The latency check is usually not sensitive enough to prevent a car being stolen from the drive-way from a relayed key that lies near the front door. For reference 20 meters is about 66 nano-seconds.
So, solvable?
Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves
#476Getting strong flux capacitor vibes from this
Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves
#477Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
The mocking bird in my backyard knows all the car alarm sounds, it's part of his daily routine.
Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves
#478if/when this becomes common, what prevents thieves from carrying/providing their own positive cable to bypass the authenticator?
Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves
#479Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Sure, let's intentionally omit locks from equipment that is designed not to fall into enemy hands. Slow down there with the sarcasm and think about the actual requirements or use-cases first. Your average operable military vehicle is in one of three situations: 1. Actively occupied or guarded from theft by current owners/operators with guns who will not tolerate strangers getting close. 2. Parked somewhere in the m…
How many tanks and materiel did Ukrainians take from the Russians? On October 2022 it was an estimated 453 Russian tanks. I guess 1, 2, 3 don't work that well in battle https://www.newsweek.com/how-russian-tanks-captured-ukraine-... Also for other things too: https://nypost.com/2023/05/11/ukrainians-strike-russians-wit...
No fucking key is going to stop them from finding that tank in a field, towing it back to a farm behind friendly lines, and bypassing the fucking lock using a fucking hammer or a soldering iron.
Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves
#480Earlier quoted context omitted.
Instead of trying to catch me making a language error on exactly what criminal intent is... Why don't you think about this like a human.... You are at home with your wife and kids. A large man wearing all black with his face covered has broken your door lock and forced the door open. He is now making his way up your stairs where all your family is. Should you be able to legally shoot this man? If not, what is your pl…
Not a question of language error, I'm just interested in how different parts of the world have different takes on when taking a life can be legally justified. FWIW, in your scenario, if I simply shot the man and killed him, then I would fully expect to be questioned and possibly charged, and only acquitted if I could demonstrate killing him was a justifiable act of self-defense. I don't imagine whether he'd broken th…
I got it. If a man breaks into your house, begins walking up the stairs while your wife and kids are there, you're going to be cautious to see if stopping him with deadly force is necessary. Maybe first let him strike you in the face too. You wouldn't want to kill him if he's punch only knocks you down and allows you to get up and fight him off like a super hero! And if he punches you so hard you loose consciousness, what's the worst he's going to do? Rape your wife?