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July 18, 2005
Hi, Jed!
I live in a nice neighborhood, and my `79 Midget is garaged. However, I
sometimes park in less than desirable areas and I have had issues with
young jerks throwing beer cans, McDonald's waste, etc. into the cockpit
of my car if not covered with a tonneau - in broad daylight in mall
parking lots, etc.!! Also had a radio stolen once (before the car was
garaged). The idiots tore open the top with a knife to crawl into the
cockpit and ripped out the entire console. Radio was a Blaupunt with a
"code," so it was no use to them, just a pain in the arse to me to
rebuild the console. And the 2 tires they slashed.
So, I went to at least 3 different alarm places to get bids. Everyone
wanted to sell me the super-deluxe version, but I found there are a few
basic systems that work quite well. Ended up buying a HellFire brand
system for under $150 (this was over 10 years ago). I did the install
myself because I did not trust some teenager working with my old wires
and trying to figure out wire color coding on a 4-fuse British system.
It took less than 45 minutes to install; and besides the small LED
blinking light in the console and small siren horn under the bonnet, the
car still looks pretty much stock. Here's what I have:
Main system that would alert for door opening (based on the existing
door light triggers)
Bonnet and Boot switches (boot based on existing light trigger)
"brain" of the system mounted in the cubby box/glove compartment
dual-action infrared sensor unit that I mounted on the tranny tunnel
under carpet bulge just behind gear shift ~ it senses in-cabin motion in
case someone climbs through the open top, with an adjustable "car
shield" exterior sensor that can be turned off. So, the car beeps when
someone gets too close...like within 8 inches. It sounds if they stay
there too long.
I installed 2 switches under the dash (in the metal strip by the tach):
1 turns off the system when I am at home; 2) turns off exterior infrared
sensor
Pluses of this system for me:
* no thefts
* no vandalism
* 10% discount on auto insurance (she is mostly a daily driver), so
the system paid for itself in a few months
* self-arming/passive, so no worries
* external sensor can be turned off, so people can still "look at
the pretty car" w/o getting beeped at
* I never lock my doors anymore - no need to
Minuses:
* because it is a convertible, I have to turn off the external
sensor when I think it will rain more than a drizzle, as the rain
vibrations on the hood/roof trigger the sensor to alarm. I imagine the
alarm technology has improved now.
* if some jerk parks their car less than 6 or 8 inches away from
mine and/or their door bangs into the car, the alarm sounds.
Things to look out for:
* Systems that require too much power for sensors when at rest...our
LBC's need all the juice they can get
* Systems that are too elaborate (steering wheel lock codes) or
really unnecessary
* Systems that will alarm if the car is moved (towed) - make
certain the sensitivity of this trigger is adjustable, otherwise a light
car such as a Midget will trigger the alarm everytime an SUV drives past
it in a parking garage.
"Adam J. Kopff" < adam.kopff@... > 37896
Posted on July 18, 2005 03:40 PM
Posted to category(s) Body | Drive Train | Electrical System | Exhaust System | Exterior | Gauges | Interior | International | Miscellaneous | Restoration | Suspension & Steering | Technical Info | Transmission | Tuning | Wheels
