(OT) Need some technology advice re: car burglars

by Bendrr 7 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Bendrr

  I've been having some problems with car break-ins for the last year or so. I've lost several hundred dollars worth of car audio stuff before I wised up and started securing it better. The last two times my car has been broken into, they didn't get anything but still go in my car and search it regularly. I know it's been gone into because you have to shut the driver's side door a certain way otherwise it doesn't close completely. Plus the glove box was open.

  I've reported it to the police and asked for increased patrols, but nothing's changed. It's not like my car is parked at night where thieves can't be seen. My apartment house is at the corner of an intersection that's busy at all hours. The main Post Office is on one corner and the main library is on another. The car is very visible from the street and the parking lot is lit.

  I don't lock the car doors because I know they'll just break the window. I may put in a car alarm, but doubt I'll hear it go off. I'm a heavy sleeper and can't hear noises outside anyway.

  I had an idea though. Thought I'd run it past y'all and maybe some of you who know more about the technology could give me your input and advice.

  I've got an old VCR that quit working. If I could put some kind of battery-powered tracking device in it and leave it in my car overnight, maybe I could help the cops track down the burglars. Is there some kind of GPS transmitter that I could hide in the VCR and have a receiver that would show it's position? I feel certain that the theives are coming from one of the nearby "bad neighborhoods" probably within a 1-mile radius. If I could find a setup like that maybe I could help the cops put some of these jerks away, and then I could let my friends and neighbors use it too.

  I do need to keep the cost down as much as I can, considering this will probably be a one shot deal unless it works and I decide to repeat the "sting" again or let others use the setup.

  I'm going to look around online and see what I can find out but I know nothing about the technology so maybe someone can give a little advice?

  Mike.
• 

  Elsewhere

  Here is one gizmo, but it costs $695

  http://www.spy-city.com/spytrack.htm

  If you want to bust someone like that on the cheap, then make note of the serial number on the VCR and let it get stolen... then immediately report it to the police. The police give pawn shops the serial numbers of things that are stolen, so when someone tries to sell it they will get busted. If this does not work, then all you lost was a busted VCR.

  If you don't want to put in an alarm, then put some stickers on the windows that say that you have an alarm and put one of those cheap blinky lights on the dash that look like an alarm. (http://www.linktotheweb.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=css038)
• 

  Jourles

  You leave your doors unlocked?? JEezus, you are only inviting them to take the car eventually instead of rifling through it. Sounds like you just have "smash and grab" types inviting themselves into your car. Except you leave the doors open. What do you really want to do to these guys? Hurt them? Get them arrested? An HIV+ needle sticking out of your seat when you leave is always a good deterrent.(kidding)

  An alarm may the best deterrent you can use. If they are smart at all, they only need to scoot under your car to cut your negative ground cable leading from your battery. BUT, get a backup battery installed too so if in the case of someone disabling the primary power source(your car battery) the alarm will go off. Shorting out a tail light(signal light used for visual alarm indication) can also disable the alarm, but a diode installed on the leads for the alarm flashers negates this.(watch Gone in 60 Seconds sometime, you see them using this method on a car) Mini piezo sirens inside the car wired in parallel to the main siren under the hood are also nice little distractors. 120db of a shrill 8-10KHz wail is enough to make anyone go nuts. You think they are gonna be wearing earplugs? Probably not. Usually just the LED is enough to scare them away and to make them go find another car which is an easier target. If you are somewhat skilled enough to work with the wiring/electronics of your car, you can easily install an alarm yourself. You can pick them up pretty cheap these days for around $100 for a good one. Install it waaaay up under the dash to where you have a hard time getting to it yourself. Blend the wiring in to look like factory wiring, using split loom tubing if that is what your car manufacturer uses. Make it tough for the bad guys to poke their heads up under the dash to make out what is what. Remember those piezo sirens? They won't be sticking their heads up there for too long.

  You can always pm me if you want some more ideas on alarms.
• 

  Bendrr

  Elsewhere, for that kind of money I'd expect it to have a remote detonator attached to about a pound of C4.

  (not that I'd do that but just sayin'........)

  Mike.
• 

  Elsewhere

  Well, if an area is prone to break-ins, then it would most likely be best to leave nothing in the car with the doors unlocked. I'd rather have someone dig around in my car and leave with nothing, than break my windows and leave with nothing.

  If the car happens to be in line-of-site with your windows, then maybe setup a video camera looking out at the car... it's a long shot that takes persistence (constantly rewinding the tape every six to eight hours) until someone is caught on tape messing with your car. There are VCRs available that record for much longer (40 Hours), but they start at about $250. (http://www.youdoitsecurity.com/SY96.asp)
• 

  Bendrr

  I'm not too worried about the car getting stolen. They haven't even tried so far. In the next week, I'll be adding my own anti-theft measures. A removeable steering wheel. A switch secreted under the front subframe between the battery and starter. I'm also working on an idea to have a pepper gas sprayer detonate in the car if it's broken into.

  Jourles, we need to talk some more. I've got the Alldata system at my shop and have access to all the wiring diagrams for the car. Besides, it's a '79 Camaro so there's nothing too complicated. Someone suggested hooking up a cattle fence power source to the car's body to shock the hell out of anyone who happens to touch it unauthorized.

  As far as the tracking devices, I want to focus on that though now. So what can y'all tell me?

  Mike.
• 

  Gadget

  If the car happens to be in line-of-site with your windows, then maybe setup a video camera looking out at the car...

  Motorbike theft is a big problem over here, and most of my friends use a battery powered baby moniter in there garage to alert them to it being broken into. If you had this you could then start the recording on the video camera. Most crime is done by a hard core few so police would probably have little problem identifying the culprits from the footage.

  For a way to trace a video recorder, how about hiding a mobile phone in a void in the casing. Second hand gprs phones can be bought cheaply, and if you set it to silent then the location of the phone can be found by it gprs signal. I'd talk to your local police about this first. There are complex rules about stings to catch criminals, and they also may be able to lend you a tracking device to do this. It would be an easy way to raise their arrest rate.

  Gadget
• 

  Bendrr

  I just emailed the Macon Police Department about the situation, they provide a form on their website that I filled out with my phone number and email address. Maybe they'll call me back and work with me.

  My apartment house is on a corner lot. Due to that we also have a problem with people "cutting through" the yard and parking lot, using it as a shortcut. Don't you hate it when people do that?

  Jourles, you asked about me leaving my doors unlocked. Well at this point I can't lock the doors. I need to replace the latch mechanism and window regulator in the driver's side door. But even were the locks functional, I'd still think twice about locking it because I don't want to have to replace a busted-out window.

  I've posted about the car before. It's a '79 Camaro that I'm in the process of fixing up even as I use it as a daily driver. The car itself doesn't exactly advertise to theives that there's anything valuable inside. It's old-looking. The original awful green paint job is faded and cracking and there's a few rust spots. Add to that the fact that I'm currently doing body work and right now it looks even worse with the bondo and primer.

  I'm not too worried about it being stolen. Like I said, on my "to-do" list are some anti-theft measures that will make it pretty secure. The only other thing I need to do is find a way to lock the hood down. On older cars like this one, the hood latch is on the outside of the car not under the dash. Were they to decide to, right now they could pop the hood and cost me a lot of money. They could steal the battery. They could take the $200 Edelbrock carb. Or the $60 Accel HEI super-coil. Yes, that does happen.

  Someone else suggested a surveillance camera. I'm thinking about that as well. I've used a video camera in the past to catch some little punks that were throwing rocks thru my windows where I used to live. The Jones County Sheriff's deputy almost hugged me when I called them to report the vandalism then invited him inside to watch the tape.

  Mike.