Must read - Keeping your Car Audio System secure

[kiranpashtakar]

Be discreet!
When you approach your parking spots, whether its outside your home, office or at the mall: Dont play your system loud. Dont show off. Thieves are hanging around, waiting for you to 'declare' your arrival with loud thumping of your subwoofer... its like taking candy from a kid. Parking attendants are usually involved in thefts. They also have a master key for most common cars like marutis. There is NO exception, they always DO have theys keys. If you have act discreet, have a discreet system, with no speakers or subs visible, and your HUs faceplate is removed, you will reduce 90% possibility of a theft.







This is what my dad kept preaching, but hot blooded as i was never listened to him till my speakers disappeared from my old car, the value is immaterial the moral is'nt.. nice write up dude

[NIP]

...i couldnt agree more....this happened to me on rest house road in bangalore (off brigades)...i had parked my zen on rest house road...a little towards 'ganja park' and it was around 6:30PM. me and a friend were on our way back from work and decided to meet another friend at pecos' for a quick beer. we were back to the car in 45mins only to find my back left glass shattered !! there was a brick lying on the road below the door, which the b*****d had used to smash the glass. my sub was intact but i lost my HU, EQ, 2 bags with offie stuff and an MD player !! there were 2 cops hangin around right near my car and they claimed not to have seen anything....trust me...the cops are all IN on this shyt !! i complained to the cops and it was no use....they were just trying to extract money from me to even start investigating. i had the feeling they knew who had done it !! someone told me recently that if you knew some 'insiders' in the police stations in town, especially cubbon park and ashok nagar, you could buy really cool ICE electronics from them at real 'steal' prices !! they apparently have a warehouse full of this stuff !!

a year before this, someone broke into my gypsy (king hard top) and the same thing happened !! this was outside bunkers next to symphony theatre !! my HU, speakers, expensive sunglasses, new camera and half a bottle of bacardi was stolen !!!

i have now learnt my lesson...never pump ur volumes or show off around town before parking...!! these guys can bypass any security system u might have....!

[s0uljah]

NIP : Read your story and figured out who you are !!! You had mentioned this to me about 4 years ago... anyway guess what, same thing happened to Jaideep, (parked opp G-park) we had gone to pecos for a drink and when we got back they had wiped out his car, pioneer HU, boston comps, 6x9", amplifier, my bag with ipod and cd-wallet !!! Later we figured they had opened the quarter glass and somehow done the deed, even though he had a Central Locking with alarm.... the siren never went off. Our visit to the police stations (ashok nagar also cubbon park...) thats another story all together!

[kutlee]

Originally Posted by iraghava

Great topic Gunbir!

Do you think there are better makes which don't have such problems? Also I just hate the plip-plip that happens everytime you lock/unlock the car can't it be silent with just lights flashing like European cars?

There is a small tip. I have the basic autocop Xs stuff for my santro fixed by the dealer (free so u know its the basic one with oval key with three red buttongs). I didn't like the plip plip (not exactly but much louder). I wished it went in silent mode. it doesn't have the enable/disable since its the most basic one. i think dealers still fix it for free as part of the deal.
There is an easy way aroud this. press the centre button(c- which sets the inidcators flashing). immediately press the lock/unlock button for locking/unlocking. there is no sound. i am still not sure whether this will work with others. just try if interested. if the gap between pressing buttons i high more than 2 secs i think, it will still sound!

[morten]

i have a autocop xs which has a toggle switch on the base unit to turn off the beep while locking and unlocking.

[ankushagg]

I got a weels Central locking it rocks range is too good, 1ce i opened my car frm a cinema hall for my frnd to take his sun glasses frm my car , my car was at g floor n i was at 5 floor it got a good remote showing u lock, unlock, battery of remote(not car),doors and even you get get remote engine starter kit installed

[jinu_joseph]

Originally Posted by s0uljah

even though he had a Central Locking with alarm.... the siren never went off. Our visit to the police stations (ashok nagar also cubbon park...) thats another story all together!

Hey the other day I went to the installer for my ICE system. He has his shop along a line of other accessory shops. I was there the full day and during the day on two occassion my autocop alaram went on an off when they were installing the system on another car nearby. When i asked the installer he said it was quite common for such things to happen. It just coincidence. He then went on to say that the electronic security systems are not trustworthy at all mainly because:
1. They can easily by passed.
2. The installers dont install it properly
3. The user, that is u and me, do configure the alaram properly, leaving most settings at company defaults.

I think we should add a physical lock... like a gear lock, steering lock etc..

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by NIP

...i couldnt agree more....this happened to me on rest house road in bangalore (off brigades)...i had parked my zen on rest house road...a little towards 'ganja park' and it was around 6:30PM. me and a friend were on our way back from work and decided to meet another friend at pecos' for a quick beer. we were back to the car in 45mins only to find my back left glass shattered !! there was a brick lying on the road below the door, which the b*****d had used to smash the glass. my sub was intact but i lost my HU, EQ, 2 bags with offie stuff and an MD player !! there were 2 cops hangin around right near my car and they claimed not to have seen anything....trust me...the cops are all IN on this shyt !! i complained to the cops and it was no use....they were just trying to extract money from me to even start investigating. i had the feeling they knew who had done it !! someone told me recently that if you knew some 'insiders' in the police stations in town, especially cubbon park and ashok nagar, you could buy really cool ICE electronics from them at real 'steal' prices !! they apparently have a warehouse full of this stuff !!

a year before this, someone broke into my gypsy (king hard top) and the same thing happened !! this was outside bunkers next to symphony theatre !! my HU, speakers, expensive sunglasses, new camera and half a bottle of bacardi was stolen !!!

i have now learnt my lesson...never pump ur volumes or show off around town before parking...!! these guys can bypass any security system u might have....!

hey nip, you seem to have been the worst affected here man. having the ICE stolen on 2 occassions. that must really hurt bad. i cant imagine such a thing happening to me. thank god.

[redeye]

guys i have xenos security installed in my lancer .. i think these guys can break in easily so i'm going to install a security system which one should i go for i mean something like the sim based stuff gps how much would it cost

[Epic]

Originally Posted by gunbir

Hmm... Interesting stuff...

Well, let me tell you guys something you dont know.

Keep your system discreet.
How? Go for a stealth install. Try and use stock locations and keep things like subs and amps out of view. Speakers installed in parcel trays of small cars are soft targets as they can be removed in an instant.

Thieves know this: Where theres a sub, theres an amp, and maybe an eq or dsp. Try and keep your sub out of sight. A reason why we prefer box installs where the sub box sits in the boot with nothing visible in the parcel shelf. See the spare wheel well install thread for a fully discreet install.

Secure the HU!!
Most installers install the head unit in the standard sleeve that comes with the HU. All thieves have the so called 'keys' required to unlock the HU and in a lot of cars its very easy to forcibly push out the HU by getting one hand behind the dash. If your car has a removable center facia (Getz, Optra etc), you need to ensure your HU is installed from behind the facia and held in place by screws (see the Getz thread). You can also attach a pull contact sensor to your HU and integrate it with your security system. So if someone yanks out your HU, he will set of the alarm. This is especially useful when you hand out your keys to strangers in Valet type situations. Here is what a pull contact sensor looks like:


Be discreet!
When you approach your parking spots, whether its outside your home, office or at the mall: Dont play your system loud. Dont show off. Thieves are hanging around, waiting for you to 'declare' your arrival with loud thumping of your subwoofer... its like taking candy from a kid. Parking attendants are usually involved in thefts. They also have a master key for most common cars like marutis. There is NO exception, they always DO have theys keys. If you have act discreet, have a discreet system, with no speakers or subs visible, and your HUs faceplate is removed, you will reduce 90% possibility of a theft.

Your car is easy to break in: Get Insurance
Whether it takes a ruler, a master key, a blade or just a piece of wire to break into your car, know that your car is very easy to break in. While modern cars like the Getz, Aveo etc are a bit more difficult to break in, its still possible. Make sure you have insured your IEC system. That way even if it does get stolen, you get the money and go out and buy the latest model.

Secure all windows
Secure the quarter glass windows. On some cars it is childs play to remove the beading and glass from outside. If you afford it, use Llumar / 3m kind of security film on all windows. Increases glass strength by 200% in some cases and makes it near impossible to break the glass.

Intrusion Alarm Systems / Central Locking Systems
Most entry level systems are more of central locking systems and less of alarm systems. Spend a couple of thousand more and get a higher model which can have a ultrasonic movement sensor. While all systems cover the doors, boot and dicky, sensors like ultrasonics ensure that theres an alarm even if none of the doors were opened... if the thief entered through a window. Also go for vibration sensors and glassbreak sensors. Your regular installer has NO clue how these things are installed. Most manufacturers offer free installation so make sure your system is installed by the manufacturers OWN installer. Take time to understand the system so you will have zero false alarms. There are newer GSM based systems out there (I have one) which use a standard SIM card to relay all alarm messages via SMS to your cellphone. You can also arm/disarm and immobilise your car via your mobile. This is good if your job keeps you on the move or you travel a lot.

In the end, its all about making things difficult for the thief. He will just go for the softer target. So is your car a soft target?

Hi Gunbir,

Nice article on security ofr your music system. Just one question with regard to the security system that operates on your GSM network. Since you mentioned that one can lock & unlock your car through your mobile phone, what happens if you lock your car and end up losing your mobile phone? Is there any other way to open it?

Epic

[gunbir]

Originally Posted by Epic

Just one question with regard to the security system that operates on your GSM network. Since you mentioned that one can lock & unlock your car through your mobile phone, what happens if you lock your car and end up losing your mobile phone? Is there any other way to open it

Hey Epic,

Sorry for the late reply, i overlooked this post. To answer your question: well you always have the remote keyfobs for operating the system. The control from your GSM phone is a secondary control. So if you happen to lose your remotes (you can have upto 5 remotes in this particular system) you can always use your phone.

Cheers!

[werfish]

Where can i get an Ultrasonic type of Security installed in Bangalore? And how much wld it cost?

[gunbir]

Ultrasonic sensors are available from most of the major Alarm providers like Autocop etc. Just ask the installer to ask them for the same.

[romyeo4u]

what is Gear lock and how does it work ? and cost please ?

[navin]

the gear lock locks the gear to the hand brake. you put the car in 5th gear and pull the handbrake and lock it in that position. No car is going to be driven away this way. besides all locks are deterents first. If a theif really wants to steal your car he/she can.