Custom Security System

[jnissen]

Look into the sleeper cell alarms. The new Super Cell is gps and allow for live updates so 24/7 you will know where your gear is at. The original sleeper cell uses no power till an alarm Is tripped. Also sms texts you location.


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[MarcusOReallyus]

First is a viper alarm with 2 way communication (can alert the fob of alarm from a quarter mile away). This was professionally installed.

Back when I installed cellphones for a living, alarm installers were the bottom of the barrel for electronics installers. Slap and dash was their style. Normally, it was horrible work.


I doubt it's much better today, but there are always good shops here and there.

 

[cruzer747]

Luckily there is an amazing place here... Very pleased with how well it went and how wires were run.... And a reasonable price which covered the first fob a year later after it got glitchy. I installed the same unit on my m1010 as I was then familiar enough and pleased with the unit. A little trickier but yes, not rocket science. Vipers tracking service is about $30 / month with no fuel shutoff so I sourced my own

The shop even helped me with the m1010 unit for free... eBay special for some reason keeps defaulting to auto lock doors after ignition. They tried to reset it with their special controller (easier than using the valet button) but we determined it was a buggy unit. But that has been the only hiccup. Works great otherwise.

 

[TechnoWeenie]

Back when I installed cellphones for a living, alarm installers were the bottom of the barrel for electronics installers. Slap and dash was their style. Normally, it was horrible work.


I doubt it's much better today, but there are always good shops here and there.

I was an installer/upfitter, building cop cars, fire trucks, ambulances, etc. and yes, even did a stint installing car alarms and stereos.

When you had to tap VSS wires, run lines throughout the vehicle, make it idiot proof and **** near invisible, doing a stereo or an alarm is child's play. I used to take pride in asking my clients to find a non-factory wire.. I've even done some surveillance units in sedans that were wired out the @$$ with A/V equipment, radio, and even lights/sirens.. and even if you inspected the car, you wouldn't find anything unless you started tearing panels apart...


It's all on who you hire. I've worked with some amazing people, they are out there... BUT, I share your caution, because a lot of people don't know what the #(%& they're doing..

I've definitely had to clean up other shop's work.... and I've even had shops ADVERTISE their crappy work while claiming it was a mona lisa..

Anyway, not a guarantee, but look for a shop that has MECP techs. It's usually a good indicator.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

We had an ambulance brand out on the west coast by the name of Stoner. Their ambulances were built that way. Every wire was dressed and lashed down. They were a joy to work on.

Others? I once dropped the overhead access panel in an ambulance, looking for a path to route the coax. A rat's nest of wiring fell out of it, about the size of a volleyball. They had literally just run the wires, connected everything, then wadded up the excess and stuffed it in there. ZERO attempt to make it neat.

Hmmm. Which one would you rather troubleshoot?

 

[TechnoWeenie]

We had an ambulance brand out on the west coast by the name of Stoner. Their ambulances were built that way. Every wire was dressed and lashed down. They were a joy to work on.

Others? I once dropped the overhead access panel in an ambulance, looking for a path to route the coax. A rat's nest of wiring fell out of it, about the size of a volleyball. They had literally just run the wires, connected everything, then wadded up the excess and stuffed it in there. ZERO attempt to make it neat.

Hmmm. Which one would you rather troubleshoot?

Hah. /offtopic

I had a car come in, 'intermittent equipment failure'....

Took it on a test drive, hit a bump *click* circuit breaker kicked..... pulled over.. reset it... worked great... *bump* ... *click*.... head back to shop..

Traced all wires to center console, all neat and tidy from the equipment in the trunk.. proper fusing and wire protection at the source and equipment... Pull off a faceplate from the console.... and what do I see?




They ran all the wires from the trunk to the center console, and didn't do ANY wire management in the console... Just snipped the wire and connected it.. One of the V+ wires had worn down on a screw.. from years of rubbing in that one spot.... and when you hit a bump, it'd short out on the screw, which of course, was grounded....

Sigh.

The rest of the job looked great, but they figured they could cut corners when no one was looking... sigh...

Don't get me started on colocated site equipment.... I'm sure we could both swap stories for hours, if not days.. hahahaa

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Yep. I"ve seen it many times. I once installed a phone in a Rolls Royce Corniche, a beautiful ruby red with tan leather interior. THe owner was a Beverly Hills doctor. He claimed the previous owner was Jermaine Jackson. (I was skeptical but it turned out to be true - I found a leather luggage tag under the back seat with that name on it.) The stereo system in it was HORRIBLE. When you turned on the key, every speaker gave out a rather loud BOMP. The amp was in the trunk and the wiring looked a lot like your picture. When I commented on it to the doctor, he rolled he eyes and said he was taking it in to a GOOD shop to be completely redone. I've always thought that Jackson probably sold the car because his shop couldn't get the sound system right.

I used to have a trophy board of RF connectors I cut off of other people's installations. Except for Motorola, everybody used mini N connectors on their transceivers. (Moto used mini-UHF for some reason.) I've seen many of them crimped on with pliers. Once in a while I'd see them crimped with a crimp connector - the kind for insulated wire connectors. You know, the kind with a nice anvil that sinks deep into the connector! I've even found coax spliced with butt connectors.

My favorite was finding a transceiver mounted on the back wall of the trunk in Mercedes. With dry wall screws. Going into the fuel tank right behind it. Yeah, the owner complained about a diesel smell in his car. Sure glad it wasn't a gasser!

(Well, to be fair, it would have require removing 5 whole screws to drop that bulkhead and fasten it from behind, the way I did it. That's a lot of work. I mean, FIVE whole screws!)

 

[Toy Soldier]

New to Steel Soldiers but I own two classic vehicles and plan to buy a M1009 next year. I would recommend a combination of things. A battery cutoff switch or a kill switch hidden somewhere under the dash or hood and one of these https://www.ravelco.com/. There are several GPS tracking subscriptions and devices (non-subscription) but LoJack is the best known of these. Having said that if they want it they can still get it with a rollback. All you can do is prepare for the worst and have good insurance.