Is It Worth It (Alarm)?
 

So you decide to put an alarm on your car ... it goes off while you're in the house, or at a friend's or at the mall ... now what?

You want to think you're going to go out there and beat the crap out of someone but realistically, you can't ...
You can call the police but everything will be gone by then ...
And even if the alarm goes off, a thief will have it off in 30-seconds, at which point nobody will be looking at your car and everyone will just think it was an alarm that went off by mistake.

So, I begin to ask, is it really worth it?

Definitely, two nights ago my alarm went off @ 2:30a.m. and my surveillance camera caught the punks hopping the back fence. They didn't do any damage as my prox sensor went off and they ran like little bitches. :smokin:

I think it's mostly in what your alarm is capable of doing... and if a thief can disable your alarm in 30 seconds, you need a better installer. I have to say... my alarm was not cheap after all additions were added but it only has to legitimately save your ass once and it paid for itself... mines saved my ass several times over the years.

I completely agree with DeadlySones. I mean if you are going to be spending a considerable amount of $ on a system, then you should also spend it on a nice car alarm to protect it. When you think about it, having an annoying car alarm is better than not having one.

Even my old stock Gm car alarm saved my truck from being broken into. My buddy down the street (who they hit first) had his stolen and he didn't have one. And now that I upgrade to a Viper car alarm, I feel even better. And once I get train horns added on and hooked up to my Viper alarm, you can bet your ass no thief is going to try and steal with train horns blasting lol.

DeadlySones, what prox sensor do you have? I want to add one to my alarm and was wondering what the best one to get.

My prox sensors are made by my alarm manufacturer. They are digitally controlled by my alarm. Most alarms now don't have this feature anymore (which I think is stupid). Most don't even come with prox, it's something you need to get as an add on.

I've heard some good things about DEI prox sensors, but I'm not sure. I can vouch for their back up batt systems though, as I use one from them. It still works great. I checked it just a couple weeks ago. My prox & impact sensors only work with my alarm and it's no longer manufactured. ;)

My prox sensor is a loyal 130lb norwegian elkhound lol...One kid tried getting at my car last month, all I heard was my boy give the nastiest growl I've heard out of him and the funniest girly screech running down the street...Kid ran straight to his house...put the good dog on his leash and strolled down to the house. After a brief chat with the lads parent's I never see him or any of his punk friends walk near my driveway(they cross the street).

Do prox sensors deal with physical shaking of the vehicle as well? Because the train comes by my house and literally shakes the house / car which often makes alarms go off ...
Just wondering how to avoid this ...

(Oh yeah, I'll be getting an alarm ... a combination of this thread and the fact that my insurance company said I'm not covered for any of this stuff in the car ... amazing!) lol

My problem with prox sensors in my area is the f***in' coons and cats that hang around... One decides to take a nap under my ride and my slumber gets disturbed... I'm all on high alert thinkin I have to bust someone open and it's just a damn Siamese lol I only buy a 2 way alarm, simple as that. A screaming alarm will scare off most punks looking for a quick grab, but for the more serious sons of bitches it's better to know then to just trust a horn, train horn or not. If I run to the door, no matter how determined a thief is, no thief wants to get caught. You hear your FOB go off and stand at the door and say "get the **** away from my car" 99% of the time the dirt ball is gonna run.

Several things can make or break a GOOD alarm. Installation is extremely important. If he doesn't take the time to think like a thief, then send him back to the training facility from which he came!
I liked those Alpine systems that had the built in prox sensors too. They were really easy to set-up, unlike the new ones. Either way, the best way to have it set-up is: the exterior sensing needs to be set for "lurking". Lurking is when someone stands next to your window, drooling... Anything less than that shouldn't affect your alarm. The interior sensor should go off when mass (arm, leg) enters the inside by about a foot. This will avoid falsing when it rains hard.
Alarms false when they are set too sensitively trying to make one sensor do more than what it was designed for. Don't be cheap on your vehicle security. Get what's required for your needs. Proximity or glass or pressure sensors are the best add-on sensors to get. I always suggest a two way pager, back-up battery and hood-trunk protection on top of the typical set-up.

^^^ exactly.... they were great alarms. Too bad other companies didn't see their value. Prox sensors work off heat motion and an important thing to mention is they don't work through steel. Therefore only travels out windows and through plastic.

When I had one of my sensors in the arm rest for example you could sneak at door height and not be detected. If you breached the inside section in any way you would be caught otherwise it never knew you were there.

After a little while I put both of them in my head liner so they fire down. Now you can't even get close to it without it knowing your there. :smilie_da

As mentioned, you need to be wiser than the thief... :sly: and for gods sake NEVER WIRE your alarm right under the driver side dash. :smokin: and a back up battery and second horn well placed & hood pin makes for a much more secure system.

My shepherds around my van all day and it never once set off my prox sensor... :dunno:

I just went out and tried for you. My tilt sensor gave warning (really rocking) but no prox warning until I moved. So I'd say no. Just for the record I have tracks about half a block from me, they've never set off my alarm.

Realistically, IMO, all a good alarm needs is:

2way
back up
prox sensor(s) (depending on vehicle and coverage)
Dome light monitor (is always nice)
starter cut (well integrated)
hood pin (maybe a trunk pin too if you have a trunk)
2 horns (one well hidden)


Impact, glass, tilt, ect all have flaws that allow a thief to get around them. If used in conjunction with the above, they have added value, otherwise are a waste of money IMHO.