Overall Car Audio Security

[solacedagony]

I don't carry that one mine go from the Astra 777 to the starters with alarm up to the VG8000 with starter and interior camera.

I saw that interior full color camera one. I can't afford to spend almost 500$ on an alarm. Would be really sweet to have though.

[cargodz]

Well I don't sell those for 5 unless it's installed (then it's 549)... my price on those is 449, but yeah still really pricey.

[smoker]

omega stuff is bullit proof and has a lifetime warranty if professionally installed

[GlassWolf]

head unit:
use back strap and tack that in place behind the head unit, then use the double threaded bolt the unit came with to reach behind the dash when the radio is installed, and bolt the radio into the dash via the strapping steel. Makes it a royal bitch to take the radio out after that.
amp rack and sub box: bolt them down.
tack weld or pop weld studs to the sheet metal in the truck, drill holes in proper locations on the rack and box, and bolt the wood in place using security nuts and the welded studs.
alarm system: get a decent two-way pager alarm system.
impact/motion sensor
glass breakage mic
starter and fuel pump kill/disable relays
proximity/microwave sensor optional
current sensing for doors/dome light
hood pin
battery backed siren
parking light flash
horn tie-in optional
This is a diagram of an alarm I did in a Jeep, to give an idea of entry points to secue with a good alarm system:

[solacedagony]

head unit:
use back strap and tack that in place behind the head unit, then use the double threaded bolt the unit came with to reach behind the dash when the radio is installed, and bolt the radio into the dash via the strapping steel. Makes it a royal bitch to take the radio out after that.
amp rack and sub box: bolt them down.
tack weld or pop weld studs to the sheet metal in the truck, drill holes in proper locations on the rack and box, and bolt the wood in place using security nuts and the welded studs.
alarm system: get a decent two-way pager alarm system.
impact/motion sensor
glass breakage mic
starter and fuel pump kill/disable relays
proximity/microwave sensor optional
current sensing for doors/dome light
hood pin
battery backed siren
parking light flash
horn tie-in optional
This is a diagram of an alarm I did in a Jeep, to give an idea of entry points to secue with a good alarm system:

Did you get all those alarm options in one package? If so, which?
Which do you consider to be the most essential of the ones you have listed?

[Team AI]

I knew a guy once that used to keep his boa curled up on his driver seat... that seemed to work pretty well.

[solacedagony]

rofl, that's pretty ingenius.
Anyone know where I could buy or price an Omega product? Their CrimeGuard 850 alarm looks like it has any option I could need or want to use.
One website I found priced at 230$, but I'm not sure on the validity of the site.

[geolemon]

Ok guys, I think I've under estimated the importance of the security of the stuff in my vehicle. I live in a pretty decent neighborhood and whatnot. A friend of my told me yesterday that his gf's cheap HU was stolen from her car, multiple other peope had reported their cars being broken into, and another guy he knew had their BMW stolen. This all in about 2 weeks.

Think "prevention". Unless a thief somehow knows you've got something in your car (and ask yourself - how could they / would they? This is prevention tip #1. ]specifically targeted[/i] your car for break in.

If they have - no offense to anyone - but you've done something wrong, you've done something to let the thief know you've got something. Some basic common-sense behavior can help a lot - like not driving into the mall parking lot at 130dB. No steal-me stickers (car audio brand names - or any product brand names for that matter). Etc.

All this admittedly worried me a little bit, so I've been thinking how I can secure the equipment in my vehicle...

Don't bother, unless you are going for the insurance coverage - check your insurance policy, because components that are considered permanent components of your vehicle are often covered, where loose audio equipment like a "subwoofer box" in the trunk are considered luggage.

Really, I say "don't bother", because if the thief has broken into your car, they've already done damage - hundreds if not thousands of dollars of damage to repair it, unless they just broke glass to get in.
What's your $200 subwoofer on top of that? it's the one component of your car that you can replace yourself at relatively little expense. And when the thief breaks into the car, and finds his little smash-and-grab target somehow secured, he may get pissed and simply destroy it in place, if he hasn't already caused significant damage trying to violently rip it from it's existing location.
If the thief is in the car, the battle is already lost. :help:

4) Alarm: I have no alarm and I know very little about alarms. If I could install one myself, that'd be preferable (I can get pretty creative). I know I'd want one of those 2-way pager systems so I would know if it got set off. Other than that, I'm not sure what they have that I'd need, so any kind of direction here would be wonderful.

Buy one that offers you some convenience features. Mine locks my doors automatically, to give me peace of mind in case I forget. And of course, keyless entry, so when I disarm my alarm, the doors automatically unlock.
On the Pathfinder, in addition to that stuff, it has a remote starter with nearly a mile of range on it. I can press key combos to do all sorts of things - turn on my rear defrost grid, pop my rear hatch, it even plays a song out of my horn so I can find my car in a parking lot if I lost it.

You have to think realistically about an alarm, IMO.
I'd never buy a 2-way alarm for example - again, the logic is, if the thief has already smashed something and the alarm is going off - the damage is done. What am I going to do, go out and confront him? What, he's going to fix what he's broken? Doubtful. And I have insurance, they cover that. Am I going to beat him up? He's probably armed with tools, and wouldn't THAT just be ironic - he breaks into my car, injures me on top of it, and then sues me for attacking him. Yes, it's happened - all he did was vandalize your car - you assaulted him. Sad but true.

Same with alarms - purchase it for the theft deterrent power, and behave yourself so no thief targets your car. Discourage the doorhandle-lifters looking for an easy target. And buy one that at least offers you some convenience features for your $, so it's not just some ball-and-chain hanging off your keychain.

Good luck - don't go nuts, just use common sense!

[geolemon]

Check out AstroStart products...

they are made in Canada, and somehow they've loopholed around the FCC regulations, so they have tremendous range. All of them are remote starter units, and they make a very cool manual transmission module (my Pathfinder is a 5 speed) that foolproofs the starter. They are very reliable, and range in features. I've got a 3106, the thing has every bell and whistle (except 2-way). I might recommend the 4204 since it is a 2-way, but a simple LED based 2-way so the transmitter isn't huge - I wouldn't mind knowing that my car actually DID start, or that my doors actually ARE locked. But the 4204 requires an extra module to "convert" it into an alarm, although that's no big deal (the electronics are actually all in the unit - you are buying a shock sensor and siren, basically ).

Amazingly programmable, lots of additional channels, tons of features, ungodly long range.

[smoker]

rofl, that's pretty ingenius.
Anyone know where I could buy or price an Omega product? Their CrimeGuard 850 alarm looks like it has any option I could need or want to use.
One website I found priced at 230$, but I'm not sure on the validity of the site.

maybe there is an omega dealer here on the board? i think both mike and i are omega dealers....