• To anyone looking to acquire commercial radio programming software:

    Please do not make requests for copies of radio programming software which is sold (or was sold) by the manufacturer for any monetary value. All requests will be deleted and a forum infraction issued. Making a request such as this is attempting to engage in software piracy and this forum cannot be involved or associated with this activity. The same goes for any private transaction via Private Message. Even if you attempt to engage in this activity in PM's we will still enforce the forum rules. Your PM's are not private and the administration has the right to read them if there's a hint to criminal activity.

    If you are having trouble legally obtaining software please state so. We do not want any hurt feelings when your vague post is mistaken for a free request. It is YOUR responsibility to properly word your request.

    To obtain Motorola software see the Sticky in the Motorola forum.

    The various other vendors often permit their dealers to sell the software online (i.e., Kenwood). Please use Google or some other search engine to find a dealer that sells the software. Typically each series or individual radio requires its own software package. Often the Kenwood software is less than $100 so don't be a cheapskate; just purchase it.

    For M/A Com/Harris/GE, etc: there are two software packages that program all current and past radios. One package is for conventional programming and the other for trunked programming. The trunked package is in upwards of $2,500. The conventional package is more reasonable though is still several hundred dollars. The benefit is you do not need multiple versions for each radio (unlike Motorola).

    This is a large and very visible forum. We cannot jeopardize the ability to provide the RadioReference services by allowing this activity to occur. Please respect this.

Car Alarm

Status
Not open for further replies.

WarWizard

Member
Joined
May 26, 2006
Messages
17
I'm not sure if this is the right area of the forum for this but I thought I'd give it a try. Does anyone have any recomendations for a good car alarm that has good balance between features, reliability and price? I haven't seen any discussions anywhere that I've looked on the forum but I would think that with the amount of money that goes into these radios and equipment this would be a major concern with mobile installs.
 

SAR923

Active Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
1,514
Car alarms are, in general, a waste of money. They have too many false alarms, are ignored by everyone because they are so common, and can annoy the heck out of your neighbors. The best thing to do is make your radios removable, either by using portables or designing the mount so the radio has a quick connect and is mounted on a slide. If the radios are in the vehicle, a thief will get them no matter what kind of alarm you have. The best thing you can do is always lock the doors and hope for the best.

One of our unmarked units was broken into while thee deputies were at lunch in a major shopping center in broad daylight. They got two mobile radios and a scanner. They almost got the shotgun as well but didn't have a big enough pry bar to break it free from the mount. These guys knew it was apolice car and broke in anyway. Your chances in a civilian vehicle are zero if the radios are visible and the the thief knows what he's doing.
 

af5rn

Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
1,060
Location
N. Tex / S. Fla
Alarms are not totally useless by any means. Especially for the vehicle parked in front of your home, where you can hear the alarm. But even in a public place, thieves generally won't stick around when an alarm is sounding. Why should they when there are plenty of cars without alarms that they can move on to?

On the other hand, I agree that over-sensitive and malfunctioning alarms continuously falsing and driving people crazy with the noise contribute to most people not even paying attention to them anymore. And if you live in an apartment complex or crowded neighbourhood, it gets really farking old listening to them chirp everytime the neighbours kid comes home at 3am.

I've seen many auto burglaries on vehicles that had alarms that never went off. It's because the burglars won't even open the door in many cases. They just bust the window, lean through it to take what they want, and then walk away without ever setting the alarm off.

Therefore, here's where I would spend my money instead of on an expensive alarm ---> http://www.shattergard.com/home.html
 

WarWizard

Member
Joined
May 26, 2006
Messages
17
Thanks for the info. The window film looks pretty interesting.
________________________________________________________________________

Pro 43
Pro 96
BCT 8
BC898T
 

af5rn

Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
1,060
Location
N. Tex / S. Fla
Yeah, you can bet it will be on my next vehicle. I only worry about rescuers being able to get in to save me if the car is on fire, lol.
 

AlSal28

Member
Joined
May 8, 2008
Messages
2
I've installed AutoPage and Prestige alarms and never had any problems. They have great features like remote start and starter disabler built-in. They're also pretty cheap on Ebay. I would recommend either one.
 

WarWizard

Member
Joined
May 26, 2006
Messages
17
AlSal28 said:
I've installed AutoPage and Prestige alarms and never had any problems. They have great features like remote start and starter disabler built-in. They're also pretty cheap on Ebay. I would recommend either one.

Are they difficult to install yourself or should I have it professionally done?
 

SAR923

Active Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
1,514
af5rn said:
Yeah, you can bet it will be on my next vehicle. I only worry about rescuers being able to get in to save me if the car is on fire, lol.

That's a real and valid fear. If you're involved in any kind of accident, the easiest route to extrication is through the window if the door can't be opened. With this film in place, you'll have to wait until the Hurst tool arrives and they can cut you out. I'd rather not take the chance of dying to save my radios, especially when the film is over $400 for just the front side windows.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top