Yeah, walking across a Sears is hardly a good test. The only solid object between you and the receiver is a single wall. People are not considered an adequate RF barrier for this type of test

 

No problem.

I wasn't trying to knock it, but just wanted others who see this to know that if they are in a place with alot of walls the range may decrease. It's like my wireless router in my house. If I go upstairs to the other side of the house the signal degrades alot but distance wise I am well within the range the vendor quotes.

 

its ok..i figure that if i am gonna spend about 4 bills for a good alarm.. I might as well put in a lil more money for a pager alarm...i dont travel far either....u guys know theft is mainly at ur own house...so i just run out and chase them fools.

 

I deal and install Compustar alarm systems.. I've dealt with DEI at my last job.. and personally.. I'd recommend compustar over DEI ANYDAY!!

Pager systems are the ONLY way to go.. dont even bother with an alarm without a pager.. Duct tape and a pair of wire cutters will render your alarm completely useless within seconds.. I'd give myself under 10 seconds to disable an alarm visually and audibly(if thats a word).. I'd rather have a chance of being paged reguardless of what noise or light the car is making.. also.. the pager will tell you if you left your trunk open, your hood open, your doors unlocked.. it will tell you that your car has remote started.. there are many reasons why pager systems own..

MacGyver, if you can hear your car alarm from within a movie theater.. where did you buy the siren? I'd like to pick up 2-3 of those.. movie theaters without parking lot security have very high rates of theft.. the thief knows that when you go in.. you arent coming back out for a good 2 hours..

TrIcKeD_oUt_s2K, do NOT chase down anyone robbing your car.. I'd hate to see a s2k owner get shot up or stabbed for attacking a thief.. some of them are armed.. call the police.. remember what he looks like.. etc.. do NOT try anything that may put you in the way of danger..

as for which model I'd recommend.. the Compustar 2WFM-AS unit.. 2Way meaning pager, FM meaning its way of communication, and as for alarm and starter.. cool because its one of few that can be installed on manual transmissions.. also.. they have a nifty turbo timer feature.. that in some cases id use on the S if I ran her really hard..

let me know if you want to get your hands on one through me.. I don't know if there are dealers around you.. but up by me.. I'm def the only one in western ny.. if not all of ny..

 

funky,

If you can disable any alarm within 10 seconds, that means my car is gone shortly thereafter. In that case, what has the pager done for you except take up space in your pocket? I'll concede the point of early warning being a good thing in terms of police involvement, but you generally don't know which direction the guy has truly gone in once outside of the mall parking lot, and by the time police respond he's several minutes away and heading towards his hiding spot anyway.

Also, when you make the bold claim of 10 seconds, I would bet good money that is based upon two major items: 1) Wire colors haven't been changed during the install, which is a nice feature since they are commonly known colors, and 2) You assume that the alarm module has been naively placed just under the steering wheel, which makes it easy for you to find. If it's a self-powered alarm, by the time you get the hood popped and that squawk-box ripped off the firewall and crushed, OTHERS have already called the police on you. I'm sorry, I don't care how good you are or how much you know about alarms in general...10 seconds (or anything close to it) is a serious stretch.

 

Pager alarms are useless....your best bet is to get a back-up battery for your alarm.....and a good insurance plan. If they want what you have they will think about how to get it 24/7. Think about it......they could be wainting for you out-side with a gun.... If they really want want you have....save the money for a sound upgrade...bro.

 

No personal offense intended, but I think the above is a pretty useless post. (sorry, this is one of my pet peeves)

Perhaps pager alarms are usless to chaomutt, and if they are then he should state why he thinks they are useless. This is a good example of an opinion post, but it's an opinion with no substance, and as such has little weight.

And the remark about "they could be wainting for you out-side with a gun" has no bearing in the discussion. "They" could be waiting for you whether you have an alarm or not, whether you even have a car or not. That's not the point of a pager alarm, or any car alarm. An alarm won't do you any good against a gun. If you're worried about guys with guns, go live somewhere else.

Now for some useable information. Here are some reasons I like pager alarms:

First - they have much better range than "normal" alarms or keyless remotes. Think you forgot to lock your car after you get in the mall? Your pager remote will not only lock it, but it will tell you that it's locked. I don't think that's "useless" but some people might.

Second - I have an alarm, but I don't have a siren. I HATE to be annoyed by car alarms, so as a courtesy to others I refuse to put an annoying siren on my car. I have seen many car alarms go off, but I've never seen the police show up, so I have little faith in someone else calling the police, except perhaps to complain about the annoying siren. So if I'm close enough to be paged, I can call the police myself. If I'm too far away, there's nothing to be done anyway.

Third - I travel frequently, and when I stay at a hotel I park (when possible) where I can view my car from the hotel window. If the pager goes off, I can look out the window and call the police from my room. I kind of like that, and I bet some others would like it too.

As far as range - I have stayed at a Hampton Inn several times, and park on the 4th floor of the parking garage because it has direct-access to the adjacent hotel (other floors you have to use the garage stairs). I can get a room on the 11th floor of the hotel next door, and from my room I can lock and unlock the car, and the remote verifies it's locked by a return signal from the car.

Two real stories from many years ago when I had a pager alarm:

I used to have a job where I drove my car to the worksite. One day my pager alarm goes off, I rush outside in time to find a doctor, driving a jag, examining the dent he just put in my car door with his car door. Kind of hard for him to say "No, I didn't hit your car", with me standing there looking at him, huh? Did I get my car repaired with someone else paying for it? You bet.

Another time I'm working at the Mall and the pager alarm goes off. I run out, and guess what I see? Two cops (off-duty doing Mall security) with a coat-hanger trying to break into my car!!! Their excuse - "we thought the car was abandoned and needed to get the registration to see who owned it".

Now the car had valid tags and a current inspection sticker, so WTF do the cops need from inside the car to identify the owner? And abandoned?? We're talking about a car with custom paint, interior, body work, and a couple grand in stereo gear - visible. Abandoned??? I don't think so.

If I didn't have a pager alarm what do you think the chances would have been of me finding my car "broken into and all the stereo gear gone"?

I have a cheap ($250 installed by me) Crimestopper CS2015FM with several shock sensors (theirs seem to be more sensitive than most). I crank up the shock sensors for maximum sensitivity to catch those pesky door-dingers.

.

 

modifry...I give. I think you've changed my mind about the potential usefulness of pager alarms.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MacGyver
[B]modifry...I give.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PJK3
[B]w/ a coathanger??!!