To steal a car, you need to get inside. There are only two ways to do this: break the glass or open the lock with a key, pick or other device. You can, of course, delve into the technology of this case, which in itself is not without interest. But it is enough for us that the criminals master it perfectly. And what can be opposed to this?
Of course it is possible. ride on an armored car - you can’t break the glass there even with the help of "kalashnikov". Do you agree? You can go the simpler way - to increase the strength of the glass. For example, using special "booking" films. Keys are more difficult. You can put an additional lock, but, as practice shows, this is not a very effective protection. However, if there is no way to prevent the opening of the car, then you should at least find out about it - any alarm is triggered when the door is opened.
The next step the hijacker must take is to start the engine. It is here that the main line of defense of most anti-theft devices on the market lies. Moreover, for immobilizers - this is the main task, and for alarms - an auxiliary one. Of course, all blockages are surmountable. But remembering that absolute protection does not exist, we will try to create as many difficulties as possible for the attacker. And in this regard, a well-placed immobilizer is preferable. In addition, to remove the locks, you must open the hood. Therefore, it does not hurt to install an additional lock on it.
Please note: both the immobilizer and the alarms differ in the level of protection and the number of basic and additional functions. In this case, the price depends on both the first and the second circumstance. And the high cost of the system is by no means a sign of high security properties. Perhaps it just has a lot of auxiliary functions.
A running engine and a car moving in the right direction are not the same thing. On this postulate is based the last line of defense of the machine. It is made up of all kinds of mechanical systems - a steering wheel lock, pedals, a transmission lock... If there is reason to fear that the car will simply be dragged away in tow, then a blocker can be used.
Now let's move on to practice. After watching the advertisement, it is easy to see that anti-theft devices are very diverse. It is necessary to evaluate the features of using your particular car: what brand it is, what its technical condition is, where, how and with whom you usually drive, where you leave the car regularly, where occasionally, where it spends the night, etc. Depending on this, you need to assess the risk of theft. After that, you will know exactly how great are the sacrifices that can be made for the sake of the safety of the car. This knowledge will be very useful to you when negotiating with the installer.
Of course, a competent manager at an anti-theft system installer should figure out what you need. In addition, no one knows better than him all the features of the available systems and devices, and no one better than him can help you choose "local" the desired configuration and a set of protective equipment. Therefore, pay close attention to everything he tells you, and stick to common sense. Do not forget that the manager has his own interests.
Sometimes inexperienced people point their finger at the most expensive systems, believing them to be the best. Then they come with a request to turn off the function, then another... In the end, they have a question: what was the money paid for? Don't overestimate your abilities. If you are faced with anti-theft systems for the first time, then choose the easiest to manage. What's happened "enraged signaling" know? No? So you're lucky with your neighbors. The most common alarm "going crazy" due to improper handling and inability to understand the abundance of basic and additional functions. And the point is not at all the stupidity of individual car owners. After all, if the car rebels due to the operation of the anti-theft system, then it is very difficult for an inexperienced person to figure out what's what. Therefore, do not forget to take the user manual from the installer and do not be lazy with it in your hands to practice a little. In a deserted place, of course.
However, alarms go berserk not only because of mishandling. Therefore, the question of reliability is quite relevant. Reliability depends more on the installer. Here you have to rely on his reputation and warranty. But equally important is the health of the car itself. So if you want to protect your used car, prepare yourself for the additional costs of repairing locks, electrical equipment...
Let's name the five most, in our opinion, "reliable alarms": Bosch, Clifford, Sirio 777 Mouse, Sicura, Prestige.
Absolute protection is not possible. After all, in extreme cases, you can always load a passenger car into a truck or drag it with a tow truck. But today, car theft is a business, and every business wants to cut costs. Therefore, preference is given to machines that do not complicate life. So create difficulties for the hijackers.
Immobilizers
In Soviet times, one of the most popular anti-theft agents was "secret" - an additional ignition switch hidden in the wilds of the engine compartment or the nooks and crannies of the cabin. In post-Soviet times, it turned out that this device is not alien to the world of capital. True, they did a good job of working on it, as a result of which a device called "immobilizer".
The main task of the immobilizer is to break one or more electrical circuits vital for the operation of the car and thus prevent theft. When using additional devices, such as solenoid valves, it is also possible to block the operation of non-electric systems. The main feature of the immobilizer is that when it is destroyed or unauthorized shutdown, the car's systems remain blocked.
Anti-theft systems
The desire to protect the car from theft as reliably as possible led to the development of more and more complex designs. So there were devices that are more correctly called anti-theft systems. One of them - "Vekta". In it, the main unit is made non-separable, all the wires have the same color, and some of them are false. "Vekta" allows you to break four circuits, and in two more to change the polarity of the wires.
"Cyborg", actively promoted to our market "Alarm-Service", is a higher level system. In it, the main unit is connected to the standard wiring of the car, and breaks in vital circuits are carried out by special devices. Their small size makes them difficult to find. Besides, "Cyborg" has a wide range of additional functions and is connected to the city's paging network. You can call your car on the phone and order it to start. Or, conversely, stop.
Alarms
Initially, the idea was to notify the owner of the attempt on his pet.
Modern alarm systems have gone far from primitive systems on "two buttons". Almost all of them have a remote, from the key fob, inclusion - using infrared rays or radio waves. In the latter case, a double or floating, constantly changing code is used. The block architecture is widely used: the main unit can work with a wide range of sensors, while the output can be connected to a regular car signal or a siren - conventional or self-powered, which reacts to a power outage. You can do without noise if you connect a pager instead of a siren (do not confuse with the paging network, this is a different pager), which will squeak in the pocket of the owner of the car when the alarm is triggered.
Not without modern alarm and anti-theft functions. Even the simplest of them blocks the operation of at least one electrical circuit. The fundamental difference from immobilizers is that when the power is turned off, the locks are usually disabled.
Modern people love all kinds of services. Well, is it bad if the alarm closes the door locks by itself? Today, this feature can be considered standard.
Additional locks
Ten years ago, in the outback one could see not only a truck, but also quite a respectable "Volga" with hefty eyes sticking out of the door under a padlock barn.
Then first in our market "went" devices that block the steering wheel and pedals. Experienced motorists remember well these massive, creepy-looking pieces of iron.
Worth mentioning and "Israeli miracle" - Mul-t-lok - a lock that secures the gear lever. It is obvious that the car "automatically" these devices provide better protection because the manual transmission allows the vehicle to be towed with the clutch depressed.
The next type of anti-theft device is a wheel blocker, a thunderstorm for violators of parking rules.
And finally, the last design is an additional hood lock. True, the castle itself does not represent an obstacle for the hijacker. After all, to start the engine of a modern car, you do not need to open the hood, and even more so - the trunk. Therefore, such locks are good only as an additional measure that makes it difficult to access the alarm or immobilizer.
Jackie vs gop stop
Of all the variety of functions, one deserves a separate story. This is the protection of the car during a robbery attack. Most common "jacks" – High Jack and Black Jack.
High Jack is activated from the key fob - the one that puts the car on guard, or your own. In principle, the following is envisaged: here the car was taken away from you, and you "thrown out". You quickly press the button. Then the following happens: immediately or with a slight delay, the engine stalls and the alarm turns on. After that, it is no longer possible to bring the car into working condition using key fobs. Of course, you need to turn on Hi Jack before the car leaves the range of the key fob. The disadvantage is that "throw out", as a rule, from a car with keys and a key fob, and therefore it is necessary to have an additional key fob with you all the time, or at least store the main one separately, which, you see, is not very convenient.
Black Jack is not required. It needs to be turned off. Usually after every door opening. Otherwise, it warns the forgetful driver and then stops the engine, but at the moment when the hijacker resets "gas", which makes stopping the car safer for both the owner of the car (the robbers are far away), as well as for those who travel nearby.