hehe - cheers
Not really a techno-hack so I'll add it here.

Cos dad worked in the car-electronics industry, he had plenty of access to top-of-the-range kit. Sometimes it'd be ex-display, sometimes it'd be from a trade-in with someone who HAD to have the absolute latest version of everything, sometimes it'd be from someone changing their mind, whichever way - it'd usually be new or near-new, in full working condition and would have been worth an absolute fortune if it had been in a box, and not installed and taken out of a car already.

This is how my shitty little rust-bucket of an F-reg Nissan Micra ended up with a fucking AWESOME stereo system.

Two top-class amplifiers. Half the boot was taken up with the sub. I had great-quality speakers everywhere a speaker could be installed. An awesome head unit that took CDs, recorded to harddrive and was one of the first car-stereos that let you hook up an MP3 [this was quite a few years ago now].

My car also had electric windows and full central door locking - even though it looked like a piece of shit on the outside.

Now, to protect this kit, dad installed a similarly top-class alarm system. He basically turned the car into a playground of kit. I had immobilisers to kill the engine, the fuel pump and the fuse box, anti-jack sensors to detect tilt if the car was jacked up, infra-red sensors to detect any movement inside the vehicle, deadbolt systems to secure the door, bonnet and boot more than the usual locks. He hooked it up to the electrics to flash all the lights, hazards, and sound the horn if the alarm was triggered. There was also a brand-new GPRS tracking thing buried deep within the car, with the antenna lining the headlights so they could get a good signal [though i don't think we had a subscription with the company, so it wouldn't have done much good!]

But he really outdid himself on the alarms themselves.

Usually, a car has an alarm under the bonnet, or maybe in the dash somewhere. It makes a bit of noise, and is supposed to alert people nearby to something going on with the car.

My car had two alarms under the bonnet, one in the boot and one in the dash on the passenger side. Then it also had two soundbombs, one in the backseat and one installed inside the driver's headrest. Soundbombs are specifically designed to disorientate and confuse and generally make it too uncomfortable for anyone to stay close to them. One of these fuckers going off six inches from your head is really going to fuck you up.


When we went to the insurance company they asked for the details of the car, then asked for details of any alarm system installed. They were outrightly laughing by the time dad finished telling them what he'd put into that alarm, and the insurance was pretty damn cheap, for a learner driver!
( Seventh is somewhat subdued, Tue 25 Aug 2009, 17:32, Reply)