Car audio security

[garak]

An ENTP friend of mine and I have had a few discussions about this and it seems that there are few products on the market for securing car audio against theft. Amps and subwoofers, mostly -- and I'm focusing on subwoofers here. Not only are there few products, but there seem to be few ideas out there in general. About the most advanced one that's widely known is to use L-brackets to screw your sub box to the floor.

We've had various ideas, such as:


weights: 200 lbs in a sub box is gonna make it pretty hard to swipe. but it'd hurt gas mileage and handling, and would basically require you to open up the sub box and remove the weights before taking the box out of the vehicle. Very inconvenient.
various incarnations of screwing/bolting the box to the vehicle from the inside of the box. It'd be attached to the vehicle and the only way to get it out would be to open up the sub box.
using obscure types of screws ("security screws") to screw the sub into the box and the box onto the vehicle.
some sort of sheet metal guard covering up any screws, with some sort of lock to remove it.
probably some other whacky ideas that I can't remember too.


Anyways, with my new truck I had a dilemma in that the only place to put a sub is behind the passengers seat, where it is plainly visible. That in itself increases the chance of theft by a huge amount, almost to the point where I wouldn't even want to bother. Somewhere along the line I came up with a new idea -- security through obscurity. :P Basically just disguise the sub box as some other worthless junk (an old tattered up cardboard box). For the amps behind my seat, I can just wad up some old t-shirts I use for rags and stuff them behind the seat to hide the amps. It'll look totally trashy, but that's perfect. :) Consider the vehicle:

http://incise.org:82/newpics/img_1428.jpg

But I wonder exactly how effective this disguise is. Here's how it looks:

http://incise.org:82/newpics/img_1815.jpg

Do you think a thief would expect a subwoofer and box to be in there? I'm not really sure myself.

[Utopmk]

My car cd/mp3/fm radio was stolen sometime 2 years ago. They also stole all of my cds which were ironically cdrs. I wondered why they picked me of all people, but found out that camaros are the easiest cars to break into. (right under the door lock you can jam a screw driver into the door and it pops right open)

I remember returning to my vehicle and security guards and police were surrounding it. I thought they were there for something else, of course, and lucky thing the theif was a smoker, else I would have went to jail for possesion.

On top of paying that 5$ for the mandatory police report that I didn't want, I had to ride home without a stereo. It was a sad day. :cry:

It's a good idea to be cautious.

[garak]

I had a head unit and ~$500 of real CDs stolen from me when I was younger. It was my own idiotic fault though -- I left the face on, and the doors unlocked (I thought my neighborhood was too "innocent" for anything to happen). Extremely stupid. Now I'm super paranoid and NEVER leave the face on. I also almost never buy CDs now either.

Do you think the ghetto smashed up box is convincing?

[Utopmk]

Do you think the ghetto smashed up box is convincing?

Yes. I think that anything you do to make it less covienient for them makes theft less likely. I also want to suggest a layer of razor wire under the weights.

[CoHo]

Speaking of razor wire... a few people suggested this to me when I had my cd player stolen.

You could always weld some razorblades to the back of your cd player (and to the underneath). Usually when people are jacking cd players they are doing it pretty quick.

It would be a good way to leave a little memory... or get sued.


Oh, to add. I've heard a few stories from people who got creative with their cd player. On one situation someone tried to get the CD player out and couldn't, so instead the person kicked the cd player in (smashing it), kicked in a few other things and cut up the dashboard and seats with a razorblade.

[garak]

The amps:

http://incise.org:82/newpics/img_1825.jpg
http://incise.org:82/newpics/img_1826.jpg
http://incise.org:82/newpics/img_1830.jpg

[crule81]

My car got broken into when I lived in Atlanta (the property crime capital of America). The thieves were intelligent enough to bust the lock using a flat-head screwdriver that did minimal cosmetic damage to my car. Once inside, however, they could not figure out how to get my stereo out. So they basically just smashed up my Grand Am's dashboard and ruined the radio with the crowbar. The funny thing is that I had 30 cd's in a case that I found on the passenger-side floor the next morning. Apparently, Rush and Led Zeppelin cd's are not worth anything on the ATL black market. In any event, my insurance company, for some reason, replaced my old stereo with a much better one that covered the $200 deductible.

[mgb]

You know what is so funny about the box hiding the speakers? If a thief does figure it out, you are actually giving him a discreet and convienent way of getting all your equipment out of the truck and making for an easier getaway.

[garak]

You know what is so funny about the box hiding the speakers? If a thief does figure it out, you are actually giving him a discreet and convienent way of getting all your equipment out of the truck and making for an easier getaway.
Eh, at that stage in the game, the chance of getting it back is pretty small anyways.

[Architectonic]

I have a hatchback without a parcelshelf. I arrange a blanket that I keep in the car and discuise the box as a parcel shelf (it is a big enclosure..). One day I'll get around to adding an old straw had and a box of tissues.


I have the amps mounted under my seats and they are easy to cover up.

I detach the face of the cd player, but its kind of hard to discuise that easily in my car. Thankfully my car is fairly old and doesn't really attract attention easily - obviously you have to make sure you are sensible when listening to the stereo, you don't drive around with your windows wound down and the bass at full volume, or some (more intelligent) theives will try and find where you park the car and help themselves to their stereo.

CorporateWhore is correct when he mentions that some thieves will unfortunately attempt to steal, and or destroy your car if they cannot steal your stereo easily.

Have you thought about getting an alarm? :P

[garak]

Nah, alarms are annoying as hell. I figure it'd be more trouble than it's worth.

[CoHo]

What about a can of mace?

You know those old ‘nam movies where a guy steps on a tripwire and loses his legs?

Same concept, put a cord next to a mace grenade and attach that cord to the back of the cd player?

[add]

To get more involved you could have a car alarm that hooks up to a timed system, like a bomb. Once the car alarm goes off it sends a signal to this time bomb that gives you about 30 seconds to deactivate or your entire car fills with tear gas?

Yeah, I've had my CD player stolen, I have no remorse for these bastards.

[garak]

Haha. I don't even like the razor blade idea. I figure if they want it, they'll get it, and cutting them open might make me prone to retaliation. I'd also have a mess to clean up, and I'd have to be careful when messing with it myself (either during normal tinkering or after a break-in -- sure would suck to get aids from your own anti-theft device). I suppose you could say I'm a big fan of "passive" security.

[CoHo]

That's true, I didn't think about post gassing retaliation, like a brick through the windshield, slashed tires, or them waiting in the bushes when I go to work that morning. Hrm....

If you live in an apartment complex you could always see if you could pool your cash to get a community sniper.