Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

Bryan, it's a good topic for the club to be aware of from a personal and car/parts collector perspective.  Thanks for bringing it up.

Unfortunately, it seems like unless we are directly impacted by an event like your friend was, it doesn't seem to stick until it happens to one of us.  Good to keep it in mind as we all protect our stuff.

 

As a guy who's made his living for 20+ years keeping people on whatever side of the door/fence they're supposed to be on... these are all valid points. It's not paranoia, there is a segment of society that cannot stand someone else to have something nice, or posses something they feel "entitled" to. For a minimal investment in time & materials you can secure your "stuff" from the casual or rookie burglar.

Bryan has touched on most of the primary (and easy to do) items. Here's a couple more:
- Older garage door openers. Think about replacing it if it's not one of the more modern "rolling code" models. The old ones with just a rotary selector or "dip" switch code setting system are easy to hack.
- External garage door opener key switch. Get rid of it! Too easy to just un-screw/pry out and short the contacts. Replace with a programmable keypad type. (and don't set the code to your address... forward or backward!)
- Lighting. Install or replace your exterior lights with motion detection units, and keep the switch ON!
The coach lamps on my garage are controlled by a neat motion detector that's "smart". At dusk the lights come on at 50% power for 4 hours. After 4 hours they switch off. If during the 4 hours motion is detected, they ramp up to 100% for 5 mins, then go down. After the 4 hours they just zap up to 100% upon detection.