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Detroit, 10:14 PM
Sat Nov 7
5 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!

    FM Transmitter Looks Like A Shift Knob To Entertain, Confuse, Baffle

    Griffin Launches Two More Auto iPod Accessories

    Ferrari-Branded Audio System Has Ferrari-esque Price Tag

    Cassette Deck Lives On With Bluetooth Adapter

    Revive The Cassette With New-Fangled MP3 Technology!

    Mysteries Of Car Customization: Torn Moonroof Edition

    Pioneer AVIC-F Series Media, Navigation Systems Features Advanced Voice Recognition

    Scion Chooses Lackluster HD Radio For Its Audio-Centric Customers

    Aftermarket Manufacturers Go Sync, Next-Gen Also On The Way

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of mytdawg mytdawg
    06/22/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    I had an electronics guy tell me once that car stereos were rated in ISBL watts - 400 watts If Struck By Lightning.
     Reply
    mytdawg was starred mytdawg was unstarred
    Image of MushyHeirloom MushyHeirloom
    06/22/09

    @mytdawg: This is very true, and earns this guy much in the way of kudos.
     Reply
    MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred
    Image of Plecostomus [Tyrrell] Plecostomus [Tyrrell]
    06/22/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    I'm shocked the freaking Hilux hasn't been stolen already.


    I mean, it's a fucking Toyota Truck. That's like, GOLD in 3rd world countries.


    On a related note, I had my 1989 Toyota Camry broken into three times, each time they'd steal my shit, but never bothered taking my crummy CD deck. They popped my trunk and stole my sub and amp, but left my CD deck.


    weird.

     Reply
    Plecostomus [Tyrrell] was starred Plecostomus [Tyrrell] was unstarred
    Image of MushyHeirloom MushyHeirloom
    06/22/09

    @Plecostomus needs GALVANIZED SCREWS: Part of the reason I like my Volvo is that you can't open the trunk from inside. That shit's safe, unless it's something you can get reaching through the not-totally-obvious ski passthrough.
     Reply
    MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred
    Image of Hello_Newman Hello_Newman
    06/21/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    It's clever, not much resale value in it, but wouldn't a removable faceplate stereo be a lot easier? With 3 stolen in 3 months you'd think the cops would just stake out a place like that, easy pickings to find they guy (probably was the same guy). He's got to carry all that other stuff around, just take the faceplate along instead...
     Reply
    Hello_Newman was starred Hello_Newman was unstarred
    Image of Murilee Martin Murilee Martin
    06/22/09

    @Hello_Newman: One of the three stolen stereos was a removable-faceplate unit (without the faceplate) and it was stolen anyway. These are crackheads, remember, so they're not particularly rational about determining the value of the stuff they steal.


    As for the cops staking out the parking lot: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Oakland ha ha ha ha ha! They got 'em working in shifts!

     Reply
    Murilee Martin was starred Murilee Martin was unstarred
    Image of LandofMinos, Prediction, probability of procuring a poncy Prius for purchase. Piss off! LandofMinos, Prediction, probability of procuring a poncy Prius for purchase. Piss off!
    06/21/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    Things must be third world in the States' if they're stealing crappy old cassette decks for money!


    Old LS Lexus's (or is that Lexii?) are a great source for quality speakers. We got a set of four for $20AUD ($12USD) and they sound great with a $50AUD 4 x 25 Watt RMS amp.

     Reply
    LandofMinos, Prediction, probability of procuring a poncy Prius for purchase. Piss off! was starred LandofMinos, Prediction, probability of procuring a poncy Prius for purchase. Piss off! was unstarred
    Image of Buzzboy7 Buzzboy7
    06/21/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    Or, as I've always done, put wire the head unit into the glove box. Pro-blem Solv-ed
     Reply
    Buzzboy7 was starred Buzzboy7 was unstarred
    Image of Murilee Martin Murilee Martin
    06/21/09

    @Buzzboy7: I've had two stereos stolen from my glovebox. Not a good solution in the Land Of Crackhead Stereo Thieves.
     Reply
    Murilee Martin was starred Murilee Martin was unstarred
    Image of Ursus Maritimus Ursus Maritimus
    06/21/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    That's why I'm glad I live in the small town I do. I leave the keys in the ignition (they don't get lost that way) and the windows down when it's hot. The worst that's ever happened is a friend jumps in it and parks it around the corner as a prank.
     Reply
    Ursus Maritimus was starred Ursus Maritimus was unstarred
    Image of Bartoni Bartoni
    06/21/09

    @Don't take anything aaron8301 says seriously: See, I never left my keys in, windows down, or doors unlocked, even in my small town, because I was in the automotive program in high school.


    We used to break into each other's vehicles, hotwire them, and take them for little joyrides before parking them somewhere obvious (like blocking the front doors of our high school, etc.). My defense against these pranks? Driving a '72 Maverick that required you to turn the windshield wipers on low (and only low) while pumping the gas and turning the key to get it to start.

     Reply
    Bartoni was starred Bartoni was unstarred
    Image of MushyHeirloom MushyHeirloom
    06/21/09

    @Bartoni: I want that Mav. An acquaintance of the family just picked up a beater $300 Gutless Ciera that requires the directional to be on (I think it's to the left) before starting the car, or else an alarm will go off.


    The only good part of that car is the power seat.

     Reply
    MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred
    Image of Dave Bunting Dave Bunting
    06/21/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    What about those of us who'd prefer a decent-looking solution?
     Reply
    Dave Bunting was starred Dave Bunting was unstarred
    Image of Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable
    06/21/09

    @Dave Bunting: Acquire a piece of black (dark grey, or whatever) plastic, cut to size of stereo hole. Camoflage with dummy gauges (altimeter, pitch/yaw, turbo, etc.) and/or switches (light-up rocker switches labeled "eject" "armed" "smokescreen" or the like), hot-glue in place. Voila!
     Reply
    Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable was starred Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable was unstarred
    Image of Murilee Martin Murilee Martin
    06/21/09

    @Dave Bunting: Skip the Lucas wires hanging from the hole in your dash.
     Reply
    Murilee Martin was starred Murilee Martin was unstarred
    Image of UmayMedusa UmayMedusa
    06/21/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    Somebody actually stole my FM converter in Detroit!
     Reply
    UmayMedusa was starred UmayMedusa was unstarred
    Image of Plecostomus [Tyrrell] Plecostomus [Tyrrell]
    06/25/09

    @UmayMedusa: I'm more surprised someone stole something as worthless as an FM converter.


    Those things are the biggest pieces of crap.

     Reply
    Plecostomus [Tyrrell] was starred Plecostomus [Tyrrell] was unstarred
    Image of Rican5.0 Rican5.0
    06/21/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    DAWG! I heard you don't like gettin' jacked so...
     Reply
    Rican5.0 was starred Rican5.0 was unstarred
    Image of MushyHeirloom MushyHeirloom
    06/21/09

    @Rican5.0: ...we put a jack in the bed of your truck so you can do the jacking yourself!


    /denied!

     Reply
    MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred
    Image of Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable
    06/21/09

    @Taco Mudplushroomz: ..we put an input jack in yo Nitro so you can jack in while yo jackin- never mind.
     Reply
    Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable was starred Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable was unstarred
    Image of OM617952 OM617952
    06/21/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    This is a VERY good idea. Much better than spending $150 on an MP3-capable stereo when you already have a $250 iPod/iPhone!
     Reply
    OM617952 was starred OM617952 was unstarred
    Image of Murilee Martin Murilee Martin
    06/21/09

    @OM617952: Definitely.
     Reply
    Murilee Martin was starred Murilee Martin was unstarred
    Image of Pigmaster Pigmaster
    06/21/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    This is an excellent Jalop solution! It reminds me of project cars and Project Car Hell which I vaguely remember from a distant past.:-(


    PCH is what drew me to Jalopnik; the nearly daily dose left me ROTFLMAO. It is so sad that PCH has become so uncommon as it was. Shedding a quiet tear.

     Reply
    Pigmaster was starred Pigmaster was unstarred
    Image of Murilee Martin Murilee Martin
    06/21/09

    @Pigmaster: Check in for PCH later today.
     Reply
    Murilee Martin was starred Murilee Martin was unstarred
    Image of Tier 5 Jalop, the King Tier 5 Jalop, the King
    06/21/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    I've been thinking that I can connect ipod directly to any normal car amplifier (i.e. those without volume & tone controls built-in)through RCA inputs, but haven't tried it.

    Will it work? Or is there theoretical problems (voltage/impedance level mach)?

    And amps have this on/off control connection, is this just +12V one could connect to somewhere where's power on when engine is running or to permanent source through switch?
     Reply
    Tier 5 Jalop, the King was starred Tier 5 Jalop, the King was unstarred
    Image of Murilee Martin Murilee Martin
    06/21/09

    @Manic King of Corinthia: It should work. That's the rig we used for the PA in the Safety Bus at LeMons races... before it got D9'd.
     Reply
    Murilee Martin was starred Murilee Martin was unstarred
    Image of Ursus Maritimus Ursus Maritimus
    06/21/09

    @Manic King of Corinthia: Yes, but yes, and yes (MCSE mobile audio installer here). You're spot on.
     Reply
    Ursus Maritimus was starred Ursus Maritimus was unstarred
    Image of Novaload Novaload
    06/21/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    I can beat that. I got an $8 casette/MP3 converter. Because all I have for mobile tunes is a pretty old MP3 plus an 11 year old Camry radio/casette. The day someone steals that is the day I know the economy has reached ground zero.

    Still, that is a devilishly clever solution, Ms. Martin.
     Reply
    Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred
    Image of Murilee Martin Murilee Martin
    06/21/09

    @Novaload Misses Murilee: You park your car at the Fruitvale BART station lot in Oakland and that deck will be stolen, which wouldn't really matter if not for the busted window and torn up dash. Same goes for most neighborhoods in San Francisco.
     Reply
    Murilee Martin was starred Murilee Martin was unstarred
    Image of MushyHeirloom MushyHeirloom
    06/21/09

    @Murilee Martin: So leave the window down and the head unit loosely mounted. And take the positive cable off the battery. Maybe loosen a spark plug.


    They can have your $0.72 in change and your head unit, but they can't have your car.

     Reply
    MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred
    Image of eggwich del fiero eggwich del fiero
    06/21/09

    @Novaload Misses Murilee: Yeah, at least in the Bay Area, it doesn't matter the quality of what's in your car; just the fact that there is stuff in your car is reason enough for the smash and grab. No stuff present? No smash. Stuff present, even if it's of terrible quality and/or is just a bunch of empty fast food bags? Smash. After all, those bags could be filled with diamonds!


    And the Smash and Grab and actual auto thief crowds are totally different. People go to prison for stealing cars. People go to county jail for about six hours for smash and grabs.

     Reply
    eggwich del fiero was starred eggwich del fiero was unstarred
    Image of Alfisted Alfisted
    06/21/09

    @Novaload Misses Murilee: In South Central LA it doesn't matter what's in your car. They'll break a window first and then see what's what. I suppose it's the same in a lot of places.
     Reply
    Alfisted was starred Alfisted was unstarred
    Image of MushyHeirloom MushyHeirloom
    06/21/09

    @darth eggwich del fiero: How long do you spend if you lean out the window and shoot 'em in the (non life-threatening location) with, well, even a .22?
     Reply
    MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred
    Image of Paul Y. don't drive too fast. Paul Y. don't drive too fast.
    06/21/09

    @Alfisted: Large parts of the city proper of Rochester, NY was like that-- people would smash windows just to look around. If you left your doors unlocked, your windows would STILL get smashed, just to teach you a lesson about being condescending to crackheads.
     Reply
    Paul Y. don't drive too fast. was starred Paul Y. don't drive too fast. was unstarred
    Image of Stranger than most Stranger than most
    06/21/09

    @Taco Mudplushroomz: 12 gauge with rock salt is more effective... hurts like hell but won't kill 'em
     Reply
    Stranger than most was starred Stranger than most was unstarred
    Image of MushyHeirloom MushyHeirloom
    06/21/09

    @Stranger than most: True, but it's the range that I'm worried about there.
     Reply
    MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred
    Image of Novaload Novaload
    06/21/09

    @Novaload Misses Murilee: I am just shocked. I thought California was all laid back good vibes and respect. Not Oakland, of course, and other notorious areas.

    There was a cartoon--sorry, "drawing"--in the New Yorker with a replaced "no radio" sign -- that said "Filled with Asbestos" -- but I guess that last word's too long for your average crack head.
     Reply
    Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred
    Image of Nickyboy - cruising the Autobahn and listening to the Scorpions Nickyboy - cruising the Autobahn and listening to the Scorpions
    06/21/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    Seems like a lot of work to me. Why not just kick it ol'school with a boom box? You'll totally kill two birds with one stone - truck stereo problem fixed and looking awesome on the train with a boom box on your shoulder.
     Reply
    Nickyboy - cruising the Autobahn and listening to the Scorpions was starred Nickyboy - cruising the Autobahn and listening to the Scorpions was unstarred
    Image of Murilee Martin Murilee Martin
    06/21/09

    @nickyboy: Jesse was a well-known graffiti artist back in the day, so he probably suffers from chronic Boombox Shoulder Fatigue.
     Reply
    Murilee Martin was starred Murilee Martin was unstarred
    Image of Novaload Novaload
    06/21/09

    @Murilee Martin: Yeah, but he can he break dance?
     Reply
    Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred
    Image of Murilee Martin Murilee Martin
    06/21/09

    @Novaload Misses Murilee: I doubt it.
     Reply
    Murilee Martin was starred Murilee Martin was unstarred
    Image of Tankueray Tankueray
    06/21/09

    @nickyboy: Oh gawd... after having many stereos stolen, one time I drove for months with a little portable in the passenger seat. It ate like 10 D batteries a week. And besides the radio, the only cassette I still owned was "Tiffany". Now I don't even bother with an aftermarket stereo after the last satellite one was stolen. FM modulators, FTW.
     Reply
    Tankueray was starred Tankueray was unstarred
    Image of Murilee Martin Murilee Martin
    06/22/09

    @Tankueray: When I had a delivery job driving a radio-less Mitsubishi Fuso, I rigged up a 12-volt boombox with a power cord and a couple of alligator clips. I'd attach the positive clip to a hot terminal in the fusebox and the negative one to the ignition key. Worked great.
     Reply
    Murilee Martin was starred Murilee Martin was unstarred
    Image of MushyHeirloom MushyHeirloom
    06/22/09

    @Murilee Martin: Fish?
     Reply
    MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred
    Image of mechimike mechimike
    06/22/09

    @Murilee Martin: Im my AM-radio-equipped Corvair convertible, I use a 1980's-style boom-box with a broken cassette player and a cigar lighter plug I soldered onto the battery terminals. It will work on any vehicle with a functioning cigar lighter. And despite having a broken belt, the boom box cassette player will work with the adaptors that let you plug in an MP3 player, CD player, or walkman (for extra redundancy)
     Reply
    mechimike was starred mechimike was unstarred
    Image of Tossed Accord taco salad over Malibu face Tossed Accord taco salad over Malibu face
    06/21/09

    In reply to Confound Thieves With A Camouflaged Car Stereo For Under $20!
    Hmmm Id just like to know
    WHy isnt this called WANG Chung?! I think its got a certain ... ring about it.


    Id was starting to think that the transformers had started working with you as a plot to keep "urban entrepreneurs who gather intoxicant-obtainment resources by harvesting car audio equipment from vehicles."


    Also..
    Isnt this Marty McFlys truck?
    [media.photobucket.com]


    SO when do ya start trademarking this stuff.. complete with the small baggie of fake plastic glass and wires out of the dash... to deter "urban entrepreneurs who gather intoxicant-obtainment resources by harvesting car audio equipment from vehicles."

     Reply
    Tossed Accord taco salad over Malibu face was starred Tossed Accord taco salad over Malibu face was unstarred
    Image of Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable
    06/21/09

    @Spilled Accordtaco salad over Malibu: As can be seen from the pic you yourself provided, McFly's ride was a Yota pickup of the next generation (1985, I believe).
     Reply
    Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable was starred Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable was unstarred
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