Jump to content

Any way to tie a UHF alert to my car alarm?

Totallycasual

I'm in the middle of a campervan conversion and i would love to have my car alarm tied into a UHF transmitter so i can be alerted via radio if my car alarm is going off, is this kind of thing doable?  I'll be parking in remote places and then travelling several miles from my vehicle but my alarm isn't much good if there's nobody around to hear it.  

 

I plan on embedding a secure lock box to the bed structure so i can lock away important stuff like money, laptops, camera equipment etc so it would take a good 20 minutes of hacking away at the interior to try and remove the box once they found it and i doubt they'd do that with a 140 DB personal alarm squealing in their ears once entering the van, i just want the ability to be alerted if it goes off so i can hightail it back if something happens (i'll have my electric motorbike). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Newenthusiast said:

into a UHF transmitter

For one, pretty sure that'd be illegal if the transmission carried more than a few meters, unless you had a radio-operator's license.

Hand, n. A singular instrument worn at the end of the human arm and commonly thrust into somebody’s pocket.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

The more legal approach would possibly be to use some microcontroller or a DIY-board like e.g. Arduino and a GSM-module to send an SMS to your phone whenever it gets triggered. No idea how to connect it to the car-alarm as I've never played with those before, but you could just as well use a reed-switch or hall-effect sensor, or even a PIR-motion sensor, with the device to trigger an alarm if you didn't manage to connect it to the car-alarm.

Hand, n. A singular instrument worn at the end of the human arm and commonly thrust into somebody’s pocket.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I see, will have to look into it further.  I doubt the SMS option would work though, this is a system that would only be used in remote areas where there is no cell signal anyway, i just want a way of knowing if there has been a disturbance back at camp that's all, i doubt i'd stray more than 10 k's or so from camp so the hardware used wouldn't transmit further than that ideally.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Newenthusiast said:

I see, will have to look into it further.  I doubt the SMS option would work though, this is a system that would only be used in remote areas where there is no cell signal anyway, i just want a way of knowing if there has been a disturbance back at camp that's all, i doubt i'd stray more than 10 k's or so from camp so the hardware used wouldn't transmit further than that ideally.  

Something like this might make a good starting point, a range test would definitely be in order (I assume you will be in the woods).

 

hardware link

setup guide

 

Ive never personally purchased anything from this company, but they have nice documentation for their hardware, and good prices.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

How about lora? I have no clue how exactly it works, but depending where you are parked it seems like 1 mile range is no problem and the data transfer might be slow AF, for a simple "hey, check yo stuff" message it's good enough.

If you want my attention, quote meh! D: or just stick an @samcool55 in your post :3

Spying on everyone to fight against terrorism is like shooting a mosquito with a cannon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, TheOcularMan said:

Something like this might make a good starting point, a range test would definitely be in order (I assume you will be in the woods).

 

hardware link

setup guide

 

Ive never personally purchased anything from this company, but they have nice documentation for their hardware, and good prices.

That looks exactly like the kind of thing i'll be needing, i just need to either work out how to do it myself or pay someone to sync it up to my car alarm lol 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Newenthusiast said:

That looks exactly like the kind of thing i'll be needing, i just need to either work out how to do it myself or pay someone to sync it up to my car alarm lol 

I'm a bit advocate for 'doing it yourself', but there is a bit of a learning curve. Paying someone might the a better option, find a starving hardware hacker at a local university and offer him a 50.00 lol. Best of luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just now, TheOcularMan said:

Paying someone might the a better option, find a starving hardware hacker at a local university and offer him a 50 lol. Best of luck.

Thanks, when i was a kid i loved electronics and even etched my own circuit boards but that was a loooooong time ago, not sure i have the time or willingness to pick it all back up again, my hobby plate is full right now ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, samcool55 said:

How about lora? I have no clue how exactly it works, but depending where you are parked it seems like 1 mile range is no problem and the data transfer might be slow AF, for a simple "hey, check yo stuff" message it's good enough.

I use LoRa a lot and it is great, but achieving 10km range would still require more-or-less line-of-sight. 1km range is easy, or even a couple ones. I mean, if OP wishes to give it a go, I can help, but I doubt 10km range would be achievable.

 

EDIT: I suppose I could try and see how far I can get it to reach in non-ideal conditions, if OP wishes. Gonna take a few days, though, because I wasn't planning on going anywhere today.

Hand, n. A singular instrument worn at the end of the human arm and commonly thrust into somebody’s pocket.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

52 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

if OP wishes

All good for now thanks though, really appreciate the feedback i have gotten so far. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×