Key fob strategy

[SleazyRider]

Came across this suggestion just the other day and thought I'd bring it up for discussion:

Instead of leaving your car keys on the kitchen counter at night, keep them on you nightstand. In the event that an intruder attempts to access your home, pressing the panic button will activate your car's alarm system and likely scare the intruder away. This assumes, of course, that your car has this feature, that it's parked in your driveway, and it can be activated from your bedroom.

And if it doesn't work, perhaps it could provide enough of a distraction to buy you time to access your gun, summon the police, or take up a strategic position. Seems that any strategy that could avoid the use of a firearm is worth considering.

At the very least, it's probably better than Uncle Joe's suggestion to go out on the balcony and fire two shotgun blasts in the air.

 

[ID-shooting]

I saw this to. but....How often have you the neighbor's car alarm go off in the middle of the night. What was your response? Call the cops and go check on them or roll over , put the pillow over your head and grumble the "gosh darn, freaking guy's alarm is going off again"

Most will answer the latter. Car alarms going off for no real reason are such a common occurrence that hardly anyone pays attention to them.

 

[Hanzo581]

Any loud noise that draws attention would at the very least help.

 

[GBExpat]

Car alarms going off for no real reason are such a common occurrence that hardly anyone pays attention to them.

But an intruder just might, especially if he has not yet managed to get into your house. And if he is in your house, it would certainly give him pause if the car alarm went off right outside.

The ploy might provide just the distraction that the OP has suggested. I think that it is a Good Idea and worth incorporation into The Plan.

 

[hso]

It is a benefit because it might draw attention.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I saw this last year and it is a good idea.

 

[Al Thompson]

I'm not seeing a downside to this idea.

 

[Willie Sutton]

Replacement alarm key-fobs for cars are worth about $40 at Pep Boys... buy a spare and leave it in the nightstand. Check it once every few months for battery life.

As a segue, these are universal-fit for large ranges of cars. They are "married" to the car by the owner, not a locksmith. For Fords, for example, you turn the ignition key from "off" to "on" 8 times in succession, leaving the switch "on" after the 8th cycle. The locks will lock and unlock three times and you then have several seconds to use the new key-fob lock-button to "marry" the key fob to the car or truck. After that they are set to use. Easy as pie.


Willie

.

 

[Hanzo581]

Also, if you need a little extra range on the key fob to reach your driveway hold it up to your chin using your head as an antenna booster.

 

[Mainsail]

That relies on YOU waking up. Let the burglar make the noise.

 

[Hanzo581]

True, there is no substitute for an active alarm, but it still wouldn't hurt as a secondary noise emitter.

 

[Prometheus]

perhaps it could provide enough of a distraction to buy you time to access your gun,

If you can access and then hold down a panic key on your remote for the proper duration faster than you can access your gun you're doing it wrong.

That money would be much better spent buying a quick access spring loaded door safe and bolting it to the side of your nightstand.

 

[MedWheeler]

Prometheus writes:

If you can access and then hold down a panic key on your remote for the proper duration faster than you can access your gun you're doing it wrong.

True, but another reason the car alarm is a good idea for many is that it might negate the need to use your gun.

 

[beatledog7]

If you can access and then hold down a panic key on your remote for the proper duration faster than you can access your gun you're doing it wrong.

That money would be much better spent buying a quick access spring loaded door safe and bolting it to the side of your nightstand.

Using a gun is the final option, not the first. Anything you can do to avoid gunplay is a better option than gunplay.

 

[Dnaltrop]

Devil's advocate... worst case scenario.

If the alarm is going off outside, and you haven't had time to call 911, It could very well drown out or distract from the sound of one, or even a handful of shots inside your house.

Three days later, your next-door neighbor to the police "Wow, really? well the car alarm went off in the night... but I didn't hear any gunfire. "

Hate to say it, but at this point, (if possible) get the proper permits for an audible alarm on your dwelling and have a big shiny button underneath the coffee table like a Bank teller.

Or go the No permit, ACME co version... and order parts to set up a 15 horn, air compressor and air-horn alert system on a switch... Kludges can build too.

 

[X-Rap]

OR
The noise of the alarm wakes up the neighbor who puts it off as just another car alarm until he hears the gun shot and calls for help.
Noise/commotion is your friend in any home invasion/robbery and I'd take any out of the ordinary noise I could get.

 

[jeepnik]

As the old toast goes "Confusion to the enemy". It might not do a darned thing, but then again what's the harm? But, I just tried it and my bedroom is to far from the drive to work with the intervening walls. Still, I might just stick it in my pocket if I move to the front of the house.

But this got me to thinking, I wonder if you set up an actual siren to work off a remote signal...

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Lots of "down-sides" presented here...and certainly worth considering.

But the fact remains that ANYTHING which may attract attention and remove the opportunity for stealth is considered bad juju by bad guys who don't want to get caught.

As part of an integrated home defense plan, it's cheaply integrated with a spare fob.

 

[Deaf Smith]

Came across this suggestion just the other day and thought I'd bring it up for discussion:

Instead of leaving your car keys on the kitchen counter at night, keep them on you nightstand. In the event that an intruder attempts to access your home, pressing the panic button will activate your car's alarm system and likely scare the intruder away. This assumes, of course, that your car has this feature, that it's parked in your driveway, and it can be activated from your bedroom.

And if it doesn't work, perhaps it could provide enough of a distraction to buy you time to access your gun, summon the police, or take up a strategic position. Seems that any strategy that could avoid the use of a firearm is worth considering.

At the very least, it's probably better than Uncle Joe's suggestion to go out on the balcony and fire two shotgun blasts in the air.

If I have time to reach for my keys I have time to reach for my gun.

Scare an intruder in your house?

Nothing scares them better than a bunch of gunfire.

Deaf

 

[MedWheeler]

^^ You're not getting it, Deaf. We're talking about a potential intruder outside. Your point was already addressed as such.

Yes, once an intruder is inside, all bets are off.

 

[Deaf Smith]

^^ You're not getting it, Deaf. We're talking about a potential intruder outside. Your point was already addressed as such.

Yes, once an intruder is inside, all bets are off.

Guess I'll just have to ask the intruder to step inside...

Actually I'd just get my gun and tell him through the wall I just called 911.

Deaf

 

[Averageman]

I dont see a down side to this.
Between the Horn honking and lights flashing, the perimeter lights comming on and the dogs trying to fet over the fence, I would imagine most folks would just pick another house.

 

[henschman]

My current plan already involves checking to see that the old lady is by me, grabbing my flashlight, going to the dresser to toss her the phone, getting the shotgun from the closet, and taking position. I guess hitting the car alarm could be one of her jobs. Not really any downside if it doesn't take time away from me getting armed and ready.

 

[enine]

Think of other non defense scenarios. The example I'll give I've twice known the people it happened to.

Its the middle of winter and dark:30 and your awakened from bed by the smoke alarm. You open your bedroom door and the hall is on fire so you can't get out. You have to exit via the window so on the way you grabbed the keys off your night stand so you can get in your car and back out of the driveway and it and run the heater. Or your normal procedure is to drop your keys and wallet on the table or hanging on a hook by the front door so you do like my neighbors did and run barefoot 1/2 mile in the snow to my house to call the fire department.

 

[Mauser lover]

In the middle of the night, I have only heard one car alarm on my street. I couldn't tell where it was from so it must have been a little distance.

My truck doesn't have an alarm. If it did, it would drive me crazy and I would disable it... but, if you have one, I see no downsides, however, I would go for the keys, AFTER I get my firearm.