On 12 May 2004 01:13:59 -0700,
[email protected] (Navid Naghdi)
wrote:
>Because I'm going to design and make a bike alarm; for my report
>I will require to write about existing products and their specifications.
>So far it has been difficult to get my hands on any bicycle alarm
>around my area here in the UK.
>
>It will be appreciated if you could offer some links relating to
>bicycle alarms listing its specifications or any other bits of
>information I will need to keep in mind.
When I was a small child, having been well-fed of the common (here
in the US, anyway) drug propaganda, I was paranoid that "anything
could be replaced by drugs", and I was especially paranoid that my
bike would be. So, I had an alarm on it.
It clamped on to the handlebar like any other accessory. It had a
numeric keypad on it, into which a code must be typed before
disturbing the bike, and a motion sensor to trip if somebody does
touch the bike. At that point, it would make a moderately loud siren
wail. I wonder how often my dad had bumped it walking through the
garage and set it off?
It was made entirely of plastic. I'm sure that it could have been
disabled and destroyed with an adult's bare hands; surely a rock or
hammer would work.
Maybe something that is well-armored (probably built-into a U-lock).
Even better, inserted into the seat tube and wired internally to the
dropouts to detect a wheel moving/being removed. It would have to
have a built-in cell phone connection and location tracking; just a
wailing siren is useless nowadays, at least here in the US. A
remote-control disarm would be necessary; this way, the alarm cannot
be accessed without removing the seatpost (also wired to the alarm).
So, something like LoJack (for that matter, how about something
using the LoJack network, although I don't know if it exists outside
the US), to fit inside the seat tube below the seatpost, armed and
disarmed with a small RF remote control (like an automotive alarm),
able to detect spinning wheels and removed components,
and...er...fires a sharp spike through the seat when somebody steals
the bike, puncturing the thief.
--
Rick Onanian
