I had an account in the old forums but I lost the login info for it, so i created a new one.
Lately my car has been showing up in the morning with a deactivated alarm, doors unlocked, some of them not even shut properly, opened windows, sometimes all of them wide open. This is all quite strange as I make sure all doors and windows are fully closed and locked before leaving the car every single night. I live on a 2nd floor apartment and I park my car right under my bedroom window. It's parked roughly 50 feet (15 meters) away from my window. I am convinced someone's been entering my car, as what's been happening lately is way too suspicious.
So I was thinking of a solution where a wireless transmitter detects movement of the door lock (hidden inside the door panel), and transmits it to a receiver in my room.
My main concerns are:
Range of wireless transmission (transmitter will be inside the door panel)
Power consumption (don't want my vehicle's battery to be drained by the transmitter)
How responsive it is (how fast the receiver is activated once the transmitter is set off)
So far I've looked into two way radios, cell phones (takes too long from dial to ring), key finders/detectors (range might be a problem), and a custom arduino project. I think a bluetooth solution seems out of the question as well given its short range.
What do you guys think? I could install a webcam looking down at my vehicle from my bedroom window, but my plan is to go down there and beat the living sheet out of whoever is doing this, instead of just monitoring it.
If anyone has any ideas, please feel free to share.
You might be able to use a "wireless doorebell". Put the bell in your bedroom and mount the button in the door such that it will be pressed when the lock is opened. If you have the doors locked when you are driving and parked the battery in the button unit should last a good long time.
Does your care have a keyless entry system that opens the windows if you hold the button down? Accidental pressing of the button could explain most of the symptoms you see.
Could it be someone who has (or had) access to the keys just messing with you as a prank? Does the varied state you find your car in rule out John's suggestion or confirm it?
Could it be that a bunch of teenagers want some place comfortable to sit & smoke and captured the signal from your remote? I'd expect them to leave some kind of evidence though and it seems odd that nothing has been stolen.
So, webcam is probably the best bet to find out which it is, and better to call the police than go out & engage an unknown number of miscreants (or your ex).
wildbill:
Could it be someone who has (or had) access to the keys just messing with you as a prank? Does the varied state you find your car in rule out John's suggestion or confirm it?
Could it be that a bunch of teenagers want some place comfortable to sit & smoke and captured the signal from your remote? I'd expect them to leave some kind of evidence though and it seems odd that nothing has been stolen.
So, webcam is probably the best bet to find out which it is, and better to call the police than go out & engage an unknown number of miscreants (or your ex).
Some webcams come with motion tracking software so they only record when they detect motion. I don't know if the webcam manufacturers care about adding that to a package anymore. Anyway, buy a cam that can record under low light condition and prop it up against your window and your computer should have enough hard drive to record night after night.
One other thing you can do is to get a pair of car horns that sparkfun.com just started to sell and mock up their project. Any movement ever so slightly will set off the horns and scares the persons away.
To make the alarm box noticeable, add a couple of flashing LEDs on the box.