Re: Fail-safe for keyless entry

["Robert Green" <robert_green1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Josepi" <J.R.M.@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4h5zn.184773$Ye4.127149@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Perhaps a leather jacket for a small penknife or similar would protect it
> from light touches.

That's actually something I never thought of, since I was obsessed with
making something out of that indestructible clear plastic packaging that's
so difficult to open.  I actually have an old MP3 player case that might be
exactly what's needed.  At the worst, I could put some of that curved
packaging material into a soft case and make it hard enough to withstand
accidental pushes.  Good contribution.  Thanks.

> I have the same problem and I swear I have never pushed some of the
buttons.
> The more embarrassing one is the horn alarm button that seems to be even
> easier to hit in my pocket.

The worst incident was deploying the fold out ramp by accident, turning to
try to stop it from hitting the car next to me and leaning on the van's horn
button and then grabbing the keys hard enough to hit the panic button.  I
felt like everyone within 1000 feet was watching me.   Yet the other day,
when someone cut in front of me, I couldn't find the right area of the
steering wheel cover to press to warn them.  There's something wrong with a
design that goes off when you don't want it to, but doesn't go off when you
do.

> If you hack into the unit and have to take it to the car dealership, to be
> replaced, you may find yourself talking to police authorities with lots of
> questions.

They've seen my van.  They won't ask questions.  Aside from a custom motion
sensor alarm, a rearview TV camera and on board constant loop 4 channel DVR
with a 16GB CF card, I've also added one camera for the front, left and
right side and rear window.  I was once in a very bad accident where the
other party just lied their fool heads off and soaked my insurer for a *lot*
of money.  It pissed me off so much I decided to get a windshield type "dash
cam."

The dash cam I got from Ebay for about $80 was useful, but you really need
to have a record of what's happening on all four sides of you if you're in
an accident.  A windshield cam won't capture the image of someone T-boning
you while they're running a red light but a side-view cam will.  Put it
together from COTS parts for under $200.  Starts up with the car, goes into
automatic record (with one channel of audio, too) and goes off with the car.

I am going to mod it so that I can also monitor the car when it's sitting
parked to see who's looking inside to see what's what.  Thieves usually
"case the joint" first.  The DVR is a small box that fits easily under the
rear seat.  Cabling and mounting the cams to be unobtrusive was a problem
and still needs refinement.  Right now it runs off the van battery, but I
want to mount a separate 12VDC marine battery to power the rig independently
of the van's power supply.

I got the idea from an episode of "COPS" where they rig up a car with all
sorts of cameras and remote functions.  The leave the "bait" car in places
where people are likely to steal them.  Apparently, that turns out to be
everywhere.  With the Toyota debacle unfolding, having a "flight recorder"
in the car doesn't seem as far-fetched as it used to.  With people texting
while they're driving, a visual record might come in very handy if a serious
accident occurs.  And if I am at fault, a CF card goes missing.  (-:

If I power it from a marine battery, I can also add a 2.4gHz transmitter and
watch what happens out of sight with my trusty Taser (they're having a big
sale on the pro-sumer model).

--
Bobby G.

>
>
> "Robert Green" <robert_green1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:hqi2ge$6a7$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> I've got the typical minivan keyless entry keychain fob but it's got a
> serious design problem.
>
> The buttons depress too easily and often accidentally when the fob is
pushed
> into a pocket or a purse.  It's happened more than once, so it's time to
do
> something about it.
>
> The real estate inside the fob is very cramped.  It runs off a CR2032 coin
> cell battery, and the circuit traces are simple enough so that I could
> scrape off the 3VDC+ line and bridge it with a small switch.  That way, I
> could just put in a tiny pushbutton that had to be depressed as well as
the
> desired command button each time a command was sent.  That approach makes
it
> a two-handed operation, whereas a slide type ON/OFF switch could still be
> worked with one hand.
>
> The problem is that I don't see any space in the fob for the kinds of
> switches I am used to.  The ideal solution, of course, would be for the
> manufacturer to put something that's found even on most throwaway $10 MP3
> players - a hold button that locks out the buttons when so desired.  You'd
> think with what they charge for a replacement fob they'd include something
> like that.
>
> I *might* be able to work a small slide or lever switch inside the fob,
but
> it's tight.  In the interim, I made a clamshell type case made of hard
clear
> plastic bubble packing material and one of those retracting string
keychain
> things so I can slide it out to activate it and then let the rewinding
> mechanism withdraw it.  So far, the hard plastic sheath has reduced the
> accidental openings, but it's butt ugly, ungainly and not a very good
> solution.  Plus, it came unglued more than once.  There's a lot of
> interesting stresses in pockets and pocketbooks.   Ideas, anyone?
>
> Thanks in  advance!
>
> --
> Bobby G.
>
>
>