h a l f b a k e r yPoof of concept
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Idea is technically baked, since I did this to my own sound system a few years back, however no one has made it commercially available..(and it was a gigantic pain in the ass to set up) Unfortunately, I didn't think of the idea before my car got broken into the first time...
Idea is quite simple-
a barrage of pepper spray right in the face of would-be car thieves. The pepper spray is accompanied by continuous car horn blast, futher confusing the now blind and disabled car thief and attracting plenty of attention..
Simply attach a pull cable or trigger to any potential high-risk item in your vehicle, and the cable connects to a solenoid operated valve, releasing a cloud of pepper spray into the air close to the location of the pull cable. The commercial version would use solenoids to allow several areas to be protected. Just run the tubing and place a spray nozzle in the vicinity of the protected item. A safety lockout would disable the system while the car is in use, preventing a disastrous mishap should the system fire while speeding down the highway.
On my (crude) setup, I took a small postal worker can of pepper spray (the stuff that will drop a charging pit bull) and wrapped high strength surgical tubing around the spray handle of the can, which resembled a small fire extingusher. The pin that prevents the contents from spraying when you squeeze the handle was tied to the pull cable, leaving very little slack. The actual pepper spray can was concealed in the open space of the trunk lid framework and painted black to match, then the pull cable was routed along the hinge and back to the subwoofer box.
If the would be car thief attempted to remove the subwoofer box, which was necessary to access any other components of the stereo system, the pull cable removed the pin, and the entire contents of the pepper spray can were dumped directly into the crouched and unsuspecting thief's face. It took some experimenting to get the cable and can set up properly, but when it was done, moving the subwoofer box more than 3 inches in any direction would cause the can to fire.
Unfortunately, no one ever tried a second time to steal my equipment before I sold the car. I sold it with the entire system intact- sure hope the guy who bought it remembers to unhook the clip if he needs to get the spare tire out...
[link]
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And when the Police arrest the stereo thief, you'll get a ticket for your clever pepper spray set up also... |
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Show me a law that says a device like this is illegal..
Besides, if I ever caught anyone breaking into my car, I think the police would be too busy trying to identify the body to even look in the trunk.. |
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Been a while since I looked in the state codes here, but I believe this would be classified as an automated trap, same category as a spring trap. Didn't you have insurance for your stereo? |
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Insurance... I *knew* I was forgetting something...
It wasn't even in my car for 48 hours, and I know EXACTLY who stole it, however the police refused to even examine the case without any hard evidence. Perhaps that might explain my bitterness at the law enforcement in my area. |
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I think that a trap of this nature could be fought against in court, seeing as it's on property that would not otherwise be accessible, had he not violated my rights by breaking and entering. |
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Break into a house, owner shoots you, you sue owner for millions and win. Break into a garage, garage door jams, you become trapped and are forced to eat dog food for two weeks to survive, you sue homeowner and win (urban legend alert?). Greasy lawyers will find a way for criminals to continue doing what they're doing and continue to get away with it. (Rant officially over) |
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i'd buy one. screw the legal repurcussions, my pop's a judge. |
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oh, by the way, pastry. just don't eat it while taking out your stereo. |
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I might vote for this if you replace the MACE spray, with an actual medi-evil bishops nobly stick mace. WHACK! |
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//Greasy lawyers will find a way for criminals to continue doing what they're doing and continue to get away with it.// Gnnn! Must not ... rise ... to bait. |
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One of my ideas was unfeasible for the same reason: you can't set traps for people. Dammit. And it would be so much fun, otherwise. In my opinion, if you violate the sanctity of someone else's property, you deserve to risk your own life. However, we must all be much more civilized than that. Police enforce the laws, we just tell them about the screw-ups. We realize that it's just a G*****n radio. Sigh. And besides, what if someone innocent was accidentally injured by the trap? It just ain't worth it. |
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You know the security glass that is in some door windows, with the wire mesh under the glass? What if you used that in a car window, with the mesh hooked up to the car's electrical system (+ some capacitors to control voltage, amperage, duration, etc.), kinda like a modified bug zapper? |
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//I did this to my own sound system a few years back// |
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Wouldn't that be... ~illegal~? |
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Nickthegreat: Apparently so. Don't have the car anymore. Don't care if it IS illegal either, if I put that much sound in my truck, I'd do it again too. |
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...you can't set traps for people....
Why not? (I know legally you can;t, but no one has ever explained to me why not)
Should the RSPCA/ASPCA lobby to make traps for rats and mice illegal too? |
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//what if someone innocent was accidentally injured by the trap// |
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We could argue that pepper spray is technically harmless in and of itself. I think that jurors, as laypeoples, and citizens of their respective nation have a civic duty to adjucate the cases they are assigned to in keeping with the spirit of the law as they percieve it, regardless of what any crooked lawyer, judge, cop, or defendant might say. |
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