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Aftermarket remote start systems for cars seem very popular. You press a button on your keychain before leaving home or the office, and your car will be nice 'n warm by the time you're ready to use it. Nice feature, eh? Well, it would hardly work at, say, the mall.
My idea proposes a way to start
your vehicle from an almost unlimited distance. And it wouldn't cost very much more than existing systems either. Wha'd'ya think "old school" Motorola pagers go for these days?
Merely link a pager to the remote start system. Then, from any phone (for example, your cell), you could "page" your car. Upon receipt, the car would start. Voila.
That's the basic model. The "deluxe" model would let you send actual numbers to your car. You could start it and then turn on the heat, or a/c, or seat warmers. The list is endless. It's raining? Send the code to close all the windows and sunroof - just in case. It's been stolen? Or merely misplaced? Page it to sound the alarm. Or to disable itself.
And none of these would be limited by distance from the vehicle! =)
(Of course, you'll have to be incredibly careful with that pager's number; this could give new meaning to "crank starting" a car)
Something like this?
http://www.audiovox...tId=12870&langId=-1
Audiovox 'Prestige' range [neutrinos_shadow, Jan 31 2006]
could be combined with this:
Automobile_20Pre-St..._2fCooling_20System
for a non-retarded solution. [FlyingToaster, Aug 09 2009]
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Oh sure, next you'll want it to drive over and pick you up. Why do you need to start your car from the mall? |
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For the same reason people already want to start their cars from homes or offices: so it's warm 'n toasty by the time you reach it. |
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This merely extends the range of existing and popular technology. Well, and it adds some optional features too, 'cuz heck, why not? =) |
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It should also have an "alarm clock" funtion. I want to be able to set it to start 10 minutes before I leave for work mon-fri. Definitely bakeable. I'm gonna get to work in my garage right now. |
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But it can't be too cold unless you've spent hours in the mall. On second thought maybe I'm just missing this because I don't live in a cold enough climate. I'll give you a warm bun because it should be quite easy to bake. |
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illegal in UK but I cannot find a link. |
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does anyone know WHY its illegal? |
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I think this side of the pond know... |
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Very similar to that Audiovox device, yes, but that one is still limited. Sure, 1400' is pretty far, but I bet things like iron and cement severly limit that range. Pagers seem to -always- work, and that's kind of the whole idea: unlimited distance from vehicle. |
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For example, say you drove to work with the windows rolled down. But now, while you're out to lunch - and a colleage drove - it starts to rain! You're nowhere near your car. What to do? |
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Well, hope you bought the "deluxe model" for one. But, for two, page your car. ;) |
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//illegal in UK but I cannot find a link.
does anyone know WHY its illegal? //
I am not sure that leaving a car engine running is illegal, po, but leaving it unlocked and running on your front drive with the keys in the ignition is a bit daft!.
I know that some Mercs have remote diagnostic and control via a modem connection and I suspect the idea will be fairly easy to implement if the will was there from the manufacturer. I suspect the only thing you would have to do would be to take the car out of gear before you started the engine. (note - you *will* have to get the engine started to enable the Aircon or at least get the engine up to temperature - depends on the car I spose!. |
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no-one in their right mind would nick my car... |
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// but leaving it unlocked and running on your front drive with the keys in the ognitipon is a bit daft! // |
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The doors don't unlock. Also, there's no key in the ignition. Remote starters are wired in such a way as to not require them. Risk of theft may be slightly higher, I suppose, but not too extreme. A would-be thief still needs to get inside, and then figure out to shift out of park - two tasks that, without a key, should prove quite difficult. |
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Oh, and remote starters are almost never installed (certainly not by anyone reputable) in manual transmissioned cars. If left in gear, they'd lurch right out of their space! |
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oh, scrape the windscreen and wear warmer clothes - get over it. |
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personally I throw a litre of tepid water over the windows... |
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Shame, [po]. You know the HB motto. Something along the lines of "We shall solve any problem, no matter how trivial, using technology, no matter how ridiculously complex." |
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yeah but where are you when I need you at 7 a.m. on a frosty morning? |
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tucked up in bed thats where... |
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po, that method (throwing tepid water) has already been adopted by technology. Swing by amazon.com and search for "hotshot windshield". Behold the glory. Besides, my idea has many uses beyond just melting ice. I particularly like the notion of being able to disable your car regardless of its location. |
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A man I worked with baked the opposite of this for a rich client of his - he modified a mobile phone and hooked it up to the guy's Merc. It would text the man when the car moved more than 100m from his home and then would disable the ignition and lock the doors when it received the text "disable". His wife was not amused when she tried to go to the shops in it. |
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[pigonthewing], I do realise all of the above.
I was in part answering [po] about the running of unattended engines in the uk.
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The point about the automatic start is valid though - you will need to start the engine in order to run the cam for the aircon (for a car with an AC unit). Otherwise, in a good old fasioned car (like [po] and me have) you need to run the engine for a while (or at least under load for a time) in order to use the heat from the engine.
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I admit that flashy cars (that me and other people cannot afford ) that have auto gears or tiptronic gears could utilise this system (and I think it would work!) provided that the connection could select the neutral or park gear prior to starting the engine.
I was merely pointing out that you would have to be able to select a neutral gear from Remote in order to make this (good) idea viable. |
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Rough for you guys in the east, then. |
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If the car can't be shifted out of park, it's really not negligent, is it? |
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Anyway, that's my soapbox. The only problem with this idea is that each car would need some sort of unique identifier. And you'd probably either assign each car with this system a standard telephone number, or you'd have to assign one or two high-volume automated numbers to call, and then have your car given a unique ID number that the call center would use to activate your car and your car only. |
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At any rate, it's an overpriced solution to a problem that really isn't as much of a problem as we'd like to believe. |
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How about "WIMP" (wasteful idiot
making pollution) licenses for people
who use remote start? For $10,000 a
year (to offset the extra carbon
emissions) you could get a "WIMP 32-"
plate that would allow you remote-start
your car if it's below freezing. For
$50,000 a year, you could get a "WIMP
70+" and could run the air conditioner
remotely when the temp's over 70
degrees. "WIMP 40-" would only cost
$100 a year, but you couldn't use the
remote start until it was 40 below out. |
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I think this may be already baked by james bond. |
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A word to the wise: when you're new here, it generally is a bad idea to critisize an old idea, especially one that is well received by everyone else. |
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If it could be somehow set up to dial the pager, and then require a 4 or 5-digit pin, then that would solve any worries of the pager number needing to be kept secret. Anyway... love the idea. |
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We really set things up for the rise of the machines when we started giving cars batteries... |
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I've been out of uk for 9 years but from memory under the Highway Code it is illegal to leave a car running without an adult with a valid driving licence in charge of the car. |
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You are correct - a bloke just got nicked for it in the UK. |
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just how much of the OnStar systems and the like are owner accessible ? |
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I am sure that the system itself is very accessible. People who don't subscribe to the service hack the GPS capabilities of it. On the other hand, for an application like this you will probably need to have the same radio equipment that Onstar uses in order to perform the other functions. |
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I was thinking along the lines of calling up OnStar and using their equipment to remotely start the car. |
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[-] for not including some feedback telling you that, yes, you started the car two hours ago (just before you got that phone call), and yes, it's still waiting for you, and yes, it's about to run out of gas... |
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