Compustar alarm in Clarity hybrid...

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Insighter

Active Member
I'm having a Compustar alarm installed in my Clarity Touring next week. It's the same installer I've been using for years. He knows what he's doing. If anyone has any experience with installing alarms on the Clarity, or advice about what I'm doing, I'd like to hear it.

I was discussing the Compustar alarm's options/possibilities with the shop owner. One decision I have to make is whether to use the factory remote transmitter to control the alarm, or to use one of Compustar's remotes. I'm leaning heavily toward using the Compustar remote.

One problem with using the factory remote is that you are still vulnerable to relay signal theft. As great and convenient as they are, I've never liked these keyless smart entry, push-button start systems due to this vulnerability

In order to use the Compustar remote, they would mount one of my factory remote transmitters in the car in a Faraday bag/cage. It will be hidden well away from any easily accessible location. The shop owner explained how it will work, but I'm not completely clear on the particulars.

Using the factory remote, I remain vulnerable to relay signal theft. Using a Compustar remote, I will give up the remote climate start via the dedicated button on the factory remote (leaving only the smartphone app to start the climate control remotely). I will also give up the smart entry system and have to press a button on the Compustar remote to unlock the car.

The main reasons I want an alarm are:

1) To protect the equipment I must often carry in my trunk.
2) To have auto locking/auto arming and auto relocking/auto rearming capabilities.
3) To be able to unlock and lock the doors through a smartphone app.
4) To be able to set up geofencing.
5) To have a windshield-mounted keypad that can disarm the car should I lose my remote.

Auto locking/auto arming is a feature where you can set the alarm to lock the car and arm the alarm after a set period of time after you close the last door/trunk (usually 30 or 60 seconds). Auto relocking/auto rearming relocks and rearms the car after a set period of time if the car is unlocked/disarmed. Basically, these features mean you always know your car is locked and armed.

The windshield-mounted keypad (called "RPS Touch") is something I really want because it will allow me to disarm and drive my car without having any remote, mechanical key or smartphone (other than the hidden remote in the Faraday cage). It mounts under the glass in the corner of the windshield and can sense your touch through the windshield.
 
Tek_Freek said:
Have you considered something like this for that small window across the back so no one can see in with a flashlight.

https://smile.amazon.com/Daytime-Pr...i=B07P9Q4ZP8&refRID=2S51T1YHY90DDFF5G6CW&th=1
Click to expand...
I had my Clarity tinted yesterday. I had 3M Crystalline 40 installed everywhere but the windshield and that little strip on the trunk. The windshield is Crystalline 70, and that strip is another grade of 3M tint in the 5% (limo) tint. It is dark enough that it is all but impossible to see into the trunk. The shop told me all mirrored tint is illegal (at least in California). I wasn't considering mirrored tint, but it came up in conversation.

EDIT: I just checked to see how well the 5% limo tint hides items in the trunk. I put some white items in the trunk and shined a flashlight in from the outside. The light built into the trunk, which usually is enough to show the contents of the trunk quite well, reveals nothing. The light on my iPhone reveals almost nothing. A brighter flashlight reveals a bit, but you have to look closely. A 400-lumen LED flashlight lets you see a fair amount, but you still have to shine it pretty directly on the items and look closely. Darker items would be nearly impossible to see.

I carry a black sheet in my trunk, so I'll probably throw that over anything light-colored in my trunk. I might have the tint shop put on another layer of 5% limo tint.
 
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Once upon a time I would have called you paranoid, but not any more. A neighbor had his Tesla stolen out of his shut and locked garage. His bedroom was directly over the garage so his “key” thingy was near the car and his opener was the silent belt drive type so he slept through it all. He said the *#%@& thrives did the spoofing thing. (Don’t expect the old analog biology guy to know all the latest electronic jargon.)

Rest of the story:
Tesla recovered in Arizona in sad shape and the insurance company took a big hit.
 
KentuckyKen said:
Once upon a time I would have called you paranoid, but not any more. A neighbor had his Tesla stolen out of his shut and locked garage. His bedroom was directly over the garage so his “key” thingy was near the car and his opener was the silent belt drive type so he slept through it all. He said the *#%@& thrives did the spoofing thing. (Don’t expect the old analog biology guy to know all the latest electronic jargon.)

Rest of the story:
Tesla recovered in Arizona in sad shape and the insurance company took a big hit.
Click to expand...
So the 110-mile range of the just-released electric MINI Cooper SE may prove to be an advantage in at least one situation.
 
KentuckyKen said:
Once upon a time I would have called you paranoid, but not any more. A neighbor had his Tesla stolen out of his shut and locked garage. His bedroom was directly over the garage so his “key” thingy was near the car and his opener was the silent belt drive type so he slept through it all. He said the *#%@& thrives did the spoofing thing. (Don’t expect the old analog biology guy to know all the latest electronic jargon.)

Rest of the story:
Tesla recovered in Arizona in sad shape and the insurance company took a big hit.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's bad here, too. In California, it's a much lesser crime to break into a car if the door is left unlocked. Many car thieves just go from car to car trying doors to see if they're unlocked (you see the Ring video doorbell footage of this all the time on the Ring Neighbors app). So it is VERY important that you keep your doors and trunk locked. With an alarm and auto locking and auto relocking, I don't have to worry about that. I don't want my car stolen, of course, but I'm more worried about what I might have in it at any given time.
 
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