So Today My Car Almost Got Stolen

[JohnnyRockets]

I bike to work and today when I got home, I see the below image.

!@#$% ^&*(!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All the pieces are on the ground below my door. Luckily, I think they botched it and couldn't get in. But I'm sure the !@#$ers will be back.

The parking garage is below my apartment. The WiFi signal reaches and is quite strong. Is there any sort of camera I can use that will:

A) Take pictures if motion is detected in the parking garage.
B) Upload pictures automatically to the internet (Dropbox etc).
C) Operate off of non-car battery power while the car is off.

Does something like this exist?

[tooter]

It makes me mad to see that damage...
If it was mine, I'd be spending nights in the car quietly waiting with a gun.

Perhaps a car alarm could help your situation.

[YarisSedan]

You could try something like a wifi baby monitor its a bit pricy though

http://www.amazon.com/Withings-Smart...s+baby+monitor

[YarisSedan]

You can watch your car through your phone and even talk to the intruder lol such as you are calling the police you better leave now.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by tooter

If it was mine, I'd be spending nights in the car quietly waiting with a gun.

Unfortunately the burglar would probably know that (in California) you would have to have a reasonable fear of great bodily harm in order to use your gun, so he might not be afraid. You could, however, have a manual gun trap set up to get him/her and if that happened to kill him/her, that would be legal (People v. Ceballos).

The current law in Texas (part of which came to this point on September 1st 2007) is that your vehicle and your workplace are included (with your home of course) as part of your habitat...and the perception of what is reasonable or threatening is your perception (not what is reasonable to others)...and only three things have to be the case to allow your assumption to be valid = 1. Have a right to be at the location -- 2. not have provoked the other person -- and 3. you must not be in the process of committing a crime yourself.

IMO, the law in California in such a situation is liberal drivel and should instead be the same as it is in Texas.

I''ve had a few people, in the process of playfully teasing me about being from California, refer to the related statutes in California as 'The California Apology'.

[SilverSquash!]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Unfortunately the burglar would probably know that (in California) you would have to have a reasonable fear of great bodily harm in order to use your gun, so he might not be afraid. You could, however, have a manual gun trap set up to get him/her and if that happened to kill him/her, that would be legal (People v. Ceballos).

The current law in Texas (part of which came to this point on September 1st 2007) is that your vehicle and your workplace are included (with your home of course) as part of your habitat...and the perception of what is reasonable or threatening is your perception (not what is reasonable to others)...and only three things have to be the case to allow your assumption to be valid = 1. Have a right to be at the location -- 2. not have provoked the other person -- and 3. you must not be in the process of committing a crime yourself.

IMO, the law in California in such a situation is liberal drivel and should instead be the same as it is in Texas.

bringing back memories of yesterdays test

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by SilverSquash!

bringing back memories of yesterdays test

....and the monumental hypocrisy of some prominent California legislators drives me nuts! U.S. Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer have concealed carry permits, but they don't want 'Joe Citizen' to have one .

[Septembersrain]

Oh man. Even I feel the urge to find and bodily harm whoever did that to your baby.
I don't like the laws in California at all when it comes to guns.
There is definitely something reassuring about having the right to protect yourself and your property.
It would be very upsetting and aggravating if that right was stripped from me.
Plus I'd miss my HK mini compact.

I know at night, On my Kia, I removed a relay.
If you know where they are, I'd recommend pulling the one for the fuel pump.
It will crank but it won't start.
That won't help with them breaking in, But they can't just go stealing it either.

[sex]

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[JohnnyRockets]

Originally Posted by tooter

Perhaps a car alarm could help your situation.

The thing is that there have been a few cases of vandalism here in the past year. This time my car was the target. So I want to FIND the people who did this, not just to protect my car, but so everyone can benefit. So that hopefully we can arrest the !@#$ers that are doing this.

[JohnnyRockets]

Originally Posted by YarisSedan

You could try something like a wifi baby monitor its a bit pricy though

http://www.amazon.com/Withings-Smart...s+baby+monitor

I thought about this, but it needs to have good battery life. This one has *1 hour* of battery life. I'm looking for something that lasts at least a full day while I'm at work.

[JohnnyRockets]

Originally Posted by Septembersrain

Oh man. Even I feel the urge to find and bodily harm whoever did that to your baby.

Oh most DEFINITELY. When I first saw it, the amount of RAGE I felt was like no other. !@#$ !!!!!!!!!

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Septembersrain

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]Oh man. Even I feel the urge to find and bodily harm whoever did that to your baby.
I don't like the laws in California at all when it comes to guns.
There is definitely something reassuring about having the right to protect yourself and your property.
It would be very upsetting and aggravating if that right was stripped from me.
Plus I'd miss my HK mini compact.

I'm very fond of my adopted state. I'm one of those 'I wasn't born here, but I got here as fast as I could' people. Re California, I love my family, I love the weather, and I love being able to go from snow skiing to the beach within the same day. California would probably inch ahead of Texas in my view IF it was administered/setup/run as Texas is, but that will likely NEVER happen....and it would have to happen for me to WANT to move back to California.

[JohnnyRockets]

Originally Posted by sex

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Those cameras look amazing! But unfortunately they need to be plugged into a wall socket. I'm looking for a battery operated one so I can put it *inside* my car, facing out. There are also no sockets in the parking garage. Maybe they make a battery-operated one?

-------------------------

Anyway, an update:

I just had a police office come by so I could file the official police report for vandalism. He recommended a car alarm of course, but if I didn't want to get one installed, car alarm stickers on the front side windows often deters thieves hahaha. Also good: a blinking red light on the dashboard to look like a car alarm. Thieves often see either one of these or both and just move on. Brilliant!!!!!!

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by JohnnyRockets

Those cameras look amazing! But unfortunately they need to be plugged into a wall socket. I'm looking for a battery operated one so I can put it *inside* my car, facing out. There are also no sockets in the parking garage. Maybe they make a battery-operated one?

-------------------------

Anyway, an update:

I just had a police office come by so I could file the official police report for vandalism. He recommended a car alarm of course, but if I didn't want to get one installed, car alarm stickers on the front side windows often deters thieves hahaha. Also good: a blinking red light on the dashboard to look like a car alarm. Thieves often see either one of these or both and just move on. Brilliant!!!!!!

Most of the WiFi cameras use a power cube that is either 5V, 9V or 12V. You could simply snip the power wire and connect it to the car using a DC to DC converter (or voltage regulator).

[JohnnyRockets]

Originally Posted by CTScott

Most of the WiFi cameras use a power cube that is either 5V, 9V or 12V. You could simply snip the power wire and connect it to the car using a DC to DC converter (or voltage regulator).

Wouldn't that kill the car battery if I left the camera running all day?

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by JohnnyRockets

Wouldn't that kill the car battery if I left the camera running all day?

It depends on the camera. I have an LG one that draws less than 500mA @ 5VDC. That would be about 200 mA at 12VDC, which would take 3-4 days to kill the battery.

[JohnnyRockets]

Originally Posted by CTScott

It depends on the camera. I have an LG one that draws less than 500mA @ 5VDC. That would be about 200 mA at 12VDC, which would take 3-4 days to kill the battery.

Interesting. Since I bike to work, sometimes I don't use my car for a few days, so that might actually be an issue (getting to my car after half a week and the battery being dead).