Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

Hiya's. I've made a simple device that interrupts the ignition circuit if you are not in proximity of the vehicle(it can do starter as well with another relay).

I was approached a couple months ago by a customer that does a lot of top end fab work asking if I could take a late model corvette or similar "Key Fob" and make it work in a street rod type environment because he hates putting a key switch in a car scratching the dash and such. The more we talked while we were at lunch the less I wanted to do it. Who wants to buy a body control module, reverse engineer it, reprogram it, and try to make a buck? Not me!

I started researching and as far as I could tell, the car companies are 64 bit encryption and they can be stolen in roughly 20 minutes. I don't see this as a problem for the hot rods, street rods, boats, farm equipment, etc compared to the high end cars these thieves go after, but heck, if I'm gonna build it, it better be good. I have started at 1024 bit encryption and will probably go higher as well as auto rotation of said. I have included a gyrometer so you can start the vehicle and walk away, if it moves and you are not in proximity, it shuts off. I think it would be nice to warm up your boat or hot rod while you go back in your house or load the boat with whatever and not worry someone will drive away with it.

I have to read a lot to learn things and it is now 4:22am my time and I am incredibly tired yet satisfied that I have passed stage one in my testing on the bench. I have yet to test it mounted on a coil but I did plan ahead for crazy RF that we all know exists in the environments we deal with. I also planned ahead to allow one "fob" to control multiple vehicles. I haven't tested that yet. I guess all I'm saying is it's really cool to take some research, put it into your head and then make it happen. This is the highest tech thing I've done so far.

And yes, I do know the alarm companies do similar things, not at my safety level, nor do they know what "fob" I have planned. Their high dollar has remote start, window roll up, door lock, etc. Do hot rods, boats, farm equipment, motorcycles, etc. have windows or door locks? Do they have a marketing strategy? I do.

Retail should be around $279 and around $399 installed with enough room to pay all the reps VERY well, huge percentage for the installing dealers as well with the discount they get. I'm going ground floor even though my reps already have an in at autozone, oreilly's and others, I'm not going to go there till ground floor is active. Everyone gets to make money.

Am I out of line?

I have wire strippers and jumper wires to just go around your box especially on the boat. As far as the cars go if someone wants it they back up with a car carrier and drag it on in gear never opening so much as a door and drive away. People see cars on flat beds and can be anything from a repo or just being transported because broken so no one thinks twice about it but 2 punks in a Lambo horsing around probably would catch someones attention. The conveinience feature is nice but the anti theft is only going to keep honest people honest. I am not knocking your project it sounds cool but am offering an alternate reality. It's just that the keys are the last thing a theif needs to steal a car or boat.

Hehe, I was just about to post something along that line. I totally agree with you, it isn't about the security factor as much as it is about the cool factor of not having an ugly key switch. Wiring around it would be easy once you find it. It will deter the drunks brave enough to climb in someone's boat or sand car and go for a joy ride, that happens all the time.

I was really tired this morn and kinda proud of my accomplishment. Now that I have had some rest I feel different. lol

I've got a guy that can make that stuff (that was one of the first things Geely asked him to make about 4 years ago)... Can also make a camera system that compiles 4 cameras into a "bird's eye" view of your car... also, parking assistance thingies that can detect distance from the bumper... configurable flatscreen dashboard connected via CAN... tire pressure monitoring system (that display in that dash)... Also body control modules (windows, lights (exterior, interior), AC, whatever) dot dot dot