stop thief! - Who wants to steal a car with engine trouble?

4-28 — elektor april 1980 stop thief! Who wants to steal a car with engine trouble? Protecting one"s property is a popular hobby - particularly when that property is attractive to others. There are all sorts of systems for protecting cars, but the one described here is unusual: it is deception, rather than protection. It doesn"t make it impossible to steal the car (for that matter, no system does), but it makes it very unattractive: who wants to steal a car with an engine that stalls every few yards? adequate protection against joy-riders. It should even discourage most "pro- fessional" thieves — all except the type who is prepared to steal a furniture removal van first and then run your car into it! At the same time, this system has the advantage that it does the job on its own, without giving silent or raucous alarm signals to the owner or other passers-by. There"s no need to chase after your property in the middle of the night, wearing only pyjamas and a dressing gown: you ...