Date:         Sun, 6 Jul 1997 00:31:48 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Charles D Earl <cdearl@cats.ucsc.edu>
Subject:      Re: Hornet car alarm?

Hey Gregg,
Thanks for the response, the part about not using a switch shorter than 
3/4" was good future reference material for me.
Good work!  I'm glad its working well.  Actually, after I wrote to you, I 
dug out the instructions for my alarm.  It is an "AutoMate" brand, by 
DEI.  Probably their standard model sold under different names.

You wrote:
"How far away do your remotes work?  Mine seem to work only as far as 
about 25 feet.  Maybe the batteries are dying?"

Possibly.  Check the antenna.  On my system, there is a black box (the 
"brain" of the system, slightly bigger than a pack of playing cards, 
under my dash.  Mine is sitting inbetween the instrument panel and the 
ashtray.  If yours is the same or similar, you will see that all the 
wires from the switches, etc. go to this box.  There is 1 black wire, 
about 10" long, that doesn't connect to anything.  This is the antenna 
that picks up the remotes signal.  Experiment with its position.  I 
stretched mine out horizontally as far as it would go, it seemed to 
help.  Make sure your remotes contacts are clean and that the battery is 
positioned correctly (moisture and dirt have motivated me to clean these 
contacts with positive results).  Of course, yours is new.  If playing 
with the antenna doesn't help, give the tech a call and ask about this.  
The range is nice, several times I have forgotten to set my alarm, opened 
a window of the house I'm in, and turned it on, listening for the "beep."
My alarm gives me a lot of peace of mind.

Good luck!

Charles
'83.5 Westy
'69 280 SE (back from the grave)