How can i get better range on my alarm?
 

My alarm is an aftermarket but I bought and installed it by Honda. So the problem with the alarm is that the range sucks! I literally have to be at least 10 ft from the car inorder for it to arm/disarm. Is there ANY way i can get better reception? What if i connect the alarm's wire antenna to the frame of the car so in that why the frame acts as the antenna too? Also i've seen brands like Clifford where they have this sorta external antenna. Could i some how connect that? This alarm is getting me frustrated and changing it is becoming an option. TIA guys!

What brand of alarm you have ? Check with their website and see if they offer extended range antenna for your alarm.Most of the antennas are glass mounted like what I have and it works 400 ft away. If you can download the instruction on how to install the alarm, you will find there where you can hook up the extended range antenna. Hope this help bro. :)

i was gonna say the same^


on another note, you can use your body to extend that range. hold the remote under your chin, take your other arm and point to the direction of your car with you longest finger. take the opposite leg from the one you are holding your remote with and stick it as far back as you can. as you press the button, kinda hop in the direction of the car.

:p

i think the remote range depends on the brand of alarm, not the antenna. correct me if im wrong. I have alpine alarm, sec-150, the remote range is too good to be true. 10 times better than the OEM one i had. with alpine, i can remote my car from the 4th floor and of course, it's a straight line distance with no obstruction. alpine rocks

Try changing the battery in the remote.

HAHAHAAH hey everyone if you all can visuallize what WiLL described, it is funny as HELL! and the longest finger being the middle finger you may be giving someone the FINGER!!

I have a Crimeguard alarm that I bought off of Crutchfield, I took the interior molding off of my driver side interior and ran the wire up by the roof, my dad came home one night while I was taking my dog out and he said to see how far I could get before I couldn't turn it on or off anymore. Got to the end of my street from where the car was parked, at least 100 feet. The higher the antenna wire is on the car, the better the range, cause it has the least obstruction, or so I'm told.

actually, if you hold the remote under you chin it will extend the range. will, i can just see you hopping around lookin all fruity :fawk:

you probably look like this: :joshers:

remember that RF signals act differently than other electrical signals. although connecting the antenna to the body of the car may create a larger surface area for the signals to be routed through keep in mind that for the most part you are changing the antennas physical makeup which may just screw it all to ****....not to mention the body is probably going to be at ground anyways so it wont work at all. routing it near a window is a much better idea. extending the length of the antenna, not the area, is a decent idea. for the low frequency signals that car alarms use extending your antenna length will probably work pretty well.

ok...but how would i go about extending the antenna? i wish there was somehow i could use an electronic booster of some sort!

the only way to extend an antenna is to use a coax cable and then mount the antenna on the end of the coax. you arent actually extenting the antenna but rather relocating it. if you extend or shorten the antenna it wont be tuned for the frequencies it is supposed to be receiving.

alarm antennas are not coax. it's either a single wire, or two wires going to a flexible "whip" antenna that mounts on the inside glass.

i know alarm antennas arent coax. ive installed hundereds of them.
perhaps i should explain it again a little better?
you would have to open the brain up and attach some coaxial cable. some thin coax will work. remove the antenna by unsoldering it. then resolder in the coax and ground the shield side of the coax. then on the other end of the coax solder on the antenna you removed from the brain.

if you have the type like the whip and 2 wires you wont need to extent it because it is designed to be mounted up high already.
when you use this type of antenna the part where it leaves the brain and has 2 wires next to each other works the same way as coax. the antenna is not actually an antenna until it gets bast the coax or the 2 wires split into 2. before the actual antenna it is sheilded either by the 2 wires or the coax.