Take care, don’t freeze!

   Beginning from the very first number of “POTREBITEL. AvtoDela» magazine, we in each next number are trying to illuminate the problems, tendencies and new products in the world of car security systems. There have already been different forms of articles about the construction principles of security complexes, reviews of modern car security systems and immobilizers.
But not long ago we have received a stand for testing of car alarm systems to our editor’s office, which will soon be working with all its forces, “dealing hardly” with different “alarms”. All this will be soon, and now when we are just getting used to the stand and it is getting used to us, we have found a fresh product – car alarm BERKUT S600. We couldn’t miss the chance to “use it to death” on the stand, checking its auto-starting system.

“You are judged by appearances at first”, as everybody well know. That’s why we begin with design first.
DESIGN: unlike the other alarm systems, having different kinds of exotic animals on their packages, here the main voice is given to the details of the system, the pager, to be exact. And designers did get the point. The pagers is compact, has a quite big display and an elegant design.
This seems to be an absolutely right choice of the manufacturer, because a pager is the only detail of the security system that can be seen by the others. That’s why it should look nice – this is a psychology of most of the males. So, the design gets strong “five” (the highest mark in Russian schools). Even the display highlights were designed in “brand” color – blue, and do not irritate your eyes too. 

PROTECTION: design is a design, but the alarm systems are being bought not only for boasting in front of the others, but for protection also. BERKUT S600 is a two-way system, what certainly is a big advantage. You always know what is going on with your car. The distance of signal reception from alarm to pager can reach 1200 meters in compact town planning. This is not the highest number, but certainly more than just good for this price category. The only disadvantage that can be determined in information transmission is lacking of automatic control of connection between the two-way pager and main unit. This was made to increase the battery’s resource. You can still check for the connection with your car manually, by pushing only one button.
Now lets get straight to the blocks: up to 3 blocks can be connected to the regular inputs. If there are no enough blocks, additional relays can be connected to service channels. But it is well known that quality not quantity what matters. And the quality is fully depends on the alarm system setter’s professionalism. A possibility of using an active anti-robber transponder card and anti-robber protection function activated by the speedometer may be added to the pluses of the protection system.  Minuses are: can’t use so-called “digital” block relay controlled through a regular car wire. 

FUNCTIONALITY: and that’s where BERKUT is absolutely all right. The system is fully equipped with additional channels, 6 channels altogether, 2 of which are remote controlled and other 4 are used according to the functions programmed during activating/deactivating the car’s security.
We are talking about such features as turbo-timer, window regulator control, «polite highlight” or additional engine block. Despite this there are many other features represented by the remote engine starting system. On-line remote 24-hour engine starter timer, 48 hours time intervals engine starter, built-in thermostat signal engine starter – all this features can be used in program system.

AUTO-START SYSTEM: configuration of the testing stand we’ve got, enables us not only to check the remote starting system’s efficiency, but it also can imitate the engine’s quality. To be exact it can provide different time intervals between the moment of the starter’s activation and starting of the engine. This procedure is necessary to check how does the alarm system of starting module work on different engines: from the newest BMW to an old “Zhiguly” (Russian car brand).

To activate the remote starting system, firstly, we should determine how shall the system “understand” the moment of successful starting of the engine: weather it is an accumulator charge signal (in this regime as a start of the engine the voltage increase of more than 0.6V will be taken), or a tachometer signal (this feature is on “by default”, to realize it the idle-rotations of your engine should be recorded using the programming procedure).

 It’s all. The system is on and well programmed. Now it is necessary to chose one of two work algorithms of the system: for cars with manual or automatic transmission. Here these regimes are more likely dictated not by the car’s construction, but by the safety level of the starting system. This means that cars with “mechanical” transmission can be started using automatic transmission algorithm and vice a versa. But you should remember that if you leave a car with turned on transmission, then the car would drive away when trying to start it, just like in that well-known anecdote. This won’t happen with mechanical transmission algorithm: BERKUT S600 will allow you a remote start only after some simple steps, necessary to exclude a dangerous forgetfulness.

Now it is all for sure – let’s process all the procedures and leave our stand secured. We turn the regulator to the position of a new car and push that long-waited button. One – the ignition is on. Two – within 4 seconds after the switching on of the ignition (this time is necessary for gasoline pump to create a necessary pressure in the fuel ramp), the engine is started. Well, allright, let us maximally increase a time necessary for starting. Didn’t work out – the engine is still started well after the third try, special icon appearing on the pager.

May be we shouldn’t approach with too high measures to the alarm systems of such price category, but still to be absolutely happy there could have been one more input: let’s say for a emergency lamp of oil pressure – we would be more calm with it.

SUMMARY:

ADVANTAGES:  great work of auto-starting system, enough remoteness of the pager.
DISADVANTAGES: lack of engine emergency condition input for auto-starting system
COMMON MARK: really worthy alarm with lots of features and remote starting module, all for not big money.

Author: Oleg TIKHONOV
“Potrebitel – AutoDela” 2005Column: expert judgment/ construction of security complex (electric matters)