É outono e, para a indústria de eletrônicos móveis, o foco muda diretamente para a venda e instalação de partidas remotas de carros. O tamanho da indústria de início remoto é inconcebivelmente vasto. Alguns varejistas vendem e instalam mais de mil desses pequenos gadgets úteis em uma única temporada! A Best Car Audio quer ajudá-lo a tornar o processo de compra mais fácil. Aqui está a nossa introdução às opções de controle remoto de partida de carro remoto.
O que o controle remoto faz?
O controle remoto fornecido com o motor de partida do seu carro permite que você dê a partida no veículo sem precisar sair de casa ou colocar a chave na ignição. A filosofia é que, em uma manhã fria de inverno ou em um dia de verão escaldante, você pode ligar seu veículo alguns minutos antes de sair, dando ao sistema de aquecimento ou resfriamento uma vantagem para tornar o veículo mais confortável.
Os controles remotos se comunicam com seu veículo usando transmissão de radiofrequência. Existem dois tipos diferentes de comunicação – Modulação de Amplitude (AM) e Modulação de Frequência (FM). A metodologia de comunicação por si só não determina o desempenho do controle remoto em relação ao alcance, e o alcance é um ponto chave na escolha de um controle remoto. O alcance é a distância entre você e seu veículo quando o motor de partida remoto executará comandos do controle remoto. Se você estiver fora de alcance e pressionar o botão Iniciar no controle remoto, nada acontecerá.
Desempenho de intervalo típico
No ano passado, testamos alguns sistemas que alegavam oferecer alcance de uma milha. Instalamos os dois sistemas no mesmo veículo, um após o outro. Estacionamos o veículo no mesmo local para testar cada sistema. Ambos os sistemas ofereciam desempenho quase idêntico e funcionavam de forma confiável até cerca de 1.600 pés de distância – não perto de uma milha. Entramos em contato com alguns pares do setor sobre o desempenho de outros sistemas. Vimos um teste de outra marca, classificada para fornecer 1 milha de alcance e capaz de dar partida no veículo a até 1,25 milhas de distância. Como esperado, o desempenho do seu sistema pode variar drasticamente.
Por que os sistemas que testamos não funcionaram como anunciado? A maioria dos fabricantes anuncia “alcance máximo”. Essa distância estaria em condições ideais:sem prédios, sem folhagem, sem interferência de radiofrequência. Imagine estar no meio de um deserto e todos os outros desligarem seus rádios, sistemas de telefonia celular, transmissões de TV, comunicações via satélite e assim por diante. In this impossible scenario, you’d get about a mile of range.
Why did the other system exceed the manufacturer’s ratings? Maybe this manufacturer under-rated the range. Maybe there was a lack of interference in the area. The purpose of this discussion is to clarify that performance differs based on the system you choose and where you use it.
When you go shopping for remotes, you will see a few options for range. Manufacturers advertise the shortest-range remotes as working as far away as 800 feet. Next up are the 1/4-mile or about 1,300- to 1,500-foot range units. Different companies offer different intermediate range solutions, increasing to 2,500 or 3,000 feet, then to 1 mile. One manufacturer offers a remote that claims to work at up to 3 miles. That is
very cool!
Remote Feature Overview
The next consideration in selecting a car remote starter revolves around the number of buttons on the remote. The product specialist at your mobile electronics retailer will advise you about what the remote starter can control for vehicle options. These options include door locks, factory alarm control, trunk/hatch release, sliding door control, rear window defroster activation and more. Once you decide which, if any, of these features will be part of your system, you can decide which remote you need.
One-button remotes are, of course, the simplest. The single button can be used to lock and unlock the vehicle, as well as activate the remote car starter. Some remotes have four or five buttons. These remotes have dedicated buttons for locking/arming, unlocking/disarming, trunk release and remote starting. Most five-button remotes include a Function key to access additional features like auxiliary outputs and vehicle information display. Multi-button remotes are required when the system includes features like trunk or hatch release. Single-button remotes can’t activate those features.
Communication Options
Separate from the range and button configuration of a remote are options for how the remote communicates with the vehicle. A one-way remote is like your TV remote – it only sends commands to the vehicle. You have no way of knowing whether the command was received or executed unless you can physically see the vehicle. A two-way remote can send commands to the vehicle and receive information back from the vehicle. Every two-way remote has some method of letting you know what is happening. This information can be presented via LEDs, on an LCD screen, with beeps and vibrations, or a combination of many of these.
Let’s look at a real-world example of how a two-way remote control can be beneficial. The simplest of functions is locking your car. You press the button on your remote control, and the car should lock. But what if you didn’t lock the car before you went into a shopping mall, office building or home? If you have a one-way remote, you can only hope that pressing the lock button at this longer distance will secure your vehicle. If you have a two-way remote and the vehicle is in range, the vehicle will send a confirmation to the remote to let you know it worked – that it received and executed the command. No guessing is required.
Several manufacturers offer additional vehicle information display on remotes with LCD screens. You can query the vehicle to display battery voltage or vehicle temperature.
Other Communication Options
System control options use different technologies. These include Bluetooth interfaces that allow you to control the system from an app on your phone. Smartphone interfaces use the cellular network and an app to let you manage and monitor your vehicle from anywhere in the world – as long as you have a data connection. Proximity keys that unlock the vehicle when you approach it are another option. There are also small keypads that mount to the inside of the windshield so you can type in a code to lock or unlock the vehicle.
Whatever remote control solution you pick for your remote starter, be sure to deal with a reputable retailer to install the system. You want to choose someone who will take their time to perform the installation as reliably as possible. They should be cautious and gentle with your vehicle as they disassemble it to access wiring. They must stand behind the work they do. In many cases, the quality and reliability of the installation are proportional to the price for the system. If the price seems too good to be true, you may want to do some additional research. Online reviews are a great source of information.
Enjoy your remote car starter – it really will make a big difference in the comfort of your vehicle.
