Security

[WSHH887]

Here's the deal. How do you secure radios in your vehicles that aren't garaged?  
 

I know I can simply unscrew the antenna, but what about radios mounted in the vehicle?  

[Over2U]

Also removing the microphone might be a good idea (I expect many thieves might not even recognize what is left as being a radio).

[Socalgmrs]

I have never in over 30 years of having soft top jeeps and all manner of old and new cars ever had a radio stollen from a vehicle and I grew up in a Los Angeles ghetto.  Now I live in the country and don’t even lock the doors of roll up the windows.  No one wants a gmrs radio.   You can’t even sell a $450 woxoun for $50 in the used market.  If it’s that big of a deal just put a towel over it. Out of site out of mind.  

[marcspaz]

Anything can be stolen if someone wants it. Ive have my car stolen so the thief could spend hours yanking my sound system out of it, and then dump my very messed up car in the middle of the street in front of my house just to be a dick about it.  Just install it somewhere other than on top of your dashboard and don't worry about it.

[Jaay]

1 hour ago, Socalgmrs said:

I have never in over 30 years of having soft top jeeps and all manner of old and new cars ever had a radio stollen from a vehicle and I grew up in a Los Angeles ghetto.  Now I live in the country and don’t even lock the doors of roll up the windows.  No one wants a gmrs radio.   You can’t even sell a $450 woxoun for $50 in the used market.  If it’s that big of a deal just put a towel over it. Out of site out of mind.  

There Aren't any $450 wouxuns and Because you said that, Karma will be coming to see you.

[Jaay]

1 hour ago, WSHH887 said:

Here's the deal. How do you secure radios in your vehicles that aren't garaged?  
 

I know I can simply unscrew the antenna, but what about radios mounted in the vehicle?  

Remove the antenna and Radio and lock them in the trunk or hatch area. Out of sight, out of mind.

[tweiss3]

Install it in a permanent manor such as a center console or hard mount under the dash. Don't leave HT's visible. That's the best you can do. 

In my wife's car, everything is mounted in an overhead shelf, can't see any of it from outside, but you do notice the antennas. When parked for a week somewhere I pull the antennas and put NMO caps on so it's not a target.

[WRYZ926]

Locks only keep honest people honest. If a thief wants something they will just take it.

As others have mentioned, you can get creative on how and where you mount radios. Taking the antennas off and removing the hand mics can help. 

One of the reasons I like having radios with remote head units is that I can just unhook the control cable and rove the heads.

I won't put anytime of radio or firearm related stickers on my vehicles. Firearm related stickers are a sure guarantee that your vehicle will be broken into if you go to St Louis.

[nokones]

My remote radios are locked down and my control heads are mounted on a RAM mount. By the twust of the mount lockdown, I can remove the vontrolhead stack and stuff under the seat.

6

[Lscott]

29 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

Firearm related stickers are a sure guarantee that your vehicle will be broken into if you go to St Louis.

Or Detroit, or Chicago or ....

[WRYZ926]

7 minutes ago, Lscott said:

Or Detroit, or Chicago or ....

The NRA had their National Convention a few years ago in St Louis and a lot of vehicles were broken into during the convention. But you re correct, that goes for any big city.

[73blazer]

People still live in cities?

[WRTC928]

As @Socalgmrs pointed out, there's not much of a market for used two-way radios. Burglars want a quick turn-around; they don't typically list their stolen goods on Ebay. Resellers of stolen goods may, but the prices they can get usually don't justify the risk. Pawn shops may still buy CBs (IDK), but GMRS or amateur radios are too much of a niche market for the usual fences to be interested in them. Crackheads aren't the brightest bulbs in the chandelier, so some of them may not have figured that out yet, but most thieves already have an idea what they can sell and what they can't. 

Nevertheless, I take some reasonable precautions. The radio is mounted under a seat and when I'm going to park somewhere sketchy, I remove the head unit from the mount and stick it under a seat or cover it up. I also remove the antenna to prevent vandalism. Most people probably don't even notice an extra 20" antenna, but the occasional jackwagon will break it off just because it's there. Of course, I lock the car just so they'd have to go to a little extra effort and might be seen breaking in, for whatever that's worth. 

Beyond that, there's not much you can do. Don't put anything on your car which might draw unwanted attention such as political stickers, firearm logos, or "Keep honking. I'm reloading." signs. Think of the "gray man" concept as applied to vehicles. If you drive a BMW, all bets are off, however.

[Lscott]

3 hours ago, WRTC928 said:

Burglars want a quick turn-around; they don't typically list their stolen goods on Ebay. Resellers of stolen goods may, but the prices they can get usually don't justify the risk.

I've spotted a radio or two over the years on eBay where the serial number was very obviously cut out. Not interested in those no matter how good the price looked. I'm also suspicious when the seller doesn't show the serial number, even when asked in a private message for it.

[WRTC928]

2 minutes ago, Lscott said:

I've spotted a radio or two over the years on eBay where the serial number was very obviously cut out. Not interested in those no matter how good the price looked. I'm also suspicious when the seller doesn't show the serial number, even when asked in a private message for it.

I'm sure it happens, but I haven't seen very many that I thought looked suspicious. You're advertising to a very wide audience on Ebay and the likelihood of being spotted probably is too high for occasionally selling a random item. On the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me at all if many/most radios sold on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are stolen. Even so, the pool of potential buyers is pretty small, and most fences won't pay very much for a GMRS/amateur radio. That's not to say a criminal won't steal one if they can, but they won't work very hard for it. I try to make it inconvenient enough that they won't bother.

[TDM827]

Kind of depends on the crime in your area. Obviously locking your doors is a basic start. If you have a garage it can provide another layer of security. If you want to keep your radios permanently mounted in your vehicle look for less conspicuous to mount your gear, under the dash etc.....

If you have a remote head they can blend in with your interior equipment easily while the radio body is mounted out of sight.

Of course, nothing beats removing your radio and antenna from your vehicle when not in use.  

[Raybestos]

As others said, a GMRS or ham mobile radio is probably not very steal worthy.

I recall in the late 1960's and early 1970's, 8-track tape players were the most popular and most stealable items.  Police killed great forests to make the paper used for "Auto-Breaking/ Larceny" reports.  After 1973, and the Arab oil embargo and subsequent gas shortage, without a doubt, CB radios were the most stealable items for at least a decade, probably longer.  If it even looked like a CB, it was in danger of being stolen.  A friend who owned a landscaping business had a Low-Band Motorola Mocom control head stolen out of one of his work trucks during that time.  The goobers who stole it, thinking it was a CB, left the transceiver that was mounted behind the seat.

Before I retired in late 2000's, it was those GPS units that people plugged into the cigarette lighter and set on the dash.  Killed a lot of forests doing reports on those.

Today, a mounted GMRS radio is probably pretty safe.

[WSHH887]

Sadly in the L.A. Metro area thefts from vehicles is rampant.  And they take anything that isn't nailed down.  They may toss it later, but they are going to take it.  My particular vehicle is a Tacoma.  One of the most popular pickups to steal, or just steal parts from.  My property doesn't have space to park off street.  So, while I have an alarm, kill switch and physical locking devices to prevent theft of the vehicle, it's still wide open to smash and grabs.  Anything tempting in lain sight just ups the chances.

I could go on and on why this is so, but the reality is there is no enforcement of the laws regarding vehicle thefts and thefts from vehicles.  Oh, you can go online and file a report (at least the trees won't be harmed) but it will never been seen by human eyes.

[nokones]

19 minutes ago, WSHH887 said:

Sadly in the L.A. Metro area thefts from vehicles is rampant.  And they take anything that isn't nailed down.  They may toss it later, but they are going to take it.  My particular vehicle is a Tacoma.  One of the most popular pickups to steal, or just steal parts from.  My property doesn't have space to park off street.  So, while I have an alarm, kill switch and physical locking devices to prevent theft of the vehicle, it's still wide open to smash and grabs.  Anything tempting in lain sight just ups the chances.

I could go on and on why this is so, but the reality is there is no enforcement of the laws regarding vehicle thefts and thefts from vehicles.  Oh, you can go online and file a report (at least the trees won't be harmed) but it will never been seen by human eyes.

There is actually trees left in Southern California that haven't been burnt yet?

[WRUE951]

[SteveShannon]

24 minutes ago, WRUE951 said:

The OP is looking for a way to secure his radio when his vehicle is parked, not hang around and guard it.

[marcspaz]

In his defense, he didn't say it was a convenient option. LoL

[WRUE951]

30 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

The OP is looking for a way to secure his radio when his vehicle is parked, not hang around and guard it.

I think the point,,    More of those would mean less of the theft.     

[WSHH887]

Actually my preference is a .45 Colt Blackhawk. 
 

[SteveShannon]

4 minutes ago, WRUE951 said:

I think the point,,    More of those would mean less of the theft.     

Maybe, but if you’re willing to incur $20,000 in legal fees and loss of that nice 1911 (and possibly prison time) to defend yourself after brandishing a firearm (or worse, shoot someone) to protect a $100 radio you’re not thinking very well. Plus, you’ve now broadcast in a public forum that you’re willing to use a firearm with less than self defense as the reason.