Clifford/Viper Alarms: Is there a difference?

[LatinDragonXJC]

I know both of them are made by DEI. But quality or price wise, is there any difference? Any installers on the board?

right now I'm looking at the Viper 791XV and the Clifford RSX 3.5, from what I read on here they are equal except for name brand.

Any suggestions of better (updated) alarms by DEI welcomed.

[LEE337]

Ive had a few Viper systems and some others. Ive had Widow systems too. These days its a bit difficult to choose one considering how many new brands are out there. I recently got into two-way alarms. Im sure everyone is familliar with these types of systems. I went to www.autoalarmpro.com and purchased the SRT 9000 made by Code Alarm. What I found very cool with this system is the Telemadics-Mod.
It lets you call your car/truck from anywhere in the world, as long as the car/truck is in the USA, from any touch-tone phone. Then you can control any feature via telephone.
When I get some time later this week Ill post a vid of all the controls.

[LatinDragonXJC]

Ive had a few Viper systems and some others. Ive had Widow systems too. These days its a bit difficult to choose one considering how many new brands are out there. I recently got into two-way alarms. Im sure everyone is familliar with these types of systems. I went to www.autoalarmpro.com and purchased the SRT 9000 made by Code Alarm. What I found very cool with this system is the Telemadics-Mod.
It lets you call your car/truck from anywhere in the world, as long as the car/truck is in the USA, from any touch-tone phone. Then you can control any feature via telephone.
When I get some time later this week Ill post a vid of all the controls.

Whoa

I'll give it a look. Thanks.

[Big Mack]

I have a lot of experience with them, and the DEI products are all EXACTLY the same board inside, with variations on remotes (but not much). This is why all the DEI modules work with all the DEI products - same boards mean the proprietary connectors will work universally.

Code used to make a decent unit, but their quality has been lacking for some time, IMO.

If you want a higher end product than the DEI, look into the Autopage line. They not only work better, their remotes are not nearly as fragile, have much better range, have their own bypasses which are not as universal (and therefore not as widely known to thieves) and will only be sold by the smaller specialty shops who shouldn't be doing cookie cutter installs like some of the big boys get into the habit of doing.

Big Mack

[TRDSleeper]

I had the same problem when I was deciding on what alarm to buy. Anything you buy from DEI is exactly the same. Only the remote shape and button layout are different. I got a Viper 5900 and it's been working great so I highly recommend DEI stuff. Are you planning to add piezo sirens, tilt sensor, back-up battery, & etc.? They'll improve the security of your alarm system.

[Big Mack]

I had the same problem when I was deciding on what alarm to buy. Anything you buy from DEI is exactly the same. Only the remote shape and button layout are different. I got a Viper 5900 and it's been working great so I highly recommend DEI stuff. Are you planning to add piezo sirens, tilt sensor, back-up battery, & etc.? They'll improve the security of your alarm system.

I think you forgot to include "so long as they are integrated well." All the extra sirens, sensors, and batteries in the world won't save it if a thief is determined enough - or if the system is installed by someone who leaves everything exposed. If they loom the wires and integrate things so that it appears stock and therefore is more difficult to find, you're more likely to ward them off. In other words - the best systems are both quality design and quality installation. One without the other and you may as well throw your money out the window and hope.

Big Mack

[LatinDragonXJC]

I had the same problem when I was deciding on what alarm to buy. Anything you buy from DEI is exactly the same. Only the remote shape and button layout are different. I got a Viper 5900 and it's been working great so I highly recommend DEI stuff. Are you planning to add piezo sirens, tilt sensor, back-up battery, & etc.? They'll improve the security of your alarm system.

I'm planning on buying it online, because I have a friend who would do the install for $125. I don't want anything too special, the fact is, where I live we have some of greatest sophisticated car thieves in NJ. lol. The car alarm is just to slow them down enough for me to show up and remote start would be nice to have again also.

Piezo sirens? ....they would just annoy the hell out of my neighbors and I'll catch a brick in my window.

Tilt Sensors?......is that to sense if someone is jacking it up? That might be an option to look into, my car almost got towed by a thief.

Back-up battery?......nah, sounds like an extra hassle and weight.

[Big Mack]

I'm planning on buying it online, because I have a friend who would do the install for $125. I don't want anything too special, the fact is, where I live we have some of greatest sophisticated car thieves in NJ. lol. The car alarm is just to slow them down enough for me to show up and remote start would be nice to have again also.

What does he recommend, then? If he's an experienced installer, he should be able to tell you a brand to stick with.

Piezo sirens? ....they would just annoy the hell out of my neighbors and I'll catch a brick in my window.

They go inside the car Also known as "pain generators" for the fact that they're louder than hell when the alarm is set off. If your windows have good seals, you'll barely hear them unless the door is open - at which point someone's in your car.

Tilt Sensors?......is that to sense if someone is jacking it up? That might be an option to look into, my car almost got towed by a thief.

Precisely the reason for the tilt. Many motion sensors double as tilt (it's known as a "double guard sensor" in industry terms).

Back-up battery?......nah, sounds like an extra hassle and weight.

It's worth the "hassle" and they only weigh about a pound. Worth it's weight in gold if you get to keep the car, though.

Big Mack

[LatinDragonXJC]

I'm planning on buying it online, because I have a friend who would do the install for $125. I don't want anything too special, the fact is, where I live we have some of greatest sophisticated car thieves in NJ. lol. The car alarm is just to slow them down enough for me to show up and remote start would be nice to have again also.

What does he recommend, then? If he's an experienced installer, he should be able to tell you a brand to stick with.

Piezo sirens? ....they would just annoy the hell out of my neighbors and I'll catch a brick in my window.

They go inside the car Also known as "pain generators" for the fact that they're louder than hell when the alarm is set off. If your windows have good seals, you'll barely hear them unless the door is open - at which point someone's in your car.

Tilt Sensors?......is that to sense if someone is jacking it up? That might be an option to look into, my car almost got towed by a thief.

Precisely the reason for the tilt. Many motion sensors double as tilt (it's known as a "double guard sensor" in industry terms).

Back-up battery?......nah, sounds like an extra hassle and weight.

It's worth the "hassle" and they only weigh about a pound. Worth it's weight in gold if you get to keep the car, though.

Big Mack

Thanks for all the great info and clearing that up. But, how small is the backup battery? I was thinking it was another regular sized battery.

Any my "friend" is a friend of a friend, I'm just getting the benefits of their friendship and being referred.

[Big Mack]

Thanks for all the great info and clearing that up. But, how small is the backup battery? I was thinking it was another regular sized battery.

The DEI unit (I recommend it) is the size of a siren with a small bracket on it. Probably the size of a softball/grapefruit.

Any my "friend" is a friend of a friend, I'm just getting the benefits of their friendship and being referred.

Sounds good. I'd ask him what brands he has worked with. If you spend $200 for the alarm and $125 on an install, you may very well be able to do better locally and get a warranty. I know a place local to me (I'm in AZ) is doing security/RS for under $350 installed - and that's with the bypass.

Big Mack

[Black Bob]

The other thing to keep in mind that DEI just delisted their stock from the Nasdaq last week because the company's market worth is less than $10 million and they were paying $1.5 million JUST to get listed. Not to mention the $218 million debt they expect to pay down right in the middle of a recession --so keep in mind future customer service and support availability.

[Dawgz]

Ive got the rsx 3.5

I wouldnt think of using anything less

[LatinDragonXJC]

Any my "friend" is a friend of a friend, I'm just getting the benefits of their friendship and being referred.

Sounds good. I'd ask him what brands he has worked with. If you spend $200 for the alarm and $125 on an install, you may very well be able to do better locally and get a warranty. I know a place local to me (I'm in AZ) is doing security/RS for under $350 installed - and that's with the bypass.

Big Mack

I'm right next to NYC, installations start @ $700 to install an alarm.

[Big Mack]

Ive got the rsx 3.5

I wouldnt think of using anything less

I'm not a fan of the Responder systems. I've talked to numerous people and the bad experiences are piling up. Their old lines were damn near indestructible (I know, we tried ) but these? Not so much. I would absolutely not recommend something from a no-name company, but Autopage is as good if not better than DEI in many respects.

I'm right next to NYC, installations start @ $700 to install an alarm.

That's a lot of green. Make sure you buy the guy willing to do it for $125 a few pints once he's finished.

Big Mack

[Black Bob]

$700?!!!! Did you seriously mean just for the cost of installation or did you mean alarm + installation? A CompuStar 2way jobby I'm looking at plus window up/down modules plus installation is quoted at $565 from my installer; though dude did my past Compustar alarm the SOB still isn't giving me a discount but I'm getting it as soon as I stop drinking all my money away.