Decisions…Viper, Autopage, Marksman…Help!!

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TTopStang

Member - Posts: 19

Joined: December 07, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: December 08, 2002 at 10:11 PM / IP Logged

I found this site the other night and I wish I knew about it a long time ago (as far as car audio). The info you all provide is great!! Apologize if this gets long. My friend and I are thinking of getting car alarms w/remote start for our trucks (a ‘99 Durango and a ‘02 Lightning, both have factory keyless entry). I was looking at the Autopage RS-750lcd and the Magnadyne Marksman M10 (maybe someone can tell me the difference between them because I can’t find any). My friend was looking at the Viper 790xv. Our friend is a dealer that will get and install these for us. He recommends the Viper because is he is an authorized dealer and that is what he carries.

1. The basic question I am trying to answer is which of these three is the best and why? I know everyone has their different opinions and that not everyone will choose the same one so please explain why you choose one over the other.

2. Personally, I have an old Viper in my Mustang, which uses an Autopage pager, but I heard that the quality of Viper has gone down. Can anyone comment on this?

3. Viper claims to be the first FCC legal 2 way remote, are the other two FCC legal?

4. The features seem to all be comparable except the Viper seems to like to be wordier in their description or use their own terminology (sometimes misunderstanding). Are there any MAJOR differences between them?

5. Our friend that we would be getting it from is only Viper authorized but can get us the Autopage or Marksman if we want them. Is it true that Autopage will only warrant a system that was installed by one of their authorized dealers? Is there a way around this, otherwise if we go with something other than Viper he may not be able to install it and warrant it.

6. I know all these alarms have one “brain” but the Viper also uses a lot of relays where the other don’t. To me the more hardware and connections, the more room for places to go wrong. Anyone feel the same way or can give examples of past experience?

I hate to ask so many questions but if I am going to fork out the money I want to make sure I am getting what I am paying for. We all know that feeling and all wish we could get those answers. I have a feeling that this post will probably help a lot of others down the line in their decisions since I didn’t find any other posts that compare these three. Also, thanks in advance for all your help.

cadiken

Member - Posts: 13

Joined: January 17, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: January 17, 2003 at 9:39 PM / IP Logged

I have the same questions about these and can throw in the Crimestopper CS-2015FM2 also. I've read that the Autopage and Marksman have close to if not the same brain so - same features. I spoke with an installer today (one of the best guys for sound and alarms in Miami) and he told me that Crimestopper is not as good as they used to be, the company was sold or something to that effect. I don't know if I should take what he says as gospel or if he is trying to sell me what he has. He told me that the Autopage is a nice unit and that he can get me whatever I wanted even the Crimestopper. All of the alarms listed seems to have the same features for the most part so I may be leaning towards warranty. Lifetime is way better than one year. Price is not an object because I have far too much to lose in my truck to go cheap. All these must be FCC legal or they would have to be sold underground only and not in store fronts. Gov don't play when it comes to signal piracy. I hope one of these helpful guys here would post some thoughts. I've been reading and reading and sort of have a grasp which units are good and what not but I guess I need that extra push.

SnomanF150

Silver - Posts: 269

Joined: September 19, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: January 17, 2003 at 10:09 PM / IP Logged

All of those that you listed are basically the same... have installed the Viper, Clifford RSIII (same as the Viper I think) and the Autopage.. I like the autopage becuase of the easy install on it.. less components.. the viper and the cliff have the satilite bank of relays which just makes for more clutter in an already cramped dash cavity.. I also like the tap-tap featuer on the LCD750 and it also has a tempature sensor.. you press two buttons on the LCD remote and the temp will display.. will also start the car when the temp drops below a specified amount.. It also has an anticarjacking feature.. they tell you to intrupte the starter wire, but I intrupte the ign wire instead.. reason being that if you are getting car jacked, your car is already started usually.. starter kill ain't going to do you ANY good! You just cut the Ign wire and connect regularly.. but you will have to put in a secret toggle switch to turn off the kill relay to allow ign back to the system and disarm with the valet button.. I put my first one in an 03 honda about 2 weeks ago and was really impressed with the ease of going in and all the features.. I'd get it if I was going to put one in my truck.. Plus, the cost is much lower than the DEI stuff..

George

David's Car Stereo

Baton Rouge, LA

Carsound1

Member - Posts: 24

Joined: November 10, 2002

Location: Canada

Posted: January 17, 2003 at 10:37 PM / IP Logged

I also install autopage units too and te LCD750 does seem like a very nice affordable unit especially with all the feature.. i have yet to install one in a vehicle or even my own.. i have the Predator pager unit right now which is similar to a couple other brands out there an seems to be pretty reliable so far but i would still push the Autopage unit since i have yet to have a problem with the units themselves

TTopStang

Member - Posts: 19

Joined: December 07, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: January 18, 2003 at 12:27 PM / IP Logged

I ended up installing the Autopage RS-750lcd in my Durango last month and have no regrets as of yet. It IS FCC LEGAL!! Don’t let the competitors fool you. It has the FCC ID right on the back of the brain and key fobs. Like you said, if it wasn’t FCC legal they wouldn’t allow you to sell it in stores. It's really nice because there is the one brain and not a bunch of relays. There are some applications that still require relays but that depends on the vehicle it's getting installed into. In mine it didn’t require any. The range is GREAT if you have a somewhat clear line of sight (signal has somewhat of a clear route). If you don't have a clear line of sight (like in a parking garage) then, like all remotes, it can fluctuate on the range. I went with it because it offers almost all the same features as DEI products but at a 1/3 of the cost. Other reason I went with it is because it’s really COOL!!

weiweiwei

Copper - Posts: 59

Joined: January 18, 2003

Location: Canada

Posted: January 18, 2003 at 1:04 PM / IP Logged

how long warranty is the autopage vs the marksman?

i was planning to buy the autopage or marksman and get private person to install it..so that will void warranty?

gunner_for_hire

Member - Posts: 37

Joined: January 18, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: January 18, 2003 at 10:00 PM / IP Logged

What kind of special features require extra relays with the Autopage... I am about one click away from ordering one, but I want to get all my ducks in a row so to speak before I get nickel and dimed to death.

Search for other posts by gunner_for_hire

swerks

Copper - Posts: 224

Joined: January 12, 2003

Location: Canada

Posted: January 18, 2003 at 10:25 PM / IP Logged

dont buy the viper whatever you do... seperate relay packs suck!!! they make for a way messier job go with some thing that is self contained maybye compustar?

mykrowsy

Member - Posts: 49

Joined: January 11, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: January 18, 2003 at 10:39 PM / IP Logged

i'm by no means an installer, and i'm going to need help with installing my hornet 554t into my truck, but my opinion on the brains that already have the relays is: what if one of the internal relays go bad? that means you have to get the whole brain replaced, instead of just a $2 relay. But i will be installing my own, thus voiding my warranty (i think) - (however, i've heard that Hornet inc. is friendly and helpful to people installing alarms on their own cars

gmc4x4

Copper - Posts: 62

Joined: December 26, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: January 18, 2003 at 10:39 PM / IP Logged

my autopage came with everything. The temp sensor, impact sensor. all those things. I only needed 2 relays cause my truck needed 3 accessory wires and the autopage has 2. Other than that I was ready to go once i got the unit. Now that I installed it all my friends want me to install one on their vehicles. The range of the remote in incredible and no one can believe that you can tell them the temp inside your vehicle with the remote..any ways hope the info helps.

(the only thing that concerned me was the LCD remote. Be nice to those things, they cost an arm and a leg if you need a replacement. not that I do, but was just curious the price)

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