Magnadyne's Pl80 Remote Start/Alarm
www.magnadyne.com
Magnadyne's compact unit offers users a number of advanced features in a space-saving design.
by Barnet Fagel
The buzzword in the mobile electronics industry these days is "convergence." It's when two or more existing technologies conjoin into one product due to the streamlined miniaturization of their respective disciplines. Generally, we hear about convergence with respect to cellular phones, GPS, and navigation devices. In the world of automotive convenience and protection devices, it's alarms and remote starters like the Magnadyne PL80. Remote starters have constituted the fastest growing element of the 12-volt mobile electronics industry in the past few years.

One of the primary reasons for their increased growth is that it's unlikely that the carmakers will be supplying this convenience phenomenon anytime soon. As automobiles are becoming increasingly smaller, the task of installing multiple components increases the need for installer creativity, a rare commodity. By combining an alarm and a remote starter into one modestly-sized module (4 1/2- x 3 1/2- x 1 1/2-inches), installation time and complexity are vastly diminished. For its size, the new PL80 can do quite a lot -it's a remote alarm/keyless entry and engine starter all in one. The PL80 was conceived and produced by Magnadyne Corporation, long known for its quality alarm products. To their credit, Magnadyne judiciously remotely situated the antenna and its companion receiver outside the main module in a small 1- x 2 1/8- x 3/4-inch parcel with its 6-inch antenna protruding end and its diminutive power/signal cable connector on the other. Placed up in the windshield, as suggested in the installation instructions, the PL80 has the best chance of attaining its claimed 1000-foot operating range. The maximum range a remote starter will operate is important to its primary purpose of starting a very cold or hot car from inside a very comfortable interior environment.

The PL80's transmitters are the traditional industry black or graphite color. In addition, they are fitted with four buttons of which the arm and separate disarm buttons are also black. The remaining buttons are red for the panic and blue for the remote starter function. Unlike most other alarms, the PL80's panic feature allows the user to press the panic or the lock buttons for three seconds. Likewise, to silence a system in panic mode, one only has to press the red panic button or the disarm button. The arm and disarm buttons are labeled with lock and unlock as the PL80 is used as a remote keyless entry system without its alarm functions at times. Also built into the PL80 is the ability for the driver to lock the factory doors with the factory door lock buttons as he/she leaves and then use one of the two transmitters to unlock them.

The inside of the PL80 reveals some hefty relays to handle the heavy amperage requirements needed to start some of the more demanding vehicle engines. The Siemans 40-ampere relays are up to this task, but just in case your installer wants even more immobilizing capacity, Magnadyne offers optional modules to immobilize up to three separate circuits. Speaking of interrupts, this brings us to the subject of factory-installed immobilizers. When you install a remote starter in a vehicle with a factory immobilizer, you must temporarily disable the factory immobilizer so that the engine may be started without the required special resistor or transponder key. The PL80 provides your installer with the basic information on the more popular factory immobilizer devices.

Safety is of the utmost importance when it comes to remote starters, so Magnadyne supplies mercury tilt hood switches - in the event someone works on the vehicle's engine, the mercury-filled switches will not allow the vehicle to remote start. Also, more safety circuits prevent the car from starting by sensing the brake pedal, transmission selector position, and ignition switch status. The PL80 offers itself in many different formats to fit the user's particular needs. If the user wants to utilize the factory alarm and horns, the PL80 will connect to the horns, providing them with a pulsing output and the parking lights, as well as a disarm wire to disarm the factory alarm so that the user doesn't have the obligation of disarming two alarms - this would get cumbersome.

The PL80 is well-suited to be installed on fuel-injected gasoline and diesel engines with automatic transmissions. To program the PL80, the ignition and under-dash program switches and the transmitter are used in specific manners to set the 14- to 21-minute run times for either gas or diesel engines. Setting the program to accept voltage or tachometer information tells the starter when the engine has started during the remote starting sequence. The alarm's features, including siren chirps, last door arming, parking light illumination, and automated door lock operation can also be programmed.

While no siren or shock sensor is included with the PL80, the necessary inputs and outputs are included so that these options are fully supported. The PL80 is positioned to adapt itself as a freestanding alarm, keyless entry, and engine starter as well as to provide just remote keyless entry with a car starter. This arrangement makes better sense to the user who may have a basic keyless entry system but wants their system to provide them with more features than the factory systems will have for at least five years.
Price & Contact: $179.95; 310-884-7777. Web: www.magnadyne.com