ACCESSORIES: Describes items of equipment which are beyond the standard equipment supplied in a new vehicle.
ALARM SYSTEM: Describes a system designed to protect a vehicle against vandalism or theft. In the event of anyone tampering with the vehicle, an alarm will sound as a buzzer, a chime, or a human voice, lights will flash and the ignition system will become inoperative. More advanced systems will even notify the police and alert the vehicle owner.
ELECTRONIC NAVIGATOR: Describes an on-board trip computer which provides useful information for the driver including estimated time of arrival (ETA), amount of fuel left and average fuel consumption among others
GLOBAL POSITIONING SATELLITE (GPS): Describes the technology that allows a vehicle to be tracked anywhere in the world with near-perfect accuracy. The Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system was first used by the military, but has been adopted by commercial companies with several after-market communication systems using GPS now available.
REMOTE-CONTROL LOCKING: Describes a central locking device operated by a remote control from outside the car
REMOTE KEYLESS ENTRY: Describes a system in which a vehicle’s door locks can be opened or locked by a small hand-held switching device that can be located several feet away.
TRIP COMPUTER: Describes an in-car computer with a multifunction display that supplies the driver with trip information such as range, estimated time or arrival (ETA), distance to destination, time, fuel economy, fuel consumption, average speed, accumulated trip miles, elapsed time and other items depending on the computer’s capacity.
DOOR SPEAKERS: Describes speakers mounted inside the door panel.
GRAPHIC EQUALIZER: Describes a unit in a car stereo system that adjusts the audio output signal strength separately for individual frequency ranges.
INTERFERENCE: Describes a noise from the ignition system that can affect radio reception. In recent years suppressors have become available that will minimise interference.
RADIO CHOKE: Describes a form of electric coil used to prevent static in the radio through opening and closing the contact points in the instrument voltage regulator.
RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE (RFI): Describes radio reception interference caused mostly by the ignition system that is counteracted by suppressors.
RECEIVER: Describes a device capable of receiving incoming radio signals.
RETRACTABLE AERIAL: Describes a telescopic aerial or power antenna.
SUPPRESSOR: Describes a form of electrical device used in car circuits to filter out radio interference caused mainly by the ignition system and battery circuit.
WHIP ANTENNA: Describes a long, thin and highly flexible aerial.