Being seen removing and installing gear is a form of (come steal me) advertisement.

If you bring the carrying case with you, a watching thief would see that, too.

Let me tell you from personal experience. I had a full-pull out CD player in my car for several years. It was never stolen because I always brought it with me. I still own it (although it's not in the car any more). The empeg has been in my car for over a year now, and I've had no trouble with theft with it, either.

On the other hand, I had a permanently-installed stereo that was screwed in really well. It got stolen within a year, and the car severely vandalized in the process. I also had a removable-faceplate stereo with the face taken off. It, too was stolen within a year.

In all of these cases, there were amps in the trunk that were not taken (although I did lose some speakers once and a subwoofer the other time). Usually, the thieves only go for what they can see.

If you are worried about the "steal me" advertising, then you can do what I've done: Stealth install. All of the speakers are either hidden or are under the factory grilles. And the hole in the dash gets covered by a blank panel. In my case, the panel is the genuine Honda part which covers up the radio spot in cars which don't have radios. It even has the Honda logo on it. This is the best way to prevent theft.

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Tony Fabris