[geeks] Doorbells

[Phil Stracchino]

David Muran-de Assereto wrote:
> On Mar 20, 2008, at 00:51 , Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
>> On Thu, Mar 20, 2008 at 06:46:06AM +0200, Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
>>> In fact you have just given me an idea, and this is "first publication"
>>> for patent rights. A programmable device for playing sounds when 
>>> actuated,
>>> for example, a programmable sound doorbell, with or without wireless
>>> signaling (WiFi, Bluetooth), and an entire business of selling
>>> downloadable ringtones for your doorbell.
>>
>> To augment my own post, adding some sort of biometric or other sensor to
>> determine who is at the door and play the approriate tone, such as Darth
>> Vader's leitmotif for your mother-in-law, "Ye Spotted Snakes" for any
>> salesman, RFID's for you pets, etc.
> 
> How about a doormat with "Step here to ring bell"? I'd like something 
> like that, since the delivery people around here don't know what a 
> doorbell or knocker is for.


MUAHAHAHAHAHA!  You just reminded me of Hallowe'en 198...5, I think, in 
Spokane.  I set up some little toys for some friends who were renting a 
big house on the South Hill.  Pressure sensors made from thumbtacks and 
margarine-tub strips, solenoids cannibalized from the doorbell, ...


It worked like this.  As you stepped between the stone gateposts, you 
stepped on the first pressure sensor, placed beneath the path.  This 
kicked a rubber bat off a perch, from where it slid down a taut iron 
wire (invisible in the darkness) apparently directly at your head, red 
LED eyes flickering semi-randomly as it bounced on the wire (which 
closed the circuit), only to vanish behind you into a padded box hidden 
on the gate crossbeam.  Then you got to the bottom of the steps, and on 
the second step, tripped the second sensor, which kicked a large rubber 
spider off another platform on a monofilament line with a rubber spring 
section, to appear and bounce wildly right in front of your face.  Then 
as you stepped onto the porch and approached the front door, the third 
pressure sensor, under the doormat, activated a powerful electronic 
flash hidden in the porch rafters.  As you reflexively turned and backed 
up to look up and see where the flash came from, you stepped backward 
onto the fourth sensor ...  which triggered a car horn a foot behind you.


One girl (the singer for a local rock band) triggered all four 
perfectly.  She came in white-faced and shaking.  I considered my FX a 
success.  :)


Not really related:  Later that winter, those friends moved back to 
Seattle, but their truck wasn't running, because the BF in the couple 
had taken the engine apart to fix the oil pump, never gotten it back 
together, and eventually admitted he didn't know how to fix it.  He 
didn't have a timing light, and neither did I at the time.  I rebuilt 
the oil pump, buttoned everything up, and had him crank the engine over 
on the starter for a minute or so with the valve covers off, the fuel 
line disconnected, and the spark plugs out, while I watched the valve 
gear.  When I was pretty certain I knew the exact internal state of the 
engine, I had him stop, installed the distributor, set the timing by 
eye, put the plugs in, and connected the fuel line.

It fired on the first try, and started right up.  They were both very 
impressed.  :)


-- 
   Phil Stracchino, CDK#2         ICBM: 43.5607, -71.355
   Renaissance Man, Unix ronin, Perl hacker, Free Stater
   alaric at caerllewys.net            alaric at metrocast.net
           It's not the years, it's the mileage.