Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Moveable Doorbell

Inspired by Jscotty's "Front Door Delete"
 
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This idea is intended to thwart uninvited visitors in their attempts to smoke you out by laying on your doorbell. They can't ring it if they can't find it!

What this consists of is 84 small recesses about 2 inches wide with flip-up covers, like outlet covers, around your door, arranged in 2 adjacent rows of 21 lining each side of the door, each with a number on the flip-up cover. The covers are spring-loaded, so as soon as you let go it snaps shut. The panel in the back of each recess is a small electromagnet strong enough to prevent unauthorized removal of the doorbell, and the 'doorbell' is a small mobile device which, when the button is pressed, sends a wireless signal to activate the real doorbell inside. It is inside a steel case and held to the panel by the electromagnet. When you want to move it, just turn off the electromagnets and put it inside whichever recess you want. The number of the recess that holds the doorbell is displayed on an LCD display next to the door, inside, so you don't forget where you put it. When you invite guests over, tell them which recess holds the doorbell. Then move it after they've left so they can only bug you later if you've invited them again or they're determined enough to go through every recess looking for it.

21 Quest, Oct 18 2007

Here's a rough visual http://sketchup.goo...506f90a&prevstart=0
[21 Quest, Oct 19 2007]


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Annotation:







       I know it would be a lot less fun, but wouldn't it be easier to just create a doorbell system that uses a standard numeric keypad, but in order for the doorbell to actually ring the guest would have to punch in the correct code number. That way all you'd have to do is reset the code after each guest has left.
  

       There would be have to be a display screen, either LCD or LED, to let the guest know if they punched in the right code. When they're wrong it could say "Sod off" or something similar.
  

       Or there could be a progression of error messages, from "Sorry, wrong code" thru "Not even close" and "Calling 911" to "Releasing attack dogs". Think how much fun it would be if you could give the mother-in-law the wrong code "by mistake".
Canuck, Oct 19 2007
  

       Oh I love it! That's a good idea, man! Have a fire alarm sound (not a real alarm, just the sound effect) play if the get it wrong twice.
21 Quest, Oct 19 2007
  


 

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