Hi Bob,
A remotely controlled electrical outlet is a much better idea than an audio beacon. I like the flexibility of being able to connect any one of a number of sound sources. As a matter of fact, I think there's still a siren in the basement that I used to teach my cat to stay out of the living and dining rooms. It was connected to an infrared sensor that turned the siren on for five seconds everytime the cat tried to go into the living or dining room. Don't ever believe anyone who tries to tell you you can't train a cat. After 2 trips of the sensor, the cat never again entered the forbidden rooms. I wonder what the neighbors might think if I began using that thing to find my home. Thanks. Take care, Ed From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bob Kennedy Sent: Thursday, April 30, 2009 9:41 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Audio Beacon Ed, I had one of those when I lived in Charlotte. I lived in a new neighborhood so I stuck a wireless doorbell outside the house and when I was getting close to the house, I would push the remote making the doorbell go off. The range on those are never consistent, so I tried them out at Lowes before I bought one. I put batteries in the two parts and held the doorbell part. I sent one of my kids way down an isle with the button and we would count tiles to see how far away it worked. Another idea that just came to mind though. You said it would be nice if it worked on AC. I bought one of the remote start outlets from Woodcraft. Basically it is a box with an outlet you can plug something into. There is a cord that plugs into a regular outlet on the wall. Once that part is in place there is a little button with a key type chain on it, much like the little fobs you see for remote opening of cars. You push that button and the power goes on. So if you wanted a noise, you could plug in a radio, or get the parts from Radio Shack to make an AC powered buzzer. This remote I have runs my dust collector and I know it works close to 100 feet, and that was through a wall too. I had the remote clipped on my belt and forgot about it. I was walking down the street and hit the button by mistake and heard the dust collector start up. This little gem is sold at Woodcraft, but Rockler and some other places sell them too. I got mine on sale for right at $55. And they are normally about $65 to $69. It's an idea that would work without having to carry something bulky around. ----- Original Message ----- From: Edward Przybylek To: [email protected] <mailto:blindhandyman%40yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thursday, April 30, 2009 1:55 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Audio Beacon Hi all, I'm trying to find an audio beacon that can be activated with a remote control. The unit must have a range of 50 to 100 feet. The volume must be loud enough to be easily heard from the farthest range of the remote. Adjustable volume would be nice but it is not an absolute requirement. Ability to be powered from an AC outlet would also be nice but, again, it is not an absolute requirement. The unit will be located outdoors but will never be subjected to rain or snow. I did a search on Google and was deluged with hundreds of thousands of hits of which very few applied. If anyone owns or can recommend such a device, I would greatly appreciate your getting back to me. Thanks. Take care, Ed Przybylek [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
