Wank alarm
When I was 11, I was into electronics. My best ever project was to install Maplin type pressure pads around the house under the carpet, and wire them all up to little light bulbs, attach all the bulbs to a wooden board, and label them with their locations. I did all of this when my parents were out, and for years, I could tell where people were in the house - roughly. As I became a teenager, this actually proved fantastically useful as a rudimentary wank alert, and allow me enough time to hide my tadger should anyone head toward my bedroom door.

I moved out of there 20 years ago, but bought the house off my parents about 5 years ago.

Funnily enough, the system is still there, and god bless, it mostly still works. As my old childrens bedroom is now my grown up office, it still performs the exact job it did all those years ago. Only it now warns me of my missus' approach. I'm never going to reveal it to her but I shall pass it on to my son one day.

Boys never change do they?
( I have run out of coke is a little sweaty, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 16:15, 14 replies)

fantastic
and in the true spirit of b3ta
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 16:17, closed)

Fantastic
You should wire it to a wireless keyboard key that minimises all windows!

You could make a fortune selling that!
(dchurch bah, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 16:18, closed)

Your son will either love you
Or fear you.
(Vice Admiral Sir Charles Cockbrush KCB MBE DSO, who is finding it increasingly difficult to log into b3ta.com wants to duck your aunt and kick your puppy, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 16:18, closed)

Modern Version
I am currently designing a very similar system which interfaces any intruder alarm system and takes advatange of the PIR sensors to do pretty much the same thing but with a Serial Interface to a PC as well as independent LEDs.
(paulwoody, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 16:26, closed)

...
Does this not mean that you have to wank over a series of lights though..?
( advocoates Emotional Northern Boy, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 16:32, closed)

Click
actually, I cant click enough! That's genius, all teenagers should have that! Bu tin this case in the end the parents will know...
(rhatanu, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 16:41, closed)

Ace!
And it's a system which clearly has longevity too.
( The Pollitt chooses to listen to Enya on, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 17:00, closed)

I used to have a similar system
lightbulb, attached to PIR sensor at the top of the stairs, with optional buzzer for added attention-gettage.

Unfortunately, the one time it could have been useful, the buzzer wasn't on, and I was too busy concentrating on the girl with her head bobbing up and down in my lap to pay much attention to the lightbulb. My brother walked in and immediately walked out again.
(bblgoose, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 19:57, closed)

Stop the QOTW
We have a winner!
( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 20:05, closed)

I've just set up a little webcam feed to put in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.
Not too sophisticated, but perhaps I'll one day be able to program a motion-sensor alarm for it.
(The Artist Formerly Known As &c You can order curries ONLINE these days., Thu 20 Aug 2009, 20:25, closed)

That is so epically brilliant
I'm considering a way to do something similar.

Realistically, though, I'll just be too lazy.

Fucking brilliant!
(David CopAFeel Used to be The_Elcat - Spouting crap since 1970., Mon 24 Aug 2009, 10:03, closed)

dark uses
I was on jury service a while back and there was some old git who'd been banging his daughters in the loft, even when others were in the house, bet he'd have loved that system. Shame he went down for life!
(bluehamster, Mon 24 Aug 2009, 18:00, closed)