Fun with Digital Doorbells
Here’s a thing you might not know existed: Doorbells that you can load with a sound file of your choice.
Just like a phone ringtone, you can use your favorite sound effect, song, or movie clip, and change it as often as you like. That means that your doorbell can scream like the one in Murder by Death, or say, “You rang?” like Lurch. (If you don’t think that’s hilarious, you may be on the wrong blog.)
There are a number of manufacturers, and prices vary significantly. The cheapest that I could find is Honeywell’s My Chime, followed by Swann’s MP3 DJ Doorbell. Other options include Kakadu (a UK vendor, although I take mild exception to their assumption that the customer is male), YourBell, iChime, and The Tommyknocker, which wins the “best name” category.
This would, obviously, be a splendid novelty item for Halloween, but there’s no reason why visitors shouldn’t be treated to banshee wails or rattling chains year-round. I’ve wanted a screaming doorbell for years, and there’s no way I’m going to limit its use to one day a year.
Posted in Bad Things | 6 Comments »
July 17th, 2012 at 8:07 am
I’ve been wanting one of these for years. Last time I checked prices they were $300.
July 17th, 2012 at 8:11 am
Yep. It was the YourBell that I looked at. They have come down in price. I really wanted the gong and Lurch saying “You rang?” or a submarine dive alarm as my door bell. I may have to look into getting just the board and speaker option and building my own housing.
July 17th, 2012 at 5:07 pm
I hated the sound of our tinny electronic doorbell so much I just ripped it out and never replaced it. We have a doorknocker, and it stymies people. I figure if you aren’t smart enough to get my attention from the porch, I won’t like you well enough to let you in my house.
But Lurch? I may start saving my pennies for that.
July 18th, 2012 at 7:10 pm
Perhaps I am on the wrong blog, but the only doorbell I will accept is this.
November 11th, 2012 at 2:22 pm
[…] The Art of Darkness » Blog Archive » Fun with Digital DoorbellsJul 17, 2012 … That means that your doorbell can scream like the one in Murder by Death, or say , “You rang?” like Lurch. (If you don’t think that’s hilarious, you … […]