h a l f b a k e r yIt might be better to just get another gerbil.
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... we need a peephole that allows those of us 5' 3" and taller to see comfortably out our front doors.
Besides being too low (made for elderly women, which is great for them, but sucks for us), most peepholes are flush against the door, which means you have to press your face to the door every
time you want to see out.
I'm thinking of an adapter that could be fitted to your door, similar in look to a microscope lens.
Magnetic base for those of us with metal doors and screw mounted for those with wooden doors.
There may be a potential for a gooseneck peephole with fiber optics. That way all heights can use the same peephole.
Door Cam
http://www.palmvid....od.html?p_prodid=82
For Worldgineer. Even works in the dark. [DrCurry, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]
UnDoorWare
http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/UnDoorWare
Seen here first. [beauxeault, Oct 05 2004]
Ergonomic Proximity
http://enquirer.com.../27/microscopes.jpg
Like this, except on a door, and no tubes (?) running out of your mouth! [k_sra, Oct 05 2004]
Upper and lower peepholes
http://www.marriott...sp?MarshaCode=BOSWR
I just stayed in a hotel room specifically designed for the wheelchair-bound. The coat rack in the closet was waist-high, the bathroom was almost as big as the bedroom, and there were two peepholes on the door, one at about the right height for k_sra. So someone, at least, is paying attention to your plight. [DrCurry, Oct 05 2004]
[link]
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One possible solution: Take two regular peepholes and some heavy wire to make a pair of peephole glasses. That way you can just open the door a crack, leaving the door chain on of course, and see who is there with that nice wide angle distortion that we all love peepholes for. |
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Thank you for the laugh, [gootyamaytoog], that's a priceless image. I want a pair for everyday use... |
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I like the idea about not having to mash my face against the door (+). But the problem I see with this idea is that it doesn't seem to address the problem of noisy or misbehaving children on airplanes. |
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Yes, it does. You bring the door aboard and, using the periscope goosenecks as handles, you are able to better beat the misbehaving children with the door than you would be able to without the goosneck attachments. |
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I did really start something with that, didn't I? |
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How about a little video camera on one side, and a color flat screen display on the other? |
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What does *that* have to do with children on airplanes? |
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(Sorry, k_sra. I'll behave now.) |
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Hey, wait a second. Why not just have a huge peep hole that is 1 foot square and is made like a one way mirror? I still want there to be the wide angle distortion for the fun of it. |
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(insert joke here about the huge peep hole being a personal problem) |
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If you just took the glass out of that low peephole, you might find it a useful glory hole. |
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Why not add a second peephole? |
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Alternatively just get a CCTV system. |
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Alright, children *sigh*, I can see you want to talk about children in airplanes and not about low-tech, functional door-add-ons, so go ahead:
1)The way it works on planes is by having them installed along the body of the jet. Before you board, you check the peepholes to see if there are any unwanted brats aboard.
2) You can pass out peepholes like candy to the children on the plane, thus occupying them for some time.
3) You can stay home and obsessively check the peephole for noisy children outside your door, and never fly at all.
4) You could use two peepholes (as [FloridaManatee] and [gootyam] suggested) as ear plugs to block unwanted ruckus from your poor tender brain.
5) Fly in a hullaballoon.
6) Use custard.
7)Make a peephole out of clear chocolate to see inside your caramels.
8) Cry louder than the children.
9) Refrigerate your peephole for a cool, refreshing eye-treat in summer.
10) Create a powerful vacuum under your door that sucks visitors to the floor and traps them there till you can come and investigate. |
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Can fibre optics apply here? ,,,, if it could be used cheaply, and the matrix of fibres be expanded to form a plane of ends as a display. say around 5cm/2 inch wide.
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Geez, k_sra, can we get back to the subject of the idea, please? |
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Considering Worldgineer's idea of a video camera outside the door and a flat panel display on the inside, it might be cool to stick a little paralax-correction software between the camera and the display, and make the display as big as the door, and mount it flush against the inside surface of the door itself. That way, from the inside, it would look like there's no door there. |
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I wonder if that's different enough to be a separate idea. |
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worldgineer: I originally posted a comment along those lines; video cams for monitoring door entries are Widely Baked.
beauxeault: flat screen technology is not quite up to that ("it would look like there's no door there") and it would be decidedly expensive, but, yeah, great idea, go on and post it. |
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[Dr.C, beauxeault, and dag], quit schlopping up my idea with electricity. This is NON-electric door paraphenalia. What's the matter with you people? I just want to see out my door without getting a neck-ache! I don't need a jumbo-tron with *voltier-than-thou* accessories. |
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But, actually I do like that "under the door" camera, [dag]. |
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Ra, maybe you could install an inverted periscope to utilize your extant peephole. Advantage: mirrors are cheap, no new holes weakening the door, and the periscope would lie flush with the door. |
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[bungy], flush with the door when not in use? I don't want a periscope/peephole that lies flush with the door when I'm using it. I need to find a link...Found one. See above.
And what do you mean by, *inverted*? |
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This is an excellent idea, although I’m personally in favor of the peep slot. Much easier to shoot arrows thru. |
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How about an electronic eyeball like the one at Jabba's palace in Star Wars. It can interrogate solicitors and make them feel uncomfortable on your behalf. |
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// I just want to see out my door without getting a neck-ache!//
Get a plank of wood and nail it to the door about a foot above the floor...then simply step up to look out the peep hole.
Is that low tech enough? |
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No, [silverstormer], because I am already too tall for the peephole. This would make it even more difficult to use, not easier.
That's like saying, "I cut it twice and it's still too short." |
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Then get a spade and dig a hole, in front of the door. Duh! |
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Cut a large hole in the door at face height. To provide protection from the elements, install a piece of glass. For those worried by the possibility of unwanted intruders, glass is available with wire mesh embedded in the glazing, and privacy can be obtained with the addition of one-way mirror silvering. |
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What about using the pinhole camera technique? Just drill a tiny hole through your door and suspend a piece of white sheet or other semi-permeable material behind the door. Don't know if this would work. It definitely wouldn't on a dark night. Oh well. |
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An adjustable periscope with one mirror fixed directly inside the peephole, and the other on a sliding doo-dah which you adjust to your eye height. |
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A single peephole mounted in a slot so that you can slide it up or down to your preferred height (and possibly tilt it as well). |
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A third possibility: two peepholes. See link. |
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Why do I get the feeling that everyone thinks I am 5'3"? I am not, I am 5'9". And often too TALL for the peepholes installed in my abodes... |
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I like that solution [Onionbread], very clever. |
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I don't feel like reading all the comments, but this idea is awesome. Mainly the segue into a mirror type idea where you can look through the peephole from like a few feet away. Pressing my face on the door tends to be more of a nuisance than bending my knees. Mirrors people, periscope style |
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[OnionBread] surely they could see you
sliding the peephole up and down and
realise that they are being spied on,
defeating the object of a peephole. |
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Alternatively, install a window, or stop
being paranoid and answer the door
normally like the rest of us. |
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//gooseneck peephole with fiber optics// If you add a long extension, you won't even have to get up. |
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You could even have a lowdown periscope peephole so you could peep up the skirt of lady visitors... |
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Peep holes are actually set that low for what's on the outside of the door. Some burglars, and others may duck down to hide themselves from the viewer, in the homes that you will step out shouting "You Darn kids..." Very few burglars will hang from the cieling, spiderman-style to catch you off guard. Thus, the peep hole viewer part stays low to the ground. |
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Known baked, or bakable Improvements: |
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My neighbor had a little screen device, of perhaps a two inch diameter, onto which the peep hole view was actually projected. I'm not sure how it worked though. |
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A periscope device shouldn't be too hard to make, and could be adjustable for disturbingly little old ladies, or giants, and might have an adjustable neck, to pull away from the door if you like your personal space. |
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Fiber optics... That would require a lot of fiber optics, and as I know someone in the fiber optics business, for this purpose, fiber optics actually need very small lenses on them. Could get expensive, possibly more expensive than the video camera, especially if you only turn it on to view strangers. |
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The mirror idea might also work, but unless the mirror is made of a very strong material, you may as well just have a window in the door so the burglars can smash through and let themselves in. |
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Children on airplanes... Just put them on the no-fly list... Or give them a pair of these doors and tell them to flap their way home. |
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"Peepholes - Peephole who need peepholes - are the LUCKIEST PEEPHOLE in the world..." |
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