Shop Safety Accident Alarm

[poolhound]

Has anybody ever considered the possibility of having an accident in the shop with nobody there to hear you?

When my shop was in the garage LOML was not that far away and might even hear a shout or scream. Now with a separate and detached shop I can easily be in there for 3-4 hours without her coming out to see me. If something happened and I needed help what then? Is it possible to install some form of push button activated remote alarm that could notify somebody in the house that there has been an issue in the shop. I wonder if there may even be a remote intercom system with a built in alarm function.

Have any of you thought about this and/or seen or even installed anything along these lines?

[twistsol]

I always have my cell phone out in the shop for that purpose. When I fell and broke my leg two weeks ago, shouting gor no response since the windows were closed and the AC was on. Phone call to my daughter in the house got an immediate response.

[capncarl]

I too am in the same situation. If I am doing any projects that are dangerous I inform my wife to do more walk thrus and keep my cell phone on my hip. The same situation goes for her, I perodically stop what I am doing and check on her! I am usually awarded with hot cookies or some tasty treat! If she is not going to be home I reschedule work that could be dangerous. Sometimes when I am doing potentially dangerous tasks I ask her to be in the shop. I do find myself becoming more cautious and rethink tasks that are dangerous to find a safer way to do it!

This is a good thread that could possibly save a life!

capncarl

[capncarl]

Upon thinking about theme of this thread concerning alerting someone nearby if you need help, most of us have, or could have remote controls for our dust collectors. My dust collector remote is a 2 or 3 function controller that I use 1 button, the others could be used to activate an alarm nearby. Right off I would write off an outside alarm because last year I shot 3 rounds of 12 ga ooo buckshot at a pack of coyotes that had wandered into my yard and I happened to see! My wife nor neighbors said that they heard nothing. Good thing I wasn't firing to attract attention!

Shop security is another matter that is also discussed by my wife and I. She insists that I lock the door when I am working in the shop at night to keep someone from walking in and knocking me in the head, that's her story, mine is to keep someone from walking in and getting blown away! Sorry, This should be another thread!
capncarl

[mpc]

A fairly easy to buy and install package is a wireless door bell system. The BORG website has several examples for 15 to 25 bucks. When I bought my house it had such a setup on the front door instead of the usual wired door bell system. The door bell button is a small battery powered gizmo that'd be trivially easy to carry yet has a large enough button that it'd be easy to squeeze even while injured. The door bell chime portion can then be placed in the house. Like older garage door opener remotes, my unit has little DIP switches inside to set a specific code so hopefully it won't clash with the neighbor's doorbells. Depending on range, and if you have friendly neighbors, you could buy two sets and set them to the same code... then put the second chime unit at the neighbor's house so you have a backup in case the spouse isn't home.

Just gotta test it every so often to make sure the batteries haven't died!

mpc

[atgcpaul]

I like the door bell idea. Like others, if I'm doing something dangerous--which isn't often--I'll give my wife a heads up to check on me or avoid doing it if noone is home. I don't normally carry the phone with me and if I did it would be in my pocket so I wonder how easily I could get it and use it if I were injured.

We have a nice cordless phone set that we stopped using when we dropped our landline. It has an intercom feature (you do have to pickup the handset, though) but I think now it's worth plugging in again.

[poolhound]

Good to see I am not the only person with the same concern. I like the doorbell idea but it could be useful to have some way (other than cellphone) to talk to somebody. Iwonder how well intercoms like these may work. May see what HD has today.

http://www.amazon.com/Intercom-Central%C2%AE-413-Channels-Power-line/dp/B0042AYJ4W/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1436577073&sr=8-3&keywords=wireless+intercom&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011%2Cp_72%3A2661618011

http://www.amazon.com/Aiphone-CCS-1A-ChimeCom2-Single-Door-Answering/dp/B000HQ5L7O/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1436577073&sr=8-5&keywords=wireless+intercom&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011%2Cp_72%3A2661618011

[capncarl]

A pair of Wilkie talkies with the house unit docked on a powered base or remote power supply would do nicely. That way you could actually chat every now and then.
capncarl

[LinuxRandal]

I wish I could find it. Years ago, I saw a phone adapter that you plugged in a home line and your home phones would use a central sim card for outgoing calls. This left the intercom options of phones as a more there thing as you wouldn't unplug them.
Now with VOIP, that might be another option that would make one keep their old phones.

I do tend to keep my cell phone on me, but it is still a candy bar style phone (no smart phone, wish it had a rotary dial). Another thought, is where is your electrical box? If it is in your shop, hitting the main breaker tends to get immediate attention, in case of emergency (just remember to turn it back on, before the hospital trip, or you will be cleaning out the fridge and freezer).

[vaking]

My house has a spotty cell phone reception. I blame it on aluminum siding, but that is a separate topic. As a result I bought a good cordless system with a base and 4 headsets. The base is always on the desk in my office plugged into a land line. My cell phone is also always on that desk paired to the base via bluetooth, my desk has the best reception in the house. Any call on land line or on my cell rings on every headset in the house. I can also make calls using either land line or my cell. When I am in the shop - I have one of the cordless handsets in my pocket. If wife is at home - we can use intercom, if she isn't - I can call out.
I even sell that idea to my in-laws. They have a summer house with no land lines. When they go there - they pair their cell phones to a cordelss system like mine and use system to make/receive phone calls. Modern cordless systems work fine using cell phones without land lines.