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  1. #1
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    Default I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    I thought maybe some of you more, ahem, experienced inspectors might recognize it.

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    "There is no exception to the rule that every rule has an exception." -James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961)
    www.ArnoldHomeInspections.com

  2. #2
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    I think is is a burglar alarm. When the pin pulls out the battery powered buzzer goes off.
    but I'm not that old either

    END GLOBAL WHINING

  3. #3
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    Quote Originally Posted by Benjamin Thompson View Post
    I think is is a burglar alarm. When the pin pulls out the battery powered buzzer goes off.
    but I'm not that old either
    I don't get it. Who would pull the pin, and why?

    "There is no exception to the rule that every rule has an exception." -James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961)
    www.ArnoldHomeInspections.com

  4. #4
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    Quote Originally Posted by John Arnold View Post
    I thought maybe some of you more, ahem, experienced inspectors might recognize it.
    Quote Originally Posted by Benjamin Thompson View Post
    I think is is a burglar alarm. When the pin pulls out the battery powered buzzer goes off.
    but I'm not that old either
    I think Benjamin is correct
    I have seen some like this (only larger) that were from the 70s and still in use in the early 80s

    Quote Originally Posted by John Arnold View Post
    I don't get it. Who would pull the pin, and why?
    A string was tied to a door or across the floor which would pull the pin and cause alarm
    Actually some police depts used one similar to this
    If you had a problem with break ins at your business the PD would set up a device somewhat like the one shown
    They (the PD) would come out just before you closed and run trip wires
    The wires were very thin. Idea was the burglar would pull the wire which would trip a switch, and the burglar would not even know he had tripped the alarm.
    The alarm was silent but had a radio transmitter.
    Within a few minutes police would show up and catch the thief.

    I remember the Columbus police using that as late as 1982 or 83

    ' correct a wise man and you gain a friend... correct a fool and he'll bloody your nose'.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    Ah, so! Now I see, said the blind man.

    "There is no exception to the rule that every rule has an exception." -James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961)
    www.ArnoldHomeInspections.com

  6. #6
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    ' correct a wise man and you gain a friend... correct a fool and he'll bloody your nose'.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    Thanks! Ain't the interwebs amazing?

    "There is no exception to the rule that every rule has an exception." -James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961)
    www.ArnoldHomeInspections.com

  8. #8
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    Quote Originally Posted by Rick Cantrell View Post
    A string was tied to a door ...
    Isn't that the same way dentists used to pull teeth?

    Steven Turetsky, UID #16000002314
    homeinspectionsnewyork.com
    eifsinspectionsnewyork.com

  9. #9
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    Quote Originally Posted by John Arnold View Post
    Thanks! Ain't the interwebs amazing?
    Well, yes
    But I think I'm pretty good also , don't you.

    ' correct a wise man and you gain a friend... correct a fool and he'll bloody your nose'.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    Quote Originally Posted by John Arnold View Post
    Who would pull the pin, and why?
    Brass ring. It only works on metal thieves.

    John Kogel, RHI, BC HI Lic #47455
    www.allsafehome.ca

  11. #11
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    Quote Originally Posted by Rick Cantrell View Post
    Idea was the burglar would pull the wire which would trip a switch, and the burglar would not even know he had tripped the alarm.
    There's another device out there in which a pin is pulled to activate it. It responds much more quickly than the police and by no means is it silent.

    Eric Barker, ACI
    Lake Barrington, IL

  12. #12
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    Quote Originally Posted by Eric Barker View Post
    There's another device out there in which a pin is pulled to activate it. It responds much more quickly than the police and by no means is it silent.
    Ah yes, the booby trap
    Of course the trap sometimes backfires
    Katko v. Briney - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    ' correct a wise man and you gain a friend... correct a fool and he'll bloody your nose'.

  13. #13
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    Quote Originally Posted by Rick Cantrell View Post
    Ah yes, the booby trap
    Of course the trap sometimes backfires
    Katko v. Briney - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    From that link:
    Four years after the case was decided, Briney was asked if he would change anything about the situation. Briney replied: "There's one thing I'd do different, though, I'd have aimed that gun a few feet higher."
    My thoughts as I was reading it.

    There would not have been a law suit, and by the time anyone checked on the unoccupied house the body would either have deteriorated or animals may have taken care of "the problem" .

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  14. #14
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    Quote Originally Posted by Jerry Peck View Post
    From that link:


    My thoughts as I was reading it.

    There would not have been a law suit, and by the time anyone checked on the unoccupied house the body would either have deteriorated or animals may have taken care of "the problem" .
    In some areas it is illegal to have a booby trap.
    Back in the 70s a local business was fined for cementing broken glass bottles to the top of a brick wall (fence). They had to remove all the glass.
    The use of barb wire is only allowed by permit, even then, it has several restrictions.
    The use of a booby trap using a firearm would get you a front row seat in court.

    ' correct a wise man and you gain a friend... correct a fool and he'll bloody your nose'.

  15. #15
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    Quote Originally Posted by Rick Cantrell View Post
    In some areas it is illegal to have a booby trap.
    Back in the 70s a local business was fined for cementing broken glass bottles to the top of a brick wall (fence). They had to remove all the glass.
    The use of barb wire is only allowed by permit, even then, it has several restrictions.
    The use of a booby trap using a firearm would get you a front row seat in court.
    In Miami, maybe 15-20 years ago, a food market owner was having a problem with people breaking into the store when it was closed, so the owner electrified the metal screens on the windows, doors, and roof hatch.

    So poor dumb soul, bless his heart , tried breaking in through the roof hatch ... the owner found him, dead, the next day as the person was electrocuted on the metal screen.

    After discussions and various meetings, the state attorney's office declined to file charges against the owner as the owner was protecting his property and (this is the key part) any person taking part in an illegal activity is responsible for the outcome of that activity, including injuries or the deaths of others, i.e., the poor dumb soul did it to himself.

    This was no different than if someone robbed a store and fled in a car driven by a getaway driver, and while fleeing the driver (who was not involved in the actual burglary) caused the death of another. BOTH the person who burglarized the store AND the getaway driver are held responsible for ALL injuries, and deaths, which happen as a result of the crime - in this case the death of the innocent person.

    I'm so sorry, sir, but you broke into my house and committed a crime, and, I am so sorry, sir, that you died as a result of it, but .... you caused your own death by committing the crime.

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  16. #16
    Garry Blankenship's Avatar
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    Default Re: I'm much too young to identify this thing...

    A Zippo lighter w/ radio capability ?


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