Here is a different sort of Instructables. I promise that anyone trying any of these suggestions or making up their own will have a lot of fun.
I have enjoyed setting up many to surprise my wife, son and grandson.
There follows a few situation suggestions that may spark ideas in your mind.
To implement these simple but effective ideas you only need an easily available and cheap little sound module. These are available on Amazon or via places such as Wish, Banggood or AliExpress.
They cost as little as a pound or a couple of Dollars. Just search for "Recording sound module" or "Recordable Sound Chip Module". They even include batteries or can offer ones with rechargeable lipo cells for a little more.
I bought mine from Amazon for about £3 because I wanted it delivered the next day.
There are at least three variations that are available.
The difference is how the sound is activated once it has been recorded.
It can use a push switch, a sliding contact or a photocell for activation.
I chose the light-activated type.
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The idea is that you record up to the maximum that your module will allow. Mine lasts about 30 seconds which is plenty of time to say a Sentence or three.
You then place the board where it can be activated by light. This is when the recorded text is played back.
When the device is activated the person that caused it to be illuminated will hear the message. Their reactions will range from Wonder to disbelief to Laughter. If you are really creative you can plan the message and time for maximum effect.
You can even have a long campaign where you keep hiding them around the home with a reoccurring theme such as "Help me .... I am lost...find me... "
The message can end before they find the board for it to then keep appearing all over the house.
This is a 'childish' but harmless bit of fun.
My first prank was to put a board under the fridge light.
When my wife opened the door she first frowned then laughed at my silly joke.
Over the course of three days, I changed the recording regularly.
It also said some nice things such as:
"Good morning....I hope you have a great day" and " Hey I love that you put up with your balmy husband".
I found a really good way to deal with the nuisance calls that we get.
We are on the official call blocking service that is supposed to be checked by companies before they make unsolicited calls. In theory, they can be fined a chunk of money for ignoring it but they do ignore the law.
I recorded a suitable warning and I can report that the number of repeated calls has actually diminished.
Try it yourself and see if it works for you or someone that you know that is a victim of nuisance calls.
I love this one - although I have not actually tried it.
The idea is that the pregnant mother-to-be secretly records a whispering baby voice with suitable messages. She then hides it under her top and invites her partner to listen to the baby. When his head is in position she uncovers the sensor and the recording is then played.
I am confident that the father-to-be will be highly amused.
Of course she could have it say something less cute such as: "Sorry BUT you are not my Dad"!
It would be relatively simple to record phrases into a Teddy or a toy baby or indeed any toy to add extra interest and fun for the young owner.
They could even be shown how to do it themselves to add value to their play.
The board can add an extra personalised greeting or message for any festival or holiday.
It has the ability to customise items and gifts that are not available in the shops.
As well as providing simple play fun it could easily store things such as the alphabet song or even times-tables and other learning-by-rote educational elements.
I tested having the board say "Alexa play ..." and it works every time the light goes on.
It usually gets through a lot of the song before it gets shut off.
I can imagine many funny and even useful ways that this method could be used.
This is one of the phrases that can be used over and over again.
With suitable placing, it can have your 'victim' searching high and low for the source.
I had some fun with my grandson showing him the magic box.
When he visited I told him about finding this special box in an antique shop.
I said that the seller told me that it can only be opened by a person of pure heart and I asked him if it would work for him.
His reaction when he could open it and then his reaction when he heard the words, was priceless.
He did try to make a wish but not before the message ended with "Too Late".
These modules really come into their own when they are used to send a personal message with a gift.
This is especially valuable if the recipient is far away.
We are planning to send personal messages to our grandchildren in Australia using a couple of these modules.
Do you know someone that eats too much?
Do you want to shame someone that claims to be on a diet?
Do you want to remind yourself not to eat too many snacks?
The right message in the fridge or snack tin could help people to stay on track.
This is another silly one that I treated my wife Val to.
She really appreciated me pointing out that several socks were unmatched.
She was so impressed that she has allowed me to take charge of sorting all my socks myself.
So you see there are personal benefits to be gained from the judicious use of these soundboards.
Can you imagine the fun a child could have with their own board that they could incorporate their own phrases into to as a part of their play or projects?
What phrase could be used in the example above?
Countdown 5-4-3-2-1 Blast off?
Ground control to Major Tom?
I am your personal robot ready to do as you command?
Imagine what you would have it say...
I really could go on sharing many more ideas with you.
I hope that you can see that there is a lot of fun and benefit to be had from buying a module and recording fun phrases on these inexpensive devices.
I also hope that you have enjoyed reading my suggestions and that you will give one a try yourself.
If you do then please be sure to leave an "I-made-this" message below.
