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'Star Trek' door chime sounds like the future

Your doors may not magically slide open like on "Star Trek," but they can at least sound like it with ThinkGeek's motion-activated electronic door chime.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
Star Trek Electronic Door Chime
All hands to battle stations! ThinkGeek

A good portion of my adolescence was devoted to re-creating "Star Trek" props from household items. I still have my Lego flip communicator.

Now I can save myself a lot of time, effort, and Legos by dropping $30 on ThinkGeek's Star Trek Electronic Door Chime.

A DIY "Star Trek" door can be done. This guy made one. If you don't have the patience for that kind of elaborate project, you can settle for the ThinkGeek door chime's swooshing sound effects instead.

A motion sensor sets off the swoosh when a crew member crosses the threshold.

If the soothing door sound isn't enough to get your attention, you can set it to red alert. You will have to provide your own battle station.

The chime looks like one of the wall communicators from the original series and runs on six AA batteries.

The only safety precaution I would recommend is to not wear a red shirt when in the vicinity of the chime.