I work at home. This poses problems, most of which are related to noise levels. I do quite a bit of recording, which requires that it be even more quiet than usual, but when the kids are home from school (this week is spring break) it frequently gets incredibly loud just during the normal course of the day.

A while back I expressed an interest in an ON AIR sign, like they have in radio stations, but most of them were rather more than I wanted to pay for something that was basically a toy. Yes, it’s work related, but it’s just as effective to yell out the door.

But my wife bought me one of the signs, and it just arrived today. It’s awesome.

I got the SLP 125 from OnAirSigns.com. There was a small mixup in shipping, so they eventually actually sent me a nicer one that I originally ordered.

And I’ve plugged it into an X10 outlet, so that I can turn it on and off with a remote control from my desk, which is especially nice when a call comes in unexpectedly, or when I just need to tell them to turn down the volume.

At the moment, it’s sitting on the mantle above the fireplace, but eventually we’re going to try to mount it somewhere a little less in the way. It’s pretty heavy, so we need to do more than just stick a nail in the wall.

On a related note, the customer support folks at OnAirSigns are awesome. It was one of those rare experiences where customer support was proactive, alerting me of a potential problem, and offering to upgrade my purchase to make up for my (very minor) inconvenience. I’m very impressed, and recommend them highly if you need any kind of lighted sign, whether with a standard message, or customized lettering.