DoorBell

marzouk_amr

New Member
Hi Everyone,
 
I have an Omnipro II installed at my house, I would like to integrate the Doorbell to triger activties on my HA.
Can you tell me what is needed for this?
Can I connect the Doorbell directly to to the OmniPro II, the doorbell is connected to the 220V right away with a swtich (Normal!)
Can I take wires from the swtich to a zone on the Omni......
 
What country are you in?  I 'think' you mean you have a step down transformer that the doorbell is connected to?  I really don't think it's connected 'directly' to 220 volts. ;)
 
I agree with BSR - that's pretty unlikely... that said, you can test with a voltmeter - if it's a normal switch with no light, you may be able to hook it directly to a zone - hook up a voltmeter to it and see if it goes from open infinite to short when you press the button.
 
If it has a light in it, there's a whole lot of discussion over the years here that you'll find from a search about how to deal with it, which lighted buttons may work anyway, etc - but it likely won't be as straightforward.
 
I am in Egypt Currently, and I guess the Doorbell itself has a step down inside it. I will test with the voltmeter and update, but now if it dose work, how can I connect to the Omnipro ? should I wire the output of the button to the omni as a zone? the button doesn't have a light in it, so do I need a resistor? Also, if the the output from the button will give me the 220v is it ok to connect it directly to the omni? or should I connect after the output from the stepdown inside the doorbell? What is the max input that the Omni zones can take?
 
The zone inputs are not designed to have an AC voltage applied to them.  As Work2Play said, you may be able to directly connect just the doorbell button to the zone, or, if you prefer, use a relay to drive the zone input.
 
One problem I can predict right away is that the zone inputs are not designed to operate quickly like a doorbell button.  If someone presses the button quickly, the HAI may not respond to it.  They will have to hold the button for at least 750 ms, if my memory is correct.
 
You could fix this problem too with a pulse stretcher, but one thing at a time...
 
Elk makes a doorbell detector that 'should' work (I'm not familiar with the HAI though).
 
Do you currently have a doorbell?  If so, and if you want to keep it, I would consider using a standard normally open door/window magnetic sensor, and place the sensor itself next to the coil that is used for the relay to trigger the 'dingers'.  The magnetic flux generated from it should 'close' the sensor momentarily.  HERE is the post on the HomeSeer boards where I got the idea showing how to place the sensor next to the coil.
 
Probably a good idea to use the Elk-960 to 'lengthen' the pulse to ensure the HAI unit picks it up.  (So you would use the sensor to trigger the Elk-960, whose relay contacts would go to an HAI input).  Problem with this method is the extra expense of the Elk-960 plus having to power it with 12 volts (but this shouldn't be an issue as you can mount this with the HAI unit in your wiring closet).
 
I currently use this method, but use a DS10a wireless X-10 sensor (just placed the sensor next to the coil, put batteries in the DS10a, and everything worked great).
 
In my home its a 120VAC conversion to 16VAC then to the "doorbell" apparatus with 2 wires going to the doorbell switch. 
 
I have redone mine and integrated it into the HAI panel.  It is utilized today for CCTV events.  I have also removed the not lighted door bell button and replaced it with a small LED circular button (with voltage conversion inside of the very small button).
 
I did utilize the two Elk boards mentioned above.  One Elk "Doorbell" circuit board (Elk-930) and another "delay" (debounce) Elk (Elk-960) board which has connectivity to the HAI OPII panel. 
 

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Thanks for sharing this Pete, I like your approach.  I have a few questions:
 
1.  where did you get that LED button?  I haven't seen something like that before.  What are the dimensions?
 
2.  I presume you have the ELK 960 hooked up to an HAI zone.  is it NO or NC?  does it make a difference?
 
3.  are you sending the 12VDC from the HAI or from a separate power supply?  is there a reason to not power from the HAI?
 
4.  what's the reason for the diode on between the DC power supply and the ELK 960?
 
Sorry missed you want it to trigger multiple events.

If the button has power on it all the time, and the button interrupts power (NC contacts) you can add a small relay with 2 NO contacts in your door bell chime housing, and run a set back to the HAI panel.

If the button is NO and allows power through on depression, do the same but instead get NC contacts on your relay.

Relay coil should be same voltage as the output of the button (if it has a small transformer built in).

You could also replace button and run it directly back to HAI, then trigger an output to drive a relay in the chime housing to switch as needed to simulate the button there. All depends on what you have for voltage where. If you need a drawing, let me know. I'm out in the field and can draw something up.

The diode appears to be there to prevent any volt spikes coming off the negative of the 930, and feeding back into the 960. When you open a set of contacts, the induction causes a large volt spike as the collapsing magnetic field around the wire induces a voltage onto itself. A lot of relays have diodes built into them to dissipate this spike.
 
1.  where did you get that LED button?  I haven't seen something like that before.  What are the dimensions?
 
There was a thread here about doing a DIY LED doorbell button with the Elk panel here:
 
http://cocoontech.com/forums/topic/20452-led-doorbell-push-button-for-the-m1-gold/?hl=%20led%20%20doorbell
 
That said I just purchased it already assembled from the following company.
 
http://www.expressions-ltd.com/Push_Button_Stainless_Steel_p/stainless-pushbutton.htm
 
2.  I presume you have the ELK 960 hooked up to an HAI zone.  is it NO or NC?  does it make a difference?
 
Yes.  Thinking its NC. 
 
3.  are you sending the 12VDC from the HAI or from a separate power supply?  is there a reason to not power from the HAI?
 
Yes its getting its power from the panel. 
 
4.  what's the reason for the diode on between the DC power supply and the ELK 960?
Reverse polarity protection.  Wondering now why its not built in to the circuit board? 
 
Just looked at my setup and I did put a diode in place as depicted in the drawing.
 
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