Doorbell into M1

tmbrown97

Senior Member
I think my title says it all... I want to lose the actual doorbell on the wall and use the M1 instead - I'm even rigging up the Elk124 so I can do my own custom sounds, etc...

Originally, I was going to lose the light on the doorbell and just hook the button to a zone, but when I put the new button up today, I kinda liked how it looked lighted... so I decided to use the 930 doorbell detector - but it looks like the way it detects the load is when the actual doorbell is activated and draws the current - meaning if I disconnect the bell itself, it should stop working.

So - this is beyond my expertise, but is there something I could put in place of the doorbell - like a resistor across the wires, or something like that to create the same net-effect and trigger the 930? it says it needs 900ma minimum to trigger.

Any help is appreciated!
-Todd
 
You could try a 24vac relay to trip the Elk input.. Usually doorbells are 16vac. There may be enough voltage to fire a 24vac relay. You'd have to try it though.

You could also use a different transformer to supply the correct voltage to wire the relay to trip an Elk input.
 
If you already have the Elk doorbell detector and doorbell, I would just take the plate "keys" off the doorbell unit so the striker would not hit anything, or maybe replace it with a piece of rubber in case the striker needs to hit something so it doesn't eject itself.

This would be easier than trying to match up a resistor (worried about the wattage) to replace the coil of the solenoid that activates the striker (you could just measure it I guess).

I believe the Elk doorbell detector detects the current change when the doorbell is depressed.
 
If you already have the Elk doorbell detector and doorbell, I would just take the plate "keys" off the doorbell unit so the striker would not hit anything, or maybe replace it with a piece of rubber in case the striker needs to hit something so it doesn't eject itself.

This would be easier than trying to match up a resistor (worried about the wattage) to replace the coil of the solenoid that activates the striker (you could just measure it I guess).

I believe the Elk doorbell detector detects the current change when the doorbell is depressed.

If you ran 4 conductors to the door bell you could use two for the contact and two to light an LED on the door bell... it is on my list...
 
Seems to me the best idea is the relay... accomplishes exactly what I want without even needing the 930.

I don't want to leave the doorbell up even silenced because we want it off the wall - and lost its cover anyway... and I don't have 4 wires to the button...

Unfortunately, it seems that 16VAC relays are hard to come by... I found one listed on yahoo but it's about $45 and discontinued. Sounds like I'll be buying a 12VAC and a 24VAC one and see how they survive the load.

Hopefully I can pull this together tomorrow - I'm using halloween as my motivator to get my Elk124 hookup finished and hooked into the doorbell for the spooky sounds...
 
I think if you use a relay you might not have enough "contact closure" time and will get intermittent misses. Can't you mount the doorbell in the same location as the transformer (mine is in the garage)?
 
I think I can if I need to. My transformer is actually in the entryway closet - The doorbell is actually right on the other side of the wall in the hall. As it is, I'll have to move the wiring inside the closet (I thought the button ran to the transformer, but it seems I was wrong - it seems to go to the doorbell).

Maybe that's not such a bad idea afterall - it certainly means I could pull this off tomorrow night if I want without requiring a trip to Fry's.

I don't know how sensitive the M1 is to a momentary press, honestly... I know the Elk124 will trigger at the slightest trigger. It sounded like I'd have to turn on that fast-loop flag in the M1 to make it more sensitive, but I haven't had opportunity to see the difference it makes. My plan is to run the 124 off the elk's built-in 8 (of the 10) flying voltage leads and run the doorbell through a zone - but I guess I could always trigger the 124 directly if I really needed to - since I know it'd pick up.

BTW - my current doorbell sucks - I'd be just as concerned with its intermittent misses too... it's 25yrs old and barely dings.
 
Well, BSR... using Halloween as my excuse, I knocked this out tonight. I followed your suggestion of just disabling the existing doorbell by ditching the strike-plates. I still need to relocate it or move to a relay, but this was easier for now. I didn't do much experimenting - I went straight to setting Fast Loop and put it on Chime to test... Flawless from the start. I don't like hearing the dead doorbell make noise, but at least it doesn't ding...

Once that was good, I threw the Elk124 in, and it too went pretty smooth - other than it wouldn't work when it had its own power supply (probably needed to join the grounds or something) - but once I hooked its power off the M1 (all off the harness for outs 7-18) it worked perfect (decrease in volume, but no biggie)... and I hooked up the outs backwards as far as output order, but that only matters for my OCD.

I threw my little writeup under the rules because it was kinda fun - my wife challenged me to have it alternate between two different sounds when you opened the front door, and, of course, play the new doorbell... Once Halloween is over, I'll be able to make my other chimes/tunes as well - and play with different ones for the seasons. And, it all still respects my "Quiet Mode" so it doesn't make a lot of noise while the wife is sleeping.

Thx for the suggestions - I don't think I would've thought of dismantling the doorbell, hence it wouldn't have worked tonight.
 
Try to remove the metal tone keys. Even if the plungers will not work (fly off because they have no stop) its no big deal as you are just using the coil as a "load" anyways.

Glad you got it working! ;)

ah, re-read your post and you said you removed the strike plate. What is making the "thud" noise? The plungers as they activate?
 
yeah - it's just the plungers moving - I still hear them. I may see if I can rip them out too so it's literally just energizing the coil - but that's as far as I got last night. If I do relocate the dead-doorbell into the closet, I probably won't hear it in there either.
 
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