Pulling chime off doorbell circuit
- Thread starter IVB
- Start date
acheslow
Active Member
Cool, thanks, that was exactly what I was thinking but wasn't sure if it would really work that way.
Now you got me thinking though... I wonder if I could have the M1 call my cellphone if the system is armed away, and use a 2-way listen-in interface with a speaker/mic at the front door to remotely talk to whoever rang the doorbell?
Now you got me thinking though... I wonder if I could have the M1 call my cellphone if the system is armed away, and use a 2-way listen-in interface with a speaker/mic at the front door to remotely talk to whoever rang the doorbell?
upstatemike
Senior Member
Watch out for switch bounce. Doorbell contacts can be kind of jittery at low currents. I would operate a relay from the doorbell button and connect the contacts to the M1.
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
Actually, I would use something like an Elk-960 timer delay relay so you eliminate the multiple bounces AND you can have its relay contacts close for say a second or so to make sure the Elk registers a "quick" button pusher. This would also let you determine the interval of when you wanted to let the doorbell ring again (timeout before letting the button activate).
Of course you can do the timeout with programming via the Elk and make the loop a fast detect, ... and their are a lot simpler and cheaper methods of doing what this cicruit can do (i.e. use other components instead of this Elk 960)...But, after playing around with one and seeing how versatile and well-built they were, I really like these units.
Toymaster,
your images don't show up here anymore--I get some kind of domain login popup (it may be that my work computer is doing something funny though). Can you repost your schematics?
I was wondering if there was a way to do this without the elk doorbell detector. It would seem simple enough to tie a relay into the circuit which would close some NO contacts which were wired to an elk input. My doorbell transformer is in my wiring closet which should keep things simple.
Skip
your images don't show up here anymore--I get some kind of domain login popup (it may be that my work computer is doing something funny though). Can you repost your schematics?
I was wondering if there was a way to do this without the elk doorbell detector. It would seem simple enough to tie a relay into the circuit which would close some NO contacts which were wired to an elk input. My doorbell transformer is in my wiring closet which should keep things simple.
Skip
I clipped the illumination light out of my doorbell (the porch is lit via the automation system anyway) and just wired the switch contacts to the ELK. My doorbell "chime" is MainLobby playing an audio file via the whole house audio system zone. Because the PC is in the mix, the logic to do A vs. B (loud vs soft or other differences) is an easy conditional statement. I alternate from the Jetson.wav to a MLSpeak plugin Text to Speech "Someone is at the Front Door" (vs. Back Door) announcements.
I don't have a more traditional hardware based chime in the house.
I don't have a more traditional hardware based chime in the house.
IVB
Senior Member
Given that you have no "traditional" chime, does that mean you're not worried about the lack of a doorbell if that PC crashes?
Not that there's anything wrong with that, heck my PC is also stable and I'm also not worried about it crashing as I can restore it within 24 hours to another PC, but my wife has mandated that.
Although damnit these forums are straight up evil. Why do I do that? I should tell her that the system runs every other damn thing, so I should do what you're doing and rig it to an Elk zone. That's a great, yet simple, idea. *Much* simpler than the whole NC/NO thing with the 2 chimes but one has the plunger removed.
"worried about PC crash"
No. Not worried. It is setup correctly with backup, redundancy, power backup, monitoring, correct hardware, etc.
I have found the cheap doorbell contact has been more unreliable
Not to mention that I don't find the doorbell to be "mission critical". There is always the bang on the door that gets our attention too (when we take too much leisure to walk to the door).
I also live in a rural, low security risk area with many more friends than foes
BTW, I think the ELK can be used directly as the door chime too with the correct addons. Voice, an audio clip or you could put your standard door chime on one relay output, and a softer one on another and let ELK rules choose which gets run.
No. Not worried. It is setup correctly with backup, redundancy, power backup, monitoring, correct hardware, etc.
I have found the cheap doorbell contact has been more unreliable
Not to mention that I don't find the doorbell to be "mission critical". There is always the bang on the door that gets our attention too (when we take too much leisure to walk to the door).
I also live in a rural, low security risk area with many more friends than foes
BTW, I think the ELK can be used directly as the door chime too with the correct addons. Voice, an audio clip or you could put your standard door chime on one relay output, and a softer one on another and let ELK rules choose which gets run.
So, can some doorbell-smart type person help me here? I also want to wire my doorbell directly to an Elk input. In my wiring closet I have this transformer-looking-thing mounted right in the drywall which I know is related to my current doorbell. There are two wires coming off the transformer that I have access to. Where do those wires go? I'm sure it's not as easy as disconnecting them and reconnecting them to my elk. Then I'll use powerhome to play my jetsons wave file.
Wow, I should have just looked here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doorbell
I think all I have to do is disconnect the wires from the transformer and connect them to an elk input. Then disconnect the two wires in my doorbell chime unit and connect them together. I will also have to pull the doorbell switch out and cut the light out. Am I missing anything?
Skip
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doorbell
I think all I have to do is disconnect the wires from the transformer and connect them to an elk input. Then disconnect the two wires in my doorbell chime unit and connect them together. I will also have to pull the doorbell switch out and cut the light out. Am I missing anything?
Skip
I am pretty sure that if you disconnect the wires to the transformer (there should be more than two) that you will find the pair that goes directly to the doorbell switch. Of course, I haven't had a traditional bell since 1994 so my memory gets foggy here...
You could put a volt meter on Ohms scale and have someone push the switch. When the Ohms changes, then you should have the pair for the switch. Keep in mind that that transformer is probably also connected to 110 volts (it probably down converts to 12 volt for the chime) so don't get curly hair in the process of playing with the wires!
Once you have the pair you think are the switch make SURE that it does NOT have 110 volts (or any other voltage). This confirmed pair of wires connects to the ELK just like any window contact switch would. If the switch is illuminated, then you probably would need to disconnect the LED in the switch so that it isn't completing the circuit and making the switched contact invisible to the ELK detection.
You could put a volt meter on Ohms scale and have someone push the switch. When the Ohms changes, then you should have the pair for the switch. Keep in mind that that transformer is probably also connected to 110 volts (it probably down converts to 12 volt for the chime) so don't get curly hair in the process of playing with the wires!
Once you have the pair you think are the switch make SURE that it does NOT have 110 volts (or any other voltage). This confirmed pair of wires connects to the ELK just like any window contact switch would. If the switch is illuminated, then you probably would need to disconnect the LED in the switch so that it isn't completing the circuit and making the switched contact invisible to the ELK detection.
