Any advice on how feasible this might be for a barely competent numpty like myself.

SWMBO likes our existing door bell. But I've removed it as it left nasty bell wire trailing everywhere, with no really simple neat solution to tidying it away. It is a mains powered bell with separate transformer unit.

For a wire free solution, I'd put in a cordless door bell, but the few that we have tried which have a proper traditional "ring" are not liked (by SWMBO!).

How simple might it be to butcher significant parts of an off-the-shelf cordless bell and use its receiver etc to trigger the old bell to ring without using the mains? The old bell rings fine from a 9V battery power source (which is what the cordless bell that I'd tried used), so presumably its just a matter of disabling the ringer in the cordless bell, and patching the wiring into the old bell.

Anyone done this (or can recommend a make of cordless bell which would make this simple?)

Thanks!

Matt

On 09/03/2012 11:13, larkim wrote:
Any advice on how feasible this might be for a barely competent numpty like myself.

SWMBO likes our existing door bell. But I've removed it as it left nasty bell wire trailing everywhere, with no really simple neat solution to tidying it away. It is a mains powered bell with separate transformer unit.

For a wire free solution, I'd put in a cordless door bell, but the few that we have tried which have a proper traditional "ring" are not liked (by SWMBO!).

How simple might it be to butcher significant parts of an off-the-shelf cordless bell and use its receiver etc to trigger the old bell to ring without using the mains? The old bell rings fine from a 9V battery power source (which is what the cordless bell that I'd tried used), so presumably its just a matter of disabling the ringer in the cordless bell, and patching the wiring into the old bell.

Anyone done this (or can recommend a make of cordless bell which would make this simple?)

Thanks!

Matt

To answer a different question, I have just put in one of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1206881327... 4.m1439.l2649

and it's very good: has quite a decent range and my house has some very
thick stone walls. It does have a "telephone ring" which, obviously, is
electronic, but not too bad.

The second unit and simple plug-in sounders make for flexibility.

I don't think butchering would be too difficult if you are handy with
electronics; some of them have a speaker on wires, so you don't have the
issue of trying to tap into a piezo sounder soldered to the board,
perhaps with an impedance matching issue.

On Mar 9, 11:13*am, larkim wrote:
Any advice on how feasible this might be for a barely competent numpty like myself.

SWMBO likes our existing door bell. *But I've removed it as it left nasty bell wire trailing everywhere, with no really simple neat solution to tidying it away. *It is a mains powered bell with separate transformer unit..

For a wire free solution, I'd put in a cordless door bell, but the few that we have tried which have a proper traditional "ring" are not liked (by SWMBO!).

How simple might it be to butcher significant parts of an off-the-shelf cordless bell and use its receiver etc to trigger the old bell to ring without using the mains? *The old bell rings fine from a 9V battery power source (which is what the cordless bell that I'd tried used), so presumably its just a matter of disabling the ringer in the cordless bell, and patching the wiring into the old bell.

Anyone done this (or can recommend a make of cordless bell which would make this simple?)

Thanks!

Matt

I would like to know quite what the good woman doesn't like about the
ring ? Is it because it is an electronic sound, is it because it
rings too long (mine rings but clearly the electronics are from a
chime as it rings for several seconds), or without being
disrespectful, is this just the cussedness of women who are not good
at change ?

Yes, you would be able to hack it, but I do wonder if perhaps you
should encourage 'SWMBO' to hack change.

Rob

On Friday, 9 March 2012 23:19:55 UTC, robgraham wrote:
On Mar 9, 11:13*am, larkim wrote:
Any advice on how feasible this might be for a barely competent numpty like myself.

SWMBO likes our existing door bell. *But I've removed it as it left nasty bell wire trailing everywhere, with no really simple neat solution to tidying it away. *It is a mains powered bell with separate transformer unit.

For a wire free solution, I'd put in a cordless door bell, but the few that we have tried which have a proper traditional "ring" are not liked (by SWMBO!).

How simple might it be to butcher significant parts of an off-the-shelf cordless bell and use its receiver etc to trigger the old bell to ring without using the mains? *The old bell rings fine from a 9V battery power source (which is what the cordless bell that I'd tried used), so presumably its just a matter of disabling the ringer in the cordless bell, and patching the wiring into the old bell.

Anyone done this (or can recommend a make of cordless bell which would make this simple?)

Thanks!

Matt

I would like to know quite what the good woman doesn't like about the
ring ? Is it because it is an electronic sound, is it because it
rings too long (mine rings but clearly the electronics are from a
chime as it rings for several seconds), or without being
disrespectful, is this just the cussedness of women who are not good
at change ?

Yes, you would be able to hack it, but I do wonder if perhaps you
should encourage 'SWMBO' to hack change.

Rob

I'm sorely tempted to agree :-)

However, what she doesn't like is the "timbre" of the alternatives. We're not talking about an electronic version of a ring (in the cordless ones I've tried), its actual normal bells. But they do sound a little less "brilliant" than the one that we've got.

She would like it to be able to ring for as long as the button is pushed (there is a sexual analogy there somewhere...), but clearly that's not going to happen with a cordless one.

But essentially its the timbre & volume of the one we've already got that she likes.

Matt

On Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:00:48 -0000, larkim
wrote:

On Friday, 9 March 2012 23:19:55 UTC, robgraham wrote:
On Mar 9, 11:13 am, larkim wrote:
Any advice on how feasible this might be for a barely competent
numpty like myself.

SWMBO likes our existing door bell. But I've removed it as it left
nasty bell wire trailing everywhere, with no really simple neat
solution to tidying it away. It is a mains powered bell with separate
transformer unit.

For a wire free solution, I'd put in a cordless door bell, but the
few that we have tried which have a proper traditional "ring" are not
liked (by SWMBO!).

How simple might it be to butcher significant parts of an
off-the-shelf cordless bell and use its receiver etc to trigger the old
bell to ring without using the mains? The old bell rings fine from a
9V battery power source (which is what the cordless bell that I'd tried
used), so presumably its just a matter of disabling the ringer in the
cordless bell, and patching the wiring into the old bell.

Anyone done this (or can recommend a make of cordless bell which
would make this simple?)

Thanks!

Matt

I would like to know quite what the good woman doesn't like about the
ring ? Is it because it is an electronic sound, is it because it
rings too long (mine rings but clearly the electronics are from a
chime as it rings for several seconds), or without being
disrespectful, is this just the cussedness of women who are not good
at change ?

Yes, you would be able to hack it, but I do wonder if perhaps you
should encourage 'SWMBO' to hack change.

Rob

I'm sorely tempted to agree :-)

However, what she doesn't like is the "timbre" of the alternatives.
We're not talking about an electronic version of a ring (in the cordless
ones I've tried), its actual normal bells. But they do sound a little
less "brilliant" than the one that we've got.

She would like it to be able to ring for as long as the button is pushed
(there is a sexual analogy there somewhere...), but clearly that's not
going to happen with a cordless one.

But essentially its the timbre & volume of the one we've already got
that she likes.

Matt

I see no problem with using the electronic switch of a cordless bell
receiver to turn on a non cordless bell.
Here we have a cordless bell with the sounder disconnected and replaced by
the original bell's sounder. It is however powered by a transformer I
bought.
A cordless receiver is always using some power because the receiver is
always on waiting for a signal. Batteries go flat and callers are missed.
Our cordless receiver says Byron on it. No idea what make the ageing but
loud dingdong is.

On Mar 9, 11:13*am, larkim wrote:
Any advice on how feasible this might be for a barely competent numpty like myself.

SWMBO likes our existing door bell. *But I've removed it as it left nasty bell wire trailing everywhere, with no really simple neat solution to tidying it away. *It is a mains powered bell with separate transformer unit..

For a wire free solution, I'd put in a cordless door bell, but the few that we have tried which have a proper traditional "ring" are not liked (by SWMBO!).

How simple might it be to butcher significant parts of an off-the-shelf cordless bell and use its receiver etc to trigger the old bell to ring without using the mains? *The old bell rings fine from a 9V battery power source (which is what the cordless bell that I'd tried used), so presumably its just a matter of disabling the ringer in the cordless bell, and patching the wiring into the old bell.

Anyone done this (or can recommend a make of cordless bell which would make this simple?)

Thanks!

Matt

If the old bell is mechanical, the cordless thing would likely fry due
to excess bell current and kickback voltage. Use a relay and a
protection diode across its coil.

If the old ones electronic, the sound dignal is generated not by the
transducer but by the driving circuit. To work the old one, you'd need
to filter the output of the new one to get dc, and use that to trigger
the old one.


NT

On Tuesday, 13 March 2012 21:11:24 UTC, NT wrote:
On Mar 9, 11:13*am, larkim wrote:
Any advice on how feasible this might be for a barely competent numpty like myself.

SWMBO likes our existing door bell. *But I've removed it as it left nasty bell wire trailing everywhere, with no really simple neat solution to tidying it away. *It is a mains powered bell with separate transformer unit.

For a wire free solution, I'd put in a cordless door bell, but the few that we have tried which have a proper traditional "ring" are not liked (by SWMBO!).

How simple might it be to butcher significant parts of an off-the-shelf cordless bell and use its receiver etc to trigger the old bell to ring without using the mains? *The old bell rings fine from a 9V battery power source (which is what the cordless bell that I'd tried used), so presumably its just a matter of disabling the ringer in the cordless bell, and patching the wiring into the old bell.

Anyone done this (or can recommend a make of cordless bell which would make this simple?)

Thanks!

Matt

If the old bell is mechanical, the cordless thing would likely fry due
to excess bell current and kickback voltage. Use a relay and a
protection diode across its coil.

If the old ones electronic, the sound dignal is generated not by the
transducer but by the driving circuit. To work the old one, you'd need
to filter the output of the new one to get dc, and use that to trigger
the old one.


NT

That sounds complicated! It's a mechanical bell (my tests so far have been as straightforward as putting a 9V battery across the terminals of the bell, and that makes it ring.

Wouldn't the mechanical bell in the cordless one (which I'll be butchering) have similar issues with protection? So if I took my feeds from the right point, I'd solve that issue?

I've bought one for a tenner on ebay, so we'll see how it goes.

Matt

On Mar 14, 11:54*am, larkim wrote:
On Tuesday, 13 March 2012 21:11:24 UTC, NT *wrote:
On Mar 9, 11:13*am, larkim wrote:
Any advice on how feasible this might be for a barely competent numpty like myself.

SWMBO likes our existing door bell. *But I've removed it as it left nasty bell wire trailing everywhere, with no really simple neat solution to tidying it away. *It is a mains powered bell with separate transformer unit.

For a wire free solution, I'd put in a cordless door bell, but the few that we have tried which have a proper traditional "ring" are not liked (by SWMBO!).

How simple might it be to butcher significant parts of an off-the-shelf cordless bell and use its receiver etc to trigger the old bell to ring without using the mains? *The old bell rings fine from a 9V battery power source (which is what the cordless bell that I'd tried used), so presumably its just a matter of disabling the ringer in the cordless bell, and patching the wiring into the old bell.

Anyone done this (or can recommend a make of cordless bell which would make this simple?)

Thanks!

Matt

If the old bell is mechanical, the cordless thing would likely fry due
to excess bell current and kickback voltage. Use a relay and a
protection diode across its coil.

If the old ones electronic, the sound dignal is generated not by the
transducer but by the driving circuit. To work the old one, you'd need
to filter the output of the new one to get dc, and use that to trigger
the old one.

NT

That sounds complicated! *It's a mechanical bell (my tests so far have been as straightforward as putting a 9V battery across the terminals of the bell, and that makes it ring.

Wouldn't the mechanical bell in the cordless one (which I'll be butchering) have similar issues with protection? *So if I took my feeds from the right point, I'd solve that issue?

I've bought one for a tenner on ebay, so we'll see how it goes.

Matt

Normally cordless ones use electronic sounders.

If it does contain a mechanical sounder, the only issue is current
rating, your old bell may be significantly higher, and transistors
arent tolerant of overcurrent. If the older one is indeed mechanical,
you can use a relay with no doide protection to switch power to the
new sounder.


NT

On Wednesday, 14 March 2012 13:02:10 UTC, NT wrote:
On Mar 14, 11:54*am, larkim wrote:
On Tuesday, 13 March 2012 21:11:24 UTC, NT *wrote:
On Mar 9, 11:13*am, larkim wrote:
Any advice on how feasible this might be for a barely competent numpty like myself.

SWMBO likes our existing door bell. *But I've removed it as it left nasty bell wire trailing everywhere, with no really simple neat solution to tidying it away. *It is a mains powered bell with separate transformer unit.

For a wire free solution, I'd put in a cordless door bell, but the few that we have tried which have a proper traditional "ring" are not liked (by SWMBO!).

How simple might it be to butcher significant parts of an off-the-shelf cordless bell and use its receiver etc to trigger the old bell to ring without using the mains? *The old bell rings fine from a 9V battery power source (which is what the cordless bell that I'd tried used), so presumably its just a matter of disabling the ringer in the cordless bell, and patching the wiring into the old bell.

Anyone done this (or can recommend a make of cordless bell which would make this simple?)

Thanks!

Matt

If the old bell is mechanical, the cordless thing would likely fry due
to excess bell current and kickback voltage. Use a relay and a
protection diode across its coil.

If the old ones electronic, the sound dignal is generated not by the
transducer but by the driving circuit. To work the old one, you'd need
to filter the output of the new one to get dc, and use that to trigger
the old one.

NT

That sounds complicated! *It's a mechanical bell (my tests so far have been as straightforward as putting a 9V battery across the terminals of the bell, and that makes it ring.

Wouldn't the mechanical bell in the cordless one (which I'll be butchering) have similar issues with protection? *So if I took my feeds from the right point, I'd solve that issue?

I've bought one for a tenner on ebay, so we'll see how it goes.

Matt

Normally cordless ones use electronic sounders.

If it does contain a mechanical sounder, the only issue is current
rating, your old bell may be significantly higher, and transistors
arent tolerant of overcurrent. If the older one is indeed mechanical,
you can use a relay with no doide protection to switch power to the
new sounder.


NT

Yes, I've deliberately sought out a mechanical sounder on a cordless bell (a Byron SX16 I think) on the basis that that is likely to make butchering a little easier.

What does a relay do, and what specification of relay would I be looking at in my setup? Very grateful for your help so far!

Matt

On Mar 14, 1:06*pm, larkim wrote:
On Wednesday, 14 March 2012 13:02:10 UTC, NT *wrote:
On Mar 14, 11:54*am, larkim wrote:
On Tuesday, 13 March 2012 21:11:24 UTC, NT *wrote:
On Mar 9, 11:13*am, larkim wrote:
Any advice on how feasible this might be for a barely competent numpty like myself.

SWMBO likes our existing door bell. *But I've removed it as it left nasty bell wire trailing everywhere, with no really simple neat solution to tidying it away. *It is a mains powered bell with separate transformer unit.

For a wire free solution, I'd put in a cordless door bell, but the few that we have tried which have a proper traditional "ring" are not liked (by SWMBO!).

How simple might it be to butcher significant parts of an off-the-shelf cordless bell and use its receiver etc to trigger the old bell to ring without using the mains? *The old bell rings fine from a 9V battery power source (which is what the cordless bell that I'd tried used), so presumably its just a matter of disabling the ringer in the cordless bell, and patching the wiring into the old bell.

Anyone done this (or can recommend a make of cordless bell which would make this simple?)

Thanks!

Matt

If the old bell is mechanical, the cordless thing would likely fry due
to excess bell current and kickback voltage. Use a relay and a
protection diode across its coil.

If the old ones electronic, the sound dignal is generated not by the
transducer but by the driving circuit. To work the old one, you'd need
to filter the output of the new one to get dc, and use that to trigger
the old one.

NT

That sounds complicated! *It's a mechanical bell (my tests so far have been as straightforward as putting a 9V battery across the terminals of the bell, and that makes it ring.

Wouldn't the mechanical bell in the cordless one (which I'll be butchering) have similar issues with protection? *So if I took my feeds from the right point, I'd solve that issue?

I've bought one for a tenner on ebay, so we'll see how it goes.

Matt

Normally cordless ones use electronic sounders.

If it does contain a mechanical sounder, the only issue is current
rating, your old bell may be significantly higher, and transistors
arent tolerant of overcurrent. If the older one is indeed mechanical,
you can use a relay with no doide protection to switch power to the
new sounder.

NT

Yes, I've deliberately sought out a mechanical sounder on a cordless bell (a Byron SX16 I think) on the basis that that is likely to make butchering a little easier.

What does a relay do, and what specification of relay would I be looking at in my setup? *Very grateful for your help so far!

Matt

Almost the only spec that matters is that the relay coil is about the
same voltage rating as the new thing runs on. The relay coil connects
where the old sounder did, and the relay contacts act as a switch for
the old sounder.

You could also take a gamble and just connect the old sounder to the
new system, but it might or might not survive.

NT