On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 14:11:37 +1000, FMurtz wrote:

Bob Eager wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:59:03 +0000, Jethro_uk wrote:

On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:03:01 +0000, Bob Eager wrote:

On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:43:34 +0100, Muddymike wrote:

[quoted text muted]

Same here. Knocks on the door are rarely heard becaise of the layour
of the house, but the doorbell sounds in any room (and optionally in
the garden).

Or, or course some aid/adaptation to assist a deaf person.

I've got some odd, quite tight range PIR lights knocking around. Maybe
a winter project is a PIR doorbell substitute.

I was wondering about a vibration sensor on the door.



That rings a bell?

Yes.



--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

Bob Eager wrote:

T i m wrote:

Many seem to ring the bell but also knock on the glass
[...] put another doorbell behind the door just for them. ;-)

I have the parts sitting on the shelf beside me. A small 'glass speaker'
that can play a selected audio file when the bell push is depressed. I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

I like the 2nd idea, but if it's like the couriers round here, they
knock the glass immediately after pressing the bell, even though they
must hear the bell which is in the hall.

In message , Bob Eager
writes
I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

Much more fun to have excerpts from random tracks :

Dave Edmonds, I hear you knocking
Anita Ward, Ring my bell
Little Richard, Keep a knocking
A loop of 'Go Away' from Go Away Little Girl

etc. :-)
--
Graeme

In article ,
Bob Eager wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 23:40:55 +0100, T i m wrote:

On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:43:34 +0100, Muddymike
wrote:

On 12/09/2017 14:31, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 11:27:23 +0100, Robin wrote:

On 11/09/2017 23:45, wrote:
[quoted text muted]
We found their number reduced greatly after small but clear "No Cold
Caller" signs above letterbox and bell-push

10% of our callers use the bell push. The rest just knock.

Why do they do that? I can't here a knock on the door from my desk but
one of the doorbell chimes is just outside the room I work in.

Many seem to ring the bell but also knock on the glass or flap the
letterbox a few times because although the doorbell is quite loud, it's
in the middle of the house and you can't always hear it outside the
front door (so no feedback for them to prove the doorbell works).

I might do the same thing as a ringing tone and put another doorbell
behind the door just for them. ;-)

I have the parts sitting on the shelf beside me. A small 'glass speaker'
that can play a selected audio file when the bell push is depressed. I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

I had a colleague who mounted a very large loudspeaker in the ceiling of
his stairwell. Activating the bell push started a tape cartridge player
with the full Westminster Chimes for midnight. (there was a cancel button
on his side of the door)

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

"charles" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Muddymike wrote:
On 12/09/2017 14:31, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 11:27:23 +0100, Robin wrote:

On 11/09/2017 23:45, wrote:
[quoted text muted]
We found their number reduced greatly after small but clear "No Cold
Caller" signs above letterbox and bell-push

10% of our callers use the bell push. The rest just knock.

Why do they do that? I can't here a knock on the door from my desk but
one of the doorbell chimes is just outside the room I work in.

I asked someone that exact question. "Bells rarely work" was the reply.

I have to visit clients in their homes, by appointment, as part of my job,
and I tend to ring a bell if there is one. If I can't hear a bell ringing,
or if don't get any reply (or sounds of people hunting for their keys,
yelling "Just a moment" or running downstairs) after a little while, I will
knock - loudly.

But I always try the bell as a first resort.

On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 09:01:54 +0100, charles wrote:

In article ,
Bob Eager wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 23:40:55 +0100, T i m wrote:

On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:43:34 +0100, Muddymike
wrote:

On 12/09/2017 14:31, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 11:27:23 +0100, Robin wrote:

On 11/09/2017 23:45, wrote:
[quoted text muted]
We found their number reduced greatly after small but clear "No
Cold Caller" signs above letterbox and bell-push

10% of our callers use the bell push. The rest just knock.

Why do they do that? I can't here a knock on the door from my desk
but one of the doorbell chimes is just outside the room I work in.

Many seem to ring the bell but also knock on the glass or flap the
letterbox a few times because although the doorbell is quite loud,
it's in the middle of the house and you can't always hear it outside
the front door (so no feedback for them to prove the doorbell works).

I might do the same thing as a ringing tone and put another doorbell
behind the door just for them. ;-)

I have the parts sitting on the shelf beside me. A small 'glass
speaker' that can play a selected audio file when the bell push is
depressed. I am torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been
activated, please wait" and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the
Moon.

I had a colleague who mounted a very large loudspeaker in the ceiling of
his stairwell. Activating the bell push started a tape cartridge player
with the full Westminster Chimes for midnight. (there was a cancel
button on his side of the door)

I have actually obtained that very thing (the chimes, that is) as another
option.



--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:43:34 +0100, Muddymike wrote:

On 12/09/2017 14:31, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 11:27:23 +0100, Robin wrote:

On 11/09/2017 23:45, wrote:
[quoted text muted]
We found their number reduced greatly after small but clear "No Cold
Caller" signs above letterbox and bell-push

10% of our callers use the bell push. The rest just knock.

Why do they do that? I can't here a knock on the door from my desk but
one of the doorbell chimes is just outside the room I work in.

Mike

As I have said upthread, when challenged, the only answer I have got is
"sometimes they don't work".

yep I got that as well

"so push the bloody thing to find out first you ******"

tim

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:35:36 +0100, Robin wrote:

On 12/09/2017 14:31, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 11:27:23 +0100, Robin wrote:

On 11/09/2017 23:45, wrote:
[quoted text muted]
We found their number reduced greatly after small but clear "No Cold
Caller" signs above letterbox and bell-push

10% of our callers use the bell push. The rest just knock.


perhaps we get a better class of callers who can read (and so see the
sign "above letterbox" before knocking)

I've stuck the doorbell *on* the glass where they knock (no door knocker
for us).

I don't have a door knocker either

doesn't stop them knocking

tim

"Andy Burns" wrote in message
...
Bob Eager wrote:

T i m wrote:

Many seem to ring the bell but also knock on the glass [...] put another
doorbell behind the door just for them. ;-)

I have the parts sitting on the shelf beside me. A small 'glass speaker'
that can play a selected audio file when the bell push is depressed. I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

I like the 2nd idea, but if it's like the couriers round here, they knock
the glass immediately after pressing the bell, even though they must hear
the bell which is in the hall.

Why does it matter if they do ?

"Graeme" wrote in message
...
In message , Bob Eager
writes
I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

Much more fun to have excerpts from random tracks :

Dave Edmonds, I hear you knocking
Anita Ward, Ring my bell
Little Richard, Keep a knocking
A loop of 'Go Away' from Go Away Little Girl

etc. :-)

Dunno, I'd prefer it use facial recognition so I know
who has pressed the button so I can choose to
ignore the worst of the god botherers if I choose to.

And recognise uniforms like the cops and those likely
to be showing up to tell you your place is on fire etc.

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 08:12:29 UTC+1, Graeme wrote:
In message , Bob Eager
writes
I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

Much more fun to have excerpts from random tracks :

Dave Edmonds, I hear you knocking
Anita Ward, Ring my bell
Little Richard, Keep a knocking
A loop of 'Go Away' from Go Away Little Girl

I'd have "Hey dude visitors" from southparks first episode anal probe.
You can buy kits that allow you to record your own messages.

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 09:52:26 UTC+1, tim... wrote:
"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:43:34 +0100, Muddymike wrote:

On 12/09/2017 14:31, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 11:27:23 +0100, Robin wrote:

On 11/09/2017 23:45, wrote:
[quoted text muted]
We found their number reduced greatly after small but clear "No Cold
Caller" signs above letterbox and bell-push

10% of our callers use the bell push. The rest just knock.

Why do they do that? I can't here a knock on the door from my desk but
one of the doorbell chimes is just outside the room I work in.

Mike

As I have said upthread, when challenged, the only answer I have got is
"sometimes they don't work".

yep I got that as well

"so push the bloody thing to find out first you ******"

tim

Problem is that still doesn't prove it's working, because you might not be able to hear an indoor bell from outside my downstaors neirbour when she reached 90 she started to go deaf, so the bell was moved from above the front door to the back of the house where she lived and that was also connected to a light that flashed. Before they did that I used to hear them ringing and knocking bit she didn;t so I went into the back garden with a torch and shone it through her window moving it up and down then she;d know someone was at the front door, which was usually the chemist trying to deliever her box of medication.
Thing is even if she did hear she wouldnlt open the door after dark unless she was expecting someone.

On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 02:58:18 -0700, whisky-dave wrote:

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 09:52:26 UTC+1, tim... wrote:
"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:43:34 +0100, Muddymike wrote:

On 12/09/2017 14:31, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 11:27:23 +0100, Robin wrote:

On 11/09/2017 23:45, wrote:
[quoted text muted]
We found their number reduced greatly after small but clear "No
Cold Caller" signs above letterbox and bell-push

10% of our callers use the bell push. The rest just knock.

Why do they do that? I can't here a knock on the door from my desk
but one of the doorbell chimes is just outside the room I work in.

Mike

As I have said upthread, when challenged, the only answer I have got
is "sometimes they don't work".

yep I got that as well

"so push the bloody thing to find out first you ******"

tim

Problem is that still doesn't prove it's working, because you might not
be able to hear an indoor bell from outside my downstaors neirbour when
she reached 90 she started to go deaf, so the bell was moved from above
the front door to the back of the house where she lived and that was
also connected to a light that flashed. Before they did that I used to
hear them ringing and knocking bit she didn;t so I went into the back
garden with a torch and shone it through her window moving it up and
down then she;d know someone was at the front door, which was usually
the chemist trying to deliever her box of medication.
Thing is even if she did hear she wouldnlt open the door after dark
unless she was expecting someone.

Which is why I'm installing a speaker, as I said above. They won't be
able to use that excuse.



--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 02:52:26 -0700, whisky-dave wrote:

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 08:12:29 UTC+1, Graeme wrote:
In message , Bob Eager
writes
I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please
wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

Much more fun to have excerpts from random tracks :

Dave Edmonds, I hear you knocking Anita Ward, Ring my bell Little
Richard, Keep a knocking A loop of 'Go Away' from Go Away Little Girl

I'd have "Hey dude visitors" from southparks first episode anal probe.
You can buy kits that allow you to record your own messages.

I can do that anyway. It's just an MP3 on the server. Pick up an internal
phone, dial 898 and record the message. Run a shell script to convert
formats and rename it.




--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 10:51:45 UTC+1, Rod Speed wrote:
"Graeme" wrote in message
...
In message , Bob Eager
writes
I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

Much more fun to have excerpts from random tracks :

Dave Edmonds, I hear you knocking
Anita Ward, Ring my bell
Little Richard, Keep a knocking
A loop of 'Go Away' from Go Away Little Girl

etc. :-)

Dunno, I'd prefer it use facial recognition so I know
who has pressed the button so I can choose to
ignore the worst of the god botherers if I choose to.

And recognise uniforms like the cops and those likely
to be showing up to tell you your place is on fire etc.

You'd need the fire brigade turn up in a uniform to tell yuo that yuo have a fire in your home ?
Face recignition would be fun though as you could have particular greeting or if unrecogniswd just say "**** off".

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 11:19:51 UTC+1, Bob Eager wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 02:58:18 -0700, whisky-dave wrote:

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 09:52:26 UTC+1, tim... wrote:
"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
news On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:43:34 +0100, Muddymike wrote:

On 12/09/2017 14:31, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 11:27:23 +0100, Robin wrote:

On 11/09/2017 23:45, wrote:
[quoted text muted]
We found their number reduced greatly after small but clear "No
Cold Caller" signs above letterbox and bell-push

10% of our callers use the bell push. The rest just knock.

Why do they do that? I can't here a knock on the door from my desk
but one of the doorbell chimes is just outside the room I work in.

Mike

As I have said upthread, when challenged, the only answer I have got
is "sometimes they don't work".

yep I got that as well

"so push the bloody thing to find out first you ******"

tim

Problem is that still doesn't prove it's working, because you might not
be able to hear an indoor bell from outside my downstaors neirbour when
she reached 90 she started to go deaf, so the bell was moved from above
the front door to the back of the house where she lived and that was
also connected to a light that flashed. Before they did that I used to
hear them ringing and knocking bit she didn;t so I went into the back
garden with a torch and shone it through her window moving it up and
down then she;d know someone was at the front door, which was usually
the chemist trying to deliever her box of medication.
Thing is even if she did hear she wouldnlt open the door after dark
unless she was expecting someone.

Which is why I'm installing a speaker, as I said above. They won't be
able to use that excuse.

What they use as an excuse doesn't matter of a large perportion of thosoe they visit eithe rhave non working bells or bell they can't hear I doubt a speaker would make much difference.
It's a bit like a person saying unless you give the specail knock I won't answer the door.

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 11:20:42 UTC+1, Bob Eager wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 02:52:26 -0700, whisky-dave wrote:

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 08:12:29 UTC+1, Graeme wrote:
In message , Bob Eager
writes
I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please
wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

Much more fun to have excerpts from random tracks :

Dave Edmonds, I hear you knocking Anita Ward, Ring my bell Little
Richard, Keep a knocking A loop of 'Go Away' from Go Away Little Girl

I'd have "Hey dude visitors" from southparks first episode anal probe.
You can buy kits that allow you to record your own messages.

I can do that anyway. It's just an MP3 on the server. Pick up an internal
phone, dial 898 and record the message. Run a shell script to convert
formats and rename it.

I wouldn't need to run a server to do that, I'd use a chip to store the audio data.

"whisky-dave" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 10:51:45 UTC+1, Rod Speed wrote:
"Graeme" wrote in message
...
In message , Bob Eager
writes
I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please
wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

Much more fun to have excerpts from random tracks :

Dave Edmonds, I hear you knocking
Anita Ward, Ring my bell
Little Richard, Keep a knocking
A loop of 'Go Away' from Go Away Little Girl

etc. :-)

Dunno, I'd prefer it use facial recognition so I know
who has pressed the button so I can choose to
ignore the worst of the god botherers if I choose to.

And recognise uniforms like the cops and those likely
to be showing up to tell you your place is on fire etc.

You'd need the fire brigade turn up in a uniform to tell yuo that yuo have
a fire in your home ?

Nope, but if it happens that an obscure part of the place
is on fire and I havent noticed, that could be handy.

Face recignition would be fun though as you could have
particular greeting or if unrecogniswd just say "**** off".

Or have the system be selective about who it tells me about
like when I am having a snooze and dont want to be told
about the joveys, but do about the cops etc if they show up.

On 13 Sep 2017 06:55:05 GMT, Bob Eager wrote:

snip

Many seem to ring the bell but also knock on the glass or flap the
letterbox a few times because although the doorbell is quite loud, it's
in the middle of the house and you can't always hear it outside the
front door (so no feedback for them to prove the doorbell works).

I might do the same thing as a ringing tone and put another doorbell
behind the door just for them. ;-)

I have the parts sitting on the shelf beside me. A small 'glass speaker'
that can play a selected audio file when the bell push is depressed. I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

;-)

From reading the other posts on this it would seem what many do is
fairly habitual. Their goal is to deliver your goods and move on ASAP
and so they do what is most likely to give them that (as illogical as
it may seem to us at the time).

I have also had the postperson knock / ring / flap to have me answer
the door to take a banded bundle of packages that would have gone
though the letterbox individually and in a way I'd rather they did
that (but not not deliver them) than possibly damage something that
had got to the other side of my door from China intact. ;-(

The other thing is how 'postperson friendly' your letterbox is. At
Mums they had a large inward sprung-flapped chrome letterbox fitted
that means you basically only have to push the package against the
letterbox for it to go in (even if it doesn't go completely *through*
[1]).

With ours you have to lift the other flap with one hand whilst pushing
the stuff though with the other which I should imagine doesn't make
their day *easier* as such?

Being as I can see out the front from where I typically sit, if I see
a courier or postperson with something that looks like it might not go
though the letterbox, I try to get to the door before they need to
knock / ring / flap, not only because then it won't wind me up (a bit
g) if they do that but because it saves them time or damage to my
stuff if they try to push stuff though.

We have also formally offered to take stuff off delivery people
(within reason, couldn't take a full height fridge freezer or sofa etc
g) for neighbours because 1) that helps the delivery folk and 2)
and that often knocks on re them being more flexible with packages for
us. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Bob Eager wrote:

On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:59:04 +0000, Jethro_uk wrote:

On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:35:36 +0100, Robin wrote:

On 12/09/2017 14:31, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 11:27:23 +0100, Robin wrote:

On 11/09/2017 23:45, wrote:
[quoted text muted]
We found their number reduced greatly after small but clear "No Cold
Caller" signs above letterbox and bell-push

10% of our callers use the bell push. The rest just knock.


perhaps we get a better class of callers who can read (and so see the
sign "above letterbox" before knocking)

I've stuck the doorbell *on* the glass where they knock (no door knocker
for us). The only response I ever get is "sometimes they don't work".

Yes, I've had that.

Having done regular house calls for some years I understand the dilemma.
If you press the bell and hear nothing, what do you do? If the bell is
not working you then need to wait a long time (which is a nuisance if
you are in a hurry) as knocking too soon sounds rude if the bell did in
fact go off in a distant part of the house. My solution was to ring
the bell and immediately knock as well (unless I actually heard a fairly
loud bell). And you still get criticised for that. It is impossible
to win with some people.



--

Roger Hayter

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 11:55:57 UTC+1, Rod Speed wrote:
"whisky-dave" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 10:51:45 UTC+1, Rod Speed wrote:
"Graeme" wrote in message
...
In message , Bob Eager
writes
I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please
wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

Much more fun to have excerpts from random tracks :

Dave Edmonds, I hear you knocking
Anita Ward, Ring my bell
Little Richard, Keep a knocking
A loop of 'Go Away' from Go Away Little Girl

etc. :-)

Dunno, I'd prefer it use facial recognition so I know
who has pressed the button so I can choose to
ignore the worst of the god botherers if I choose to.

And recognise uniforms like the cops and those likely
to be showing up to tell you your place is on fire etc.

You'd need the fire brigade turn up in a uniform to tell yuo that yuo have
a fire in your home ?

Nope, but if it happens that an obscure part of the place
is on fire and I havent noticed, that could be handy.

I guess it would but how would the fire brigade know ?


Face recignition would be fun though as you could have
particular greeting or if unrecogniswd just say "**** off".

Or have the system be selective about who it tells me about
like when I am having a snooze and dont want to be told
about the joveys, but do about the cops etc if they show up.

well the iphone X could do that accroding to the tech specs I glanced over it says it has body & face detection.

In article , Roger Hayter
wrote:
Bob Eager wrote:

On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:59:04 +0000, Jethro_uk wrote:

On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:35:36 +0100, Robin wrote:

On 12/09/2017 14:31, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 11:27:23 +0100, Robin wrote:

On 11/09/2017 23:45, wrote:
[quoted text muted]
We found their number reduced greatly after small but clear "No
Cold Caller" signs above letterbox and bell-push

10% of our callers use the bell push. The rest just knock.


perhaps we get a better class of callers who can read (and so see
the sign "above letterbox" before knocking)

I've stuck the doorbell *on* the glass where they knock (no door
knocker for us). The only response I ever get is "sometimes they
don't work".

Yes, I've had that.

Having done regular house calls for some years I understand the dilemma.
If you press the bell and hear nothing, what do you do? If the bell is
not working you then need to wait a long time (which is a nuisance if you
are in a hurry) as knocking too soon sounds rude if the bell did in fact
go off in a distant part of the house. My solution was to ring the bell
and immediately knock as well (unless I actually heard a fairly loud
bell). And you still get criticised for that. It is impossible to win
with some people.

calling, by arrangement to collect something, I rang the bell - no reply so
I tried again - no reply so I knowed. Went back to my car and found a phone
number - rang and got voicemail, so I wa s about to drive away when my
phone rang - Oh I was in the shower. no, the doorbell doesn't work. This
at a house which two expensive cars outside - both with personalised
number platesso perhaps they couldn't afford to get a new door bell.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 12:48:03 +0100, charles
wrote:

snip

calling, by arrangement to collect something, I rang the bell - no reply so
I tried again - no reply so I knowed. Went back to my car and found a phone
number - rang and got voicemail, so I wa s about to drive away when my
phone rang - Oh I was in the shower. no, the doorbell doesn't work.

And not that uncommon (and hence why people knock / flap etc).

This
at a house which two expensive cars outside - both with personalised
number platesso perhaps they couldn't afford to get a new door bell.

Maybe vanity means more to them than visitors ... or because they have
spent all their money on their vanity they can't afford to pay someone
to look at it for them (as they probably wouldn't know, or be bothered
to look into what to do themselves)? ;-)

We have rechargeable batteries in our main (wired) doorbell unit and
as they go flat the 'Ding-dong' randomly just becomes a 'Ding'. At
that point I get the second set of 4 x rechargeable C cells into the
bell unit and put the others on charge. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 09:52:26 UTC+1, tim... wrote:
"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:43:34 +0100, Muddymike wrote:

On 12/09/2017 14:31, Jethro_uk wrote:

10% of our callers use the bell push. The rest just knock.

Why do they do that? I can't here a knock on the door from my desk but
one of the doorbell chimes is just outside the room I work in.

Mike

As I have said upthread, when challenged, the only answer I have got is
"sometimes they don't work".

yep I got that as well

"so push the bloody thing to find out first you ******"

tim

they don't want to waste the time. Waiting 20 seconds on 20% of dead bells adds up when you're a courier. Skipping the bell of course causes them to not be heard.


NT

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 13:08:41 UTC+1, T i m wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 12:48:03 +0100, charles
wrote:

snip

calling, by arrangement to collect something, I rang the bell - no reply so
I tried again - no reply so I knowed. Went back to my car and found a phone
number - rang and got voicemail, so I wa s about to drive away when my
phone rang - Oh I was in the shower. no, the doorbell doesn't work.

And not that uncommon (and hence why people knock / flap etc).

Well I told my butler to contact the handyman ... he obviously forgot, what am I expected to do !
C cells seem a bit OTT you could use rechargble AAAs you could also use a solar panel to recharge the batteries. A windmill might do it too. ;-)
Then you'd have free doorbell power and help save the enviorment.

On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 05:25:49 -0700 (PDT), whisky-dave
wrote:

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 13:08:41 UTC+1, T i m wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 12:48:03 +0100, charles
wrote:

snip

calling, by arrangement to collect something, I rang the bell - no reply so
I tried again - no reply so I knowed. Went back to my car and found a phone
number - rang and got voicemail, so I wa s about to drive away when my
phone rang - Oh I was in the shower. no, the doorbell doesn't work.

And not that uncommon (and hence why people knock / flap etc).

Well I told my butler to contact the handyman ... he obviously forgot, what am I expected to do !

Quite.

C cells seem a bit OTT

Why does it?

https://www.friedland.co.uk/EN-GB/CH...ages/D107.aspx

you could use rechargble AAAs

I don't need to, I can use the rechargeable C cells?

you could also use a solar panel to recharge the batteries.

I could, but it's much easier just recharging them as required than
buying, fitting and wiring a solar panel.

A windmill might do it too. ;-)

Is that you harry?

Then you'd have free doorbell power and help save the enviorment.

Solar panels save the environment? Since when?

Cheers, T i m

On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 12:08:03 +0100, T i m wrote:

From reading the other posts on this it would seem what many do is
fairly habitual. Their goal is to deliver your goods and move on ASAP
and so they do what is most likely to give them that (as illogical as it
may seem to us at the time).

I don't actually mind if they ring, and knock as well. The problem is
that a knock is rarely heard due to the layout of the house.

The other thing is how 'postperson friendly' your letterbox is. At Mums
they had a large inward sprung-flapped chrome letterbox fitted that
means you basically only have to push the package against the letterbox
for it to go in (even if it doesn't go completely *through* [1]).

Ours is like that (but brass). Bought many years ago while on holiday in
Hereford (!). Large slot, the criterion at the time was that a copy of
Personal Computer World would go through it!

--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 03:47:41 -0700, whisky-dave wrote:

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 11:20:42 UTC+1, Bob Eager wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 02:52:26 -0700, whisky-dave wrote:

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 08:12:29 UTC+1, Graeme wrote:
In message , Bob Eager
writes
I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please
wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

Much more fun to have excerpts from random tracks :

Dave Edmonds, I hear you knocking Anita Ward, Ring my bell Little
Richard, Keep a knocking A loop of 'Go Away' from Go Away Little
Girl

I'd have "Hey dude visitors" from southparks first episode anal
probe.
You can buy kits that allow you to record your own messages.

I can do that anyway. It's just an MP3 on the server. Pick up an
internal phone, dial 898 and record the message. Run a shell script to
convert formats and rename it.

I wouldn't need to run a server to do that, I'd use a chip to store the
audio data.

Of course. So would I if that's all it did. But it's integrated with the
PBX, and the bell push actually rings all the phones in the house (and a
garden bell). Guarantees we will hear it. Also logs the date and time.

--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 13 Sep 2017 12:45:51 GMT, Bob Eager wrote:

On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 12:08:03 +0100, T i m wrote:

From reading the other posts on this it would seem what many do is
fairly habitual. Their goal is to deliver your goods and move on ASAP
and so they do what is most likely to give them that (as illogical as it
may seem to us at the time).

I don't actually mind if they ring, and knock as well.

Me neither (all things considered) but from our POV *in* the house
it's 'Ding-dong' and before we have even stood up, 'knock knock knock'
(on the glass in the door) immediately followed by 'flap flap'.

It puts you in the feeling of 'Ok, I'm going as fast as I can!' but
whilst that is exactly what they want you to do, they don't
necessarily mean it quite like that. ;-)

The problem is
that a knock is rarely heard due to the layout of the house.

Similar hear but mostly because a single knock could be loads of other
things. ;-)

The other strange thing is we have both thought we have heard the
doorbell very early in the morning when it didn't actually go off at
all.

The other thing is how 'postperson friendly' your letterbox is. At Mums
they had a large inward sprung-flapped chrome letterbox fitted that
means you basically only have to push the package against the letterbox
for it to go in (even if it doesn't go completely *through* [1]).

Ours is like that (but brass).

I might look again to see if I can get one to fit our uPVC door.

Bought many years ago while on holiday in
Hereford (!).

Hey, you know how to live eh ... and I'm glad to hear I'm not the only
one that often explores the local shops (all of them), even when on
holiday. ;-)

Large slot, the criterion at the time was that a copy of
Personal Computer World would go through it!

For Dad it was similar but Photography related materials and
magazines. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 13:40:07 UTC+1, T i m wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 05:25:49 -0700 (PDT), whisky-dave
wrote:

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 13:08:41 UTC+1, T i m wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 12:48:03 +0100, charles
wrote:

snip

calling, by arrangement to collect something, I rang the bell - no reply so
I tried again - no reply so I knowed. Went back to my car and found a phone
number - rang and got voicemail, so I wa s about to drive away when my
phone rang - Oh I was in the shower. no, the doorbell doesn't work.

And not that uncommon (and hence why people knock / flap etc).

Well I told my butler to contact the handyman ... he obviously forgot, what am I expected to do !

Quite.

C cells seem a bit OTT

Why does it?

Because C cells were for larger short curent usage, those and D cells were standard in the days you had to drive a mechanical a solendiod that hit two bells alterantively.

https://www.friedland.co.uk/EN-GB/CH...ages/D107.aspx

That doesn't indicate recharchable cells are required.
Cs & Ds were used for long life with interminatend discharge.
It just seems a bit of a waste to use C recharables that's all.



you could use rechargble AAAs

I don't need to, I can use the rechargeable C cells?

OK for me they'd have seemed a bit pricey for the use they are put to.
We have over a dozen DMMs we stopped using partly because they used 6 X C cells.
C cells are about 4x the price of AA/AAA.



you could also use a solar panel to recharge the batteries.

I could, but it's much easier just recharging them as required than
buying, fitting and wiring a solar panel.

So you need 4 in the bell unit and 4 on charge that's about £30+ worth of batteries just seems a lot to me. I had a simialar bell cheap alkaline lasted over 3 years and I only needed 4 at a time.


A windmill might do it too. ;-)

Is that you harry?

cough of course not but well done for buying a white doorbell ;-)

A couple of years ago a student project was to make something that could be powered by renewable energy a combined doorbell and letter box was designed.
Using a solar panel and a detector on the letter flap that would if activated send you an email that you'd got post, the students never did understand why I found this funny.

Then you'd have free doorbell power and help save the enviorment.

Solar panels save the environment? Since when?

It's a difficult one to work out. Did yuo work out the enviomental ineffcicny of producing an extra 4 cells.
I don't supose yuo saw Horizon the othernight with prof cox calculating the infrastructure power wise needed to replace everything with re-newable.

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 13:47:09 UTC+1, Bob Eager wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 03:47:41 -0700, whisky-dave wrote:

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 11:20:42 UTC+1, Bob Eager wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 02:52:26 -0700, whisky-dave wrote:

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 08:12:29 UTC+1, Graeme wrote:
In message , Bob Eager
writes
I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please
wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

Much more fun to have excerpts from random tracks :

Dave Edmonds, I hear you knocking Anita Ward, Ring my bell Little
Richard, Keep a knocking A loop of 'Go Away' from Go Away Little
Girl

I'd have "Hey dude visitors" from southparks first episode anal
probe.
You can buy kits that allow you to record your own messages.

I can do that anyway. It's just an MP3 on the server. Pick up an
internal phone, dial 898 and record the message. Run a shell script to
convert formats and rename it.

I wouldn't need to run a server to do that, I'd use a chip to store the
audio data.

Of course. So would I if that's all it did.

That's all I'd really want my doorbellk to do.

But it's integrated with the
PBX, and the bell push actually rings all the phones in the house .

I'd hate that, not know or being sure if someone was phoning me or someone at the front door.

(and a
garden bell). Guarantees we will hear it. Also logs the date and time.

That would be useful but if I were going that far I'd go back to a webcam on the door so recording everything.

"whisky-dave" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 11:55:57 UTC+1, Rod Speed wrote:
"whisky-dave" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 10:51:45 UTC+1, Rod Speed wrote:
"Graeme" wrote in message
...
In message , Bob Eager
writes
I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please
wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

Much more fun to have excerpts from random tracks :

Dave Edmonds, I hear you knocking
Anita Ward, Ring my bell
Little Richard, Keep a knocking
A loop of 'Go Away' from Go Away Little Girl

etc. :-)

Dunno, I'd prefer it use facial recognition so I know
who has pressed the button so I can choose to
ignore the worst of the god botherers if I choose to.

And recognise uniforms like the cops and those likely
to be showing up to tell you your place is on fire etc.

You'd need the fire brigade turn up in a uniform to tell yuo that yuo
have
a fire in your home ?

Nope, but if it happens that an obscure part of the place
is on fire and I havent noticed, that could be handy.

I guess it would but how would the fire brigade know ?

Someone else reported it to them.

Face recignition would be fun though as you could have
particular greeting or if unrecogniswd just say "**** off".

Or have the system be selective about who it tells me about
like when I am having a snooze and dont want to be told
about the joveys, but do about the cops etc if they show up.

well the iphone X could do that accroding to the tech specs
I glanced over it says it has body & face detection.

IMO it would be better done with the surveillance cameras
and that could go much further and recognise when a courier
van has showed up too, even using the branding on the van etc.

I do want to be woken by the courier van showing up, but not
when its someone I know. I've got everyone I know well trained
to know that I do have a nap every day. They can usually see me
when they show up at the big patio door that is my front door,
and know not to knock unless they can actually see me. It would
be even better if the surveillance system did all that auto, tell
those who it recognises as regulars that I am having a nap so
that when I'm not visible thru the main patio door it would
know that I'm out the back doing the tomatoes or the beer etc.

And could notify my mobile with the courier or posty so I could
tell them over the phone where to leave the item if I want to do that.

Once you have the surveillance cameras and alarm
system, easy enough to have it do the other fancy
stuff too and wouldnt cost any more hardware wise.

Leaves stupid dinosaur primitive bells and door knockers for dead.

"whisky-dave" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 13:47:09 UTC+1, Bob Eager wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 03:47:41 -0700, whisky-dave wrote:

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 11:20:42 UTC+1, Bob Eager wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 02:52:26 -0700, whisky-dave wrote:

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 08:12:29 UTC+1, Graeme wrote:
In message , Bob Eager
writes
I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please
wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

Much more fun to have excerpts from random tracks :

Dave Edmonds, I hear you knocking Anita Ward, Ring my bell Little
Richard, Keep a knocking A loop of 'Go Away' from Go Away Little
Girl

I'd have "Hey dude visitors" from southparks first episode anal
probe.
You can buy kits that allow you to record your own messages.

I can do that anyway. It's just an MP3 on the server. Pick up an
internal phone, dial 898 and record the message. Run a shell script to
convert formats and rename it.

I wouldn't need to run a server to do that, I'd use a chip to store the
audio data.

Of course. So would I if that's all it did.

That's all I'd really want my doorbellk to do.

But it's integrated with the
PBX, and the bell push actually rings all the phones in the house .

I'd hate that, not know or being sure if someone was phoning me or someone
at the front door.

Trivial to have a different ring tone for the two different types of thing.

My mobile phone announces who is calling too, very handy
when you are doing something and prefer to decide whether
to answer immediately or call them back later.

(and a
garden bell). Guarantees we will hear it. Also logs the date and time.

That would be useful but if I were going that far I'd go
back to a webcam on the door so recording everything.

I'd use the surveillance cameras instead.

On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 07:06:27 -0700, whisky-dave wrote:

I wouldn't need to run a server to do that, I'd use a chip to store
the audio data.

Of course. So would I if that's all it did.

That's all I'd really want my doorbellk to do.

But it's integrated with the PBX, and the bell push actually rings all
the phones in the house .

I'd hate that, not know or being sure if someone was phoning me or
someone at the front door.

Naturally, it rings with a completely different cadence...

(and a
garden bell). Guarantees we will hear it. Also logs the date and time.

That would be useful but if I were going that far I'd go back to a
webcam on the door so recording everything.

There's a camera as well.

--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 15:08:11 UTC+1, Rod Speed wrote:
"whisky-dave" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 11:55:57 UTC+1, Rod Speed wrote:
"whisky-dave" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 10:51:45 UTC+1, Rod Speed wrote:
"Graeme" wrote in message
...
In message , Bob Eager
writes
I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please
wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

Much more fun to have excerpts from random tracks :

Dave Edmonds, I hear you knocking
Anita Ward, Ring my bell
Little Richard, Keep a knocking
A loop of 'Go Away' from Go Away Little Girl

etc. :-)

Dunno, I'd prefer it use facial recognition so I know
who has pressed the button so I can choose to
ignore the worst of the god botherers if I choose to.

And recognise uniforms like the cops and those likely
to be showing up to tell you your place is on fire etc.

You'd need the fire brigade turn up in a uniform to tell yuo that yuo
have
a fire in your home ?

Nope, but if it happens that an obscure part of the place
is on fire and I havent noticed, that could be handy.

I guess it would but how would the fire brigade know ?

Someone else reported it to them.

So someone else notices a fire in an obsure part of your house, but doesn't tell you and rings the fire brigade.
That makes as much sense as I would have expected ;-P



Face recignition would be fun though as you could have
particular greeting or if unrecogniswd just say "**** off".

Or have the system be selective about who it tells me about
like when I am having a snooze and dont want to be told
about the joveys, but do about the cops etc if they show up.

well the iphone X could do that accroding to the tech specs
I glanced over it says it has body & face detection.

IMO it would be better done with the surveillance cameras
and that could go much further and recognise when a courier
van has showed up too, even using the branding on the van etc.

Have yuo seen te4h price of these cams they are about twice that of a iphone X
and that excluded the servers.


I do want to be woken by the courier van showing up, but not
when its someone I know. I've got everyone I know well trained
to know that I do have a nap every day. They can usually see me
when they show up at the big patio door that is my front door,
and know not to knock unless they can actually see me. It would
be even better if the surveillance system did all that auto, tell
those who it recognises as regulars that I am having a nap so
that when I'm not visible thru the main patio door it would
know that I'm out the back doing the tomatoes or the beer etc.

And could notify my mobile with the courier or posty so I could
tell them over the phone where to leave the item if I want to do that.

I;d find it more convinet to have a system like a post box outside that could be locked or unlocked from my smartphone anywhere in the world.
The postman can then leave the parcel their no need for me to come to the door and no need for him to know whether I'm having a nap or running the london marathon.


Once you have the surveillance cameras and alarm
system, easy enough to have it do the other fancy
stuff too and wouldnt cost any more hardware wise.

Leaves stupid dinosaur primitive bells and door knockers for dead.

But it could cost thousands.

On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 16:22:45 +0100, Adrian Caspersz wrote:

On 12/09/17 14:23, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
presented the following explanation :
a nice suggestion I just saw:

"Say that the judge made it very clear theyre not allowed to talk to
people from charities any more. Not after last time."

I just have a laminated note on the garden gate, with something like...

No chuggers, No leaflets, No sales people. Below that it says dogs
loose. It mostly works effectively, the dogs take care of the rest.

We get a lot of them, because it is a street with short distances to
the front door and large rear gardens.

AK47 door bell system - Colin Furze

Seen it! :-)

--
Johnny B Good

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 15:31:44 UTC+1, Rod Speed wrote:
"whisky-dave" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 13:47:09 UTC+1, Bob Eager wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 03:47:41 -0700, whisky-dave wrote:

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 11:20:42 UTC+1, Bob Eager wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 02:52:26 -0700, whisky-dave wrote:

On Wednesday, 13 September 2017 08:12:29 UTC+1, Graeme wrote:
In message , Bob Eager
writes
I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please
wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

Much more fun to have excerpts from random tracks :

Dave Edmonds, I hear you knocking Anita Ward, Ring my bell Little
Richard, Keep a knocking A loop of 'Go Away' from Go Away Little
Girl

I'd have "Hey dude visitors" from southparks first episode anal
probe.
You can buy kits that allow you to record your own messages.

I can do that anyway. It's just an MP3 on the server. Pick up an
internal phone, dial 898 and record the message. Run a shell script to
convert formats and rename it.

I wouldn't need to run a server to do that, I'd use a chip to store the
audio data.

Of course. So would I if that's all it did.

That's all I'd really want my doorbellk to do.

But it's integrated with the
PBX, and the bell push actually rings all the phones in the house .

I'd hate that, not know or being sure if someone was phoning me or someone
at the front door.

Trivial to have a different ring tone for the two different types of thing.

but ringtones can only be activated from a phonecall, so your doorbell would have to activate a phone call to your mobile number and that number would be fixed unless yuo could use your contact app could in some way recongnise the person at the door then ID that person with the person ringing the doorbell.


My mobile phone announces who is calling too,

Only because it knows who is calling you from their phone.
If I call someone from another phone the reciving phone doesnlt know it's me it thinks I'm someone else.


very handy
when you are doing something and prefer to decide whether
to answer immediately or call them back later.

Providing your sure it the same person who owes or usese that phone.
When I get a phone call from a friend I've no idea whether ehe's ringing or she's ringing until I hear a voice.



(and a
garden bell). Guarantees we will hear it. Also logs the date and time.

That would be useful but if I were going that far I'd go
back to a webcam on the door so recording everything.

I'd use the surveillance cameras instead.

I would do to if it weren't for the high price.

On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 09:01:54 +0100, charles
wrote:

In article ,

I have the parts sitting on the shelf beside me. A small 'glass speaker'
that can play a selected audio file when the bell push is depressed. I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

I had a colleague who mounted a very large loudspeaker in the ceiling of
his stairwell. Activating the bell push started a tape cartridge player
with the full Westminster Chimes for midnight. (there was a cancel button
on his side of the door)

Many years ago barely out of my teens I obtained (legally) the air
horns off a scrapped British Rail locomotive and with a supply of
Co2 from a brewery bottle and a suitable 12v solenoid air valves had
fun with them on various cars.
They were between cars when a mate held a party and as a wheeze we
place the caboosh in a dustbin by the door and arranged for the bell
push to work the solenoid. On the bell push was affixed a notice DO
NOT RING BELL. Sure enough the neighbour had a moan about the noise
to the old bill like he always did at about 11pm despite that we
always toned things down from about 11.30 and only held a couple
party's each year at beginning and end of Summer. Midnight the Horns
went off, the door was opened to reveal a couple of Police Officers
who had finally got around to calling. " we've come to investigate a
noise complaint" said one "you'll probably get a load more now ,
can't you read" said the person who opened the door.
Meanwhile the second officer a young WPC was unsuccessfully trying to
suppress a fit of the giggles at her surprised colleagues
embarrassment.

G.Harman

On 13/09/2017 13:08, T i m wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 12:48:03 +0100, charles
wrote:

snip

calling, by arrangement to collect something, I rang the bell - no reply so
I tried again - no reply so I knowed. Went back to my car and found a phone
number - rang and got voicemail, so I wa s about to drive away when my
phone rang - Oh I was in the shower. no, the doorbell doesn't work.

And not that uncommon (and hence why people knock / flap etc).

This
at a house which two expensive cars outside - both with personalised
number platesso perhaps they couldn't afford to get a new door bell.

Maybe vanity means more to them than visitors ... or because they have
spent all their money on their vanity they can't afford to pay someone
to look at it for them (as they probably wouldn't know, or be bothered
to look into what to do themselves)? ;-)

We have rechargeable batteries in our main (wired) doorbell unit and
as they go flat the 'Ding-dong' randomly just becomes a 'Ding'. At
that point I get the second set of 4 x rechargeable C cells into the
bell unit and put the others on charge. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

We just a a proper bell transformer in the electricity cupboard. It
lights the bell-push up as well so visitors are more likely to see it.
My wife can be a bit anti-social at time though, so she often doesn't
answer at all while I am out at work!

SteveW

On 13/09/2017 09:01, charles wrote:
In article ,
Bob Eager wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 23:40:55 +0100, T i m wrote:

On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:43:34 +0100, Muddymike
wrote:

On 12/09/2017 14:31, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 12 Sep 2017 11:27:23 +0100, Robin wrote:

On 11/09/2017 23:45, wrote:
[quoted text muted]
We found their number reduced greatly after small but clear "No Cold
Caller" signs above letterbox and bell-push

10% of our callers use the bell push. The rest just knock.

Why do they do that? I can't here a knock on the door from my desk but
one of the doorbell chimes is just outside the room I work in.

Many seem to ring the bell but also knock on the glass or flap the
letterbox a few times because although the doorbell is quite loud, it's
in the middle of the house and you can't always hear it outside the
front door (so no feedback for them to prove the doorbell works).

I might do the same thing as a ringing tone and put another doorbell
behind the door just for them. ;-)

I have the parts sitting on the shelf beside me. A small 'glass speaker'
that can play a selected audio file when the bell push is depressed. I am
torn between a voice intoning "the bell has been activated, please wait"
and the start of 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon.

I had a colleague who mounted a very large loudspeaker in the ceiling of
his stairwell. Activating the bell push started a tape cartridge player
with the full Westminster Chimes for midnight. (there was a cancel button
on his side of the door)

We'd just think it was the clock in the living room until it "bonged"
too many times!

SteveW