Doorbell?

[mytova]

ideally id like to leave a calling card for one of the cars

[FMurtz]

Does this have two long tubes? if so you can usually fiddle with the position of the tube to the donger.

[Graeme]

In message [e-mail], [e-mail] writes

With 12v, fun could be had. Old car horns. Perhaps a Morris Minor for the front door, and Cortina for the back :-)

[Brian Gaff]

You don't need a new bell just a clean out and a new spring. The bell works simply like a solenoid. The spring brings the plunger back and it overshoots and hits the dong then goes back to the middle again. I had one for years. As for AC bell transformers, and new bells the answer is it depends. Its pretty trivial to add a bridge rectifier and convert to DC inside a box somewhere but you need to know the working voltage and current of the new ball and if its wrong it might just be cheaper to get a psu for the new one. I on the other hand used to enjoy repurposing stuff and indeed repairing bells. There is nothing wrong with those old chimes unless you need a repeater somewhere else in the property. If you are going to do that then get a wireless door intercom. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

Yes the transformers are just that. as I say its simply operating a solenoid and has switches to stop it or springs to make it go both ways. The reason a ding or a dong is not working is usually switch, spring or dirt related. Brian

[Dave Plowman (News)]

A ding dong is simply a solenoid, and will work from either. Have you tried cleaning it and making sure the spring return still works?

That Friedland transformer will be AC. If you want a basic doorbell, that will be OK on AC.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Brian Gaff formulated on Sunday :

There are no switches, apart from the bell push contacts. The solenoid slug is pulled one way to create the ding, as the button is released the slug is pulled by the spring against the 'dong' bar.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Brian Gaff explained on 14/07/2019 :

You don't, unless the plastic has been deformed by heat as a result of the bell push contacts being shorted. The solenoids are not designed to be powered up for long.

[Muddymike]

Ive taken it down and cleaned it thoroughly. Both springs seem fine, both gongs sound nicely when struck with the screwdriver handle yet still it only Dongs so Ive wired both door pushes to the Dong end so we at least hear something whichever door push is pushed.

Now off to order a 12v replacement as I'm fed up with fiddling with it!

Ive saved a picture of the innards here.

or

Mike

[Geo]

Checked voltage reaching solenoid? We only have one push but similar trouble when the button contacts corroded a bit.

[ARW]

FFS just let the OP buy a new door bell (not just to you but also to the other posters). It's a f***ed 40 years old door bell.

[spuorgelgoog]

That's still quite new.

I've got one that's 50 years old.

And most of my phone bells are well into their seventh decade if not older.

[harry]

They usually just need cleaning up a bit. Wire wool. Nooil. ISTR on some models, it went ding dong on one push and just ding on the other. So you knew which door had the visitor.

I further STR that it had a leaf spring that centred the solenoid.

[ARW]

That does not change the fact that the OPs door bell is f***ed.

[Cursitor Doom]

That's only 'cos no one ever calls. :->

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

Agreed. He is a stupid skint psycholist. As they all are.

[spuorgelgoog]

Technically true, on the landline. All incoming calls are VoIP

Owain

[Gareth's was W7 now W10 Downst]

I've a couple of Tele F's in the domestic field telephone set up, they're getting on fo 90 years old.

[Dave Liquorice]

Maybe but it's real proper doorbell with lumps of resonant metal to go Bing Bong not some nasty electronicaly generated noise.

[ARW]

It might have done when it worked.