Using wireless bell push for a wired doorbell

[Richard Conway]

We've just had all our windows and doors replaced and I'd rather not make holes in the frames just yet (until the novelty wears off!) so I asked them not to reinstate the wired doorbell on the outside of the frame.

We would like a doorbell but was trying to come up with a way of using the existing doorbell chime combined with a wireless push button stuck to the outside door frame. Essentially I'd be looking for a wireless doorbell with a receiver that had relay outputs to trigger the doorbell

- if this could be powered from the existing doorbell chime power supply all the better!

Before trying to butcher a cheap wireless doorbell kit I thought I'd ask and see if anyone had seen anything off the shelf that could do this!

[JNugent]

I fitted a cordless unit about a year ago. Bought it from Amazon for about £10 - £12.

The exact model isn't pictured here, but there are loads at various prices. The bell unit is plugged into a 13A outlet. The bell push attached with a sticky pad. At first I thought that was asking for trouble (and perhaps it would be for a door which people pass closely, opening straight onto a street or passage in a block of flats) but in a semi, it hasn't given any "trouble".

A range at Amazon:

They're cheap enough to let you buy two and pair the bell push with both, allowing an upstairs and downstairs bell-sounder.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

Jeff Layman brought next idea :

+1 and the range is much better/more reliable/ no false triggering.

[Andy Burns]

Annoyingly they ring (which they can easily hear and the bellpush is the illuminated type so they can see it's "alive") and then knock, usually I'm upstairs working and switch on the hall light as I pass the landing as I signal that I'm on my way down.

Very little of that, recently when I did have to go out I put "leave in garage" into the instructions, their delivered message said "left near garage" which turned out to mean chucked over side fence behind garage in the pouting rain, thankfully not an item which cared that the cardboard turned to mush.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

If they put the new windows in with foam around the edges you can usually just stick a screwdriver through and bring a wire in!

Having said that I don't know about relays, but some companies make them so you can have a remote bell somewhere, an extra loud one for the hard of hearing, usually plugged in. Those are wireless. Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Well I'd not go so far as to say that, but they do have limited range and the batteries always last half as long as you expect, and chap ones tend to have a limited number of codes. Brian

[Adrian Caspersz]

google kinetic switch, kinetic bell push etc....

Inside a kinetic self-powering remote switch

[Dave W]

Thanks for that - another great video from Big Clive. I found it amazing that such a tiny movement of a rocker can generate enough power to produce a coded wireless signal to the bell unit.