Doorbell advice

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1

Hello! I am a new Habitat user and can only say how stoked I am to continue with this product! My head is spinning in a good way just realizing things I can do compared to when I was on Smartthings. Love the forums, love the local device.. Love it.

I am in a pickle and really not due to moving to Hubitat, but my doorbell choice. I was a ring user and my rings started having issues with my notifications - slow responses, some times nothing, sometimes no videos, etc. So I went a somewhat different path and wont bore you with my back and forth thought process on getting there, but I went with Amcrest Video doorbell. Largest reason is I wanted a non-cloud camera that i could send my feeds to BlueIris with. I don't have many cameras, but none of them are allowed to get to the internet (except for initial setup), Blue Iris takes it from there and it works well for me. The issue is that with my Ring devices before, I had a device handler that could tell when a button was pressed and that triggered things for me - notifications, lights flashing in house, etc and the family liked that. Now I cannot do that, and Amcrest appears to not have any web integration or possible way to pull this. So I could pull the amcrest and return 1 that i just got and sell the other. Or find a solution.

So I'm looking at a device to place in my old fashion doorbell. It is a WD-1 BASE with a 16v C.A.10va transformer connected to it from our basement. I tried an option of using a Samsung door sensor that has vibration/tamper option on it and honestly it worked great. I ring the bell and it moved enough to trigger this. Perfect, so i thought, until i bumped the wall that the ringer is on! And better yet closed my basement door that is also on this same wall! So this turned out to not be an option.

I don't really want to replace the ringer but if that is a simple option and does not require me to muck with resisters, transisters, etc, I'd do it. The best product that looked to be exactly what I need was the firefly doorbell. According to what is written up it would be perfect. But they are not available!

Is there anything like the firefly that I can connect up and use to trigger when the bell is rung? Or anything for the button press?

I know doorbell topics have been brought up many times but Im not seeing many that discuss keeping all components and "easily" adding an option to get it to a smart ringer that is compatible with Hubitat so i can take those triggers and notify, flash lights, etc.

My reason for keeping the ringer is just to feed the power for the 2 door cameras. If that can be done in a different manner and rig something up, I'm game.

Something tells me there is not a way like the firefly to easily do this and I'm looking at soldering, splicing, etc. Please tell me I'm wrong

I look forward to feedback!

Thanks,
Pete

2

Have a look at the ZigBee Sage doorbell sensor.

It's a HE compatible device that attaches to an existing doorbell chime and sends a ZigBee signal when activated.

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3

I have a similar situation as you, in that I have a doorbell with an Aqara Vibration sensor in it (the chime unit is battery powered so can't use a powered solution) and under the doorbell is a stiff door. I get false positives when the door is slammed close.

As the door is our coat cupboard, it is used quite often. Also I keep finding that the light is left on. Grrrr! So I am putting in a Zigbee bulb and a door sensor. The plan is that door opens, light on. Door closes and light stays on for 5 seconds then turns off. I will then write a rule that says only notify me that the doorbell has rung if the door is closed and the light is off.

Over engineered? Yea, probably and @Ranchitat solution is probably much better, but I thought I would share!

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Thanks for the replies. I had looked at the Sage sensor but was not sure if it was a viable solution as you can no longer purchase them new so was a little concerned about longevity and support. I guess my doorbell is the oldest thing in this equation so maybe should not be the concern!

I'll check eBay and give these a try.
Thanks!

5

This might give you some ideas - Make your Doorbell smart for about $27

I’ve been using a similar setup for over 2 years with a Nest Doorbell and have not missed one notification when the doorbell has been rung, even better was the fact that I could use my Sonos to announce it as well. Way better and faster than Nest’s notifications. This also gives no false indication as it only triggers when the doorbell has actually been rung. Instead of making a magnetic reed sensor as he did, I just purchased this one - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GUQKGC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cheapest option though is still the Sage sensor as mentioned previously.

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Interesting. I'll check this out as well.
I had not read this article but others with the reed sensor so freaked out a bit honestly. This solution seems a little more acceptable.
Appreciate the feedback.

Thanks!

7

This has worked great in our house.

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8

I did something similar as was already suggested, but had this link for it...

Cost me a couple bucks since I already had the contact sensor with terminals and just needed another reed sensor.

I have Hubitat text me when the doorbell is rung, and since I have Blue Iris for cameras connected I also receive a text with a photo from an outdoor camera.

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The Amcrest will work with an existing mechanical / electrical 16VAC chime so all you'd need to add is a 16VAC relay and a Z-Wave dry contact sensor. The 16VAC provided from a doorbell press (which would normally set off the chime) would be wired to the coil of the relay and the relay switch would go to your dry contact sensor. When the doorbell is pressed the contact sensor sees a closure and this closure can be used to trigger whatever... in my case it triggers Echo Speaks to tell me "someone is at your door".