Yes, something funky is going on with the SAGE device when no resistors are included. For example, I can get the SAGE device to record ~20 button press events before it stops processing button pushes.
Removing the battery, reinserting the battery, waiting a few minutes and the device still doesn't respond to events. I left it over night and then it started responding.
I'm done with the $5 SAGE experiment.
Plan B: Modify Visonic MCT-340 E Zigbee - ~$20 USD
This route looks interesting based on community members' successes:
The two downsides are:
Since there are no built-in screw-in internal contacts, you have to solder two wires to the board.
Battery only power. No mains supported.
Plan C: EcoTech DWZWAVE2.5 Z-Wave - ~$30 USD
If the Visonic device doesn't work out, I'll make use of the internal contacts on EcoTech DWZWAVE2.5 device. Based on other community members' experiences, it looks like this device will work for my needs with a minimum of fuss.
If the DWZWAVE2.5 doesn't work to my satisfaction, I'll go with the Aeotec Doorbell 6 device. I don't really need the chime function part of it, but at least I'll likely get a reliable doorbell button, a mains powered device, and supported integration with HE.
I would disable the chime part of it for doorbell use and consider using the siren feature for other use cases.
The only downside with this approach will be Z-Wave vs Zigbee, but if the response time is fast enough, the radio tech doesn't matter to me.
Did you have the required diode in place as well? To prevent backflow when you press the button? Remember, your hardwired doorbell is using AC, not DC.
I don't think plans B or C are going to work unless you disconnect the power transformer for your doorbell as well. These devices are DC and your doorbell is AC.
Before you completely discount the Sage, you might want to test with a resistor.
Reasoning:
Often long wires (like from you doorbell button) can pickup electrical noise and or ESD discharge into the button.
It is likely the Sage has some protection against pickup as the wires are external to the device and may be a source of noise into the device.
The Visonic reed switch is internal to the device package and not likely a source of noise pickup or at risk of ESD. Likely is does not have any protection from such extraneous signals. Connecting it to a long wire represents some increased technical risk.
If its inconvenient to find a resistor to test the Sage you can try this:
After the 20 or so pushes and the Sage no longer responding:
with the doorbell button NOT PUSHED.
short the leads of the Sage momentarily
If the Sage starts responding then a resistor will likely help if not you were correct to toss it in the junk drawer.
I believe the problem might be that you have to remove the diode behind the doorbell button. A diode is installed to keep the current flowing to allow your tones to complete. In this case, it would be holding the level high unnecessarily.
So, in you case, you would want the diode removed.
Since I have only a doorbell button with wires leading to the unfinished portion of our basement, there's nothing to disconnect in terms of a power transformer.
Then how were you using the Sage? The sage inputs are dry-contact, meaning they have no voltage inherently themselves. The voltage would have to be supplied by your existing doorbell transformer. That's why it isn't working right. You don't have a doorbell system to hook it up to. You have a momentary button which is not the same thing.
This scenario - starting with just a doorbell button - has been the basis of most of the thread above. i.e. If a person wanted to use the SAGE device without a door chime and potentially without a transformer, then what would the wiring look like?
Based on the discussion above, people were helpful in evolving the approach to introduce at least a transformer and potentially a resistor in the wiring approach.
You cannot do that. The sage devices requires a doorbell transformer and is designed to work in-line with your doorbell chime. Without a doorbell transformer, this device will not work.
I fail to see why you would try and test that and bother talking about it. It's not designed to work like that.
Yeah, duh. Perhaps you should read a bit more carefully before slamming people.
The first post in this thread stated the question up front before I attempted to test anything.
If I could use the Sage device without needing to buy a transformer and chime, then I'd like to know what the wiring would look like. If all I needed to buy was a transformer, I might be game for that approach, but I'd still need to know how to wire the SAGE sensor in this context. i.e. without a doorbell chime.
Unless I’ve misread your original question...I’d wire your doorbell button to ether side of the reed switch inside a door/window sensor. Basically using the door bell button to short out the door/window sensor’s, sensor.
An update on where I landed on this door bell front:
Dropped the SAGE Doorbell Experiment
After spending a few hours experimenting with the $5 SAGE Doorbell Sensor I already had on hand, I decided it was more important to me to have a clean and packaged solution that didn't require custom instructions when we eventually sell our home.
This desire to minimize the size of the "home owner's manual" I need to maintain is on my mind whenever I'm considering new HA devices and approaches.
Considered Contacts Sensors with Exposed Terminals
Several people pointed out that you can easily use door/window contact sensors that have terminals to hook up external contacts. This approach looked pretty clean and would have likely worked fine with my mechanical door bell button.
Decided to Go With Aeotec Doorbell 6
In the end, I decided to go with the Aeotec Doorbell 6. I had researched this option prior to looking into modifying the SAGE Doorbell Sensor, but wanted to give the DIY approach a try first.
Although I'm not overly enamored by the white doorbell button of the Aeotec unit, it's a turnkey solution that has been working well for the past week. Unfortunately, the button is battery powered, but the chime/siren is mains powered. It's also uses Z-Wave, but it seems to respond pretty quickly in my network.
It's not clear to me if I'll have much use for the siren as a standalone speaker, but it's nice to know that I can use the siren separate from the doorbell button.
Thanks to all of you who provided advice concerning the SAGE Doorbell without a chime experiment. Perhaps those suggestions will help someone else who wants to tinker with that inexpensive device in this context.
First, thank you for bringing the sage sensor to my attention. I ordered one from eBay and it is installed and working for me.
I did have some issues originally getting it to work - no problems triggering right off the transformer but a couple failed attempts connected to the doorbell. I have a clock/doorbell from the 1950s so this was entirely my issue just remembering the details of how I wire things.
My question is have you guys moved to the built in sage drive or stayed with one of the ones in this post?
Yup, that’s what I was going to say. Added in the latest release.
I am not sure if the driver was auto selected when I originally paired or not.
But switching back and forth between the drivers (and hitting configure after) it does not work with the built in driver and only with the 3rd party driver I mentioned. No idea why.
I have replaced my doorbell (old intercom system for the external gate, 30mt. from the house, without an internal chime box) with a video doorbell cam (EZVIZ DB1). In the manual, it explicitly says that if you don't have a chime installed, you need to install a fuse wire, and that's my case. I don't know if installing the SAGE would still require the fuse wire.
In the manual it also says the camera needs an 8-24VAC power source, I used the existing transformer of the old system (28VDC) and the camera works perfectly. I ordered a SAGE sensor on ebay in order to intercept the ring, since EZVIZ, in current firmware, doesn't send an external notification/event that I can intercept when someone pushes the button.
So I will try to use the SAGE with the existing DC transformer, hoping it will not really require AC. The only real concern I have is that the transformer is installed outside, near the external gate on which the videodoorbell is installed, so I have to install the SAGE there, and being 30mt from the house, I don't know if Zigbee will reach my HE hub inside the house. I will first power it up and let HE discover it, then I will move it on the outside to see if it still connects.
Another interesting product worth checking, as an alternative to SAGE, is the Firefly Electronix WiFi Doorbell Sensor: WiFi Doorbell
Documentation:
It is battery powered and uses standard WiFi (would solve my prob), and it integrates via MQTT, etc.
Unfortunately it s out-of-stock now.
With the integrated driver I'm having issues. It works, but all of the sudden it stops working and I need to factory reset the sensor and reconfigure it.
Wanted to try the driver you mentioned but I wasn't sure if that was the one. Could you share the modification you made or provide the code so I can test it?
