ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Door switch activated chime?

Well, it looks like Ed has given me exactly what I was asking for! This switch would be absolutely perfect for the intended application...but the customer would never allow it on the front door of his business. Close, but no cigar.
I haven't gotten into a wholesaler yet to ask about one-shot relays yet, hopefully tomorrow morning.
Trumpy...what I meant about the door being open was just the amount of time it would take for the door to close itself after being opened. The main reason I don't want to use a n.o. switch in this situation is that there are actually two doors to this business, and two chime kits. The front door is set to chime once when a customer enters (ding), and the back door is set to chime twice (ding-dong). With a n.o. reed switch at the back door the coil would energize when the door opened, sending the plunger into the first chime. (ding) But now the coil remains energized until the door closes and the reed switch contacts open, de-energizing the coil, allowing the plunger to be pulled up by spring pressure and hit the second chime. (dong) The trouble is that when either door opens like this you would only hear the ding sound...and if it's the back door that opened you wouldn't know it until the door were once again completely closed...kinda defeating the purpose of having two chime kits to differentiate which door is being opened.
I wish I'd have thought about this before recommending the idea to the customer! Oh well, hopefully I can find a relay that will give the coil a quick jolt.
Fretwell...there's nothing electronic about these chimes...two coils, each with a spring loaded plunger running through it. energize a coil and force its plunger down into a metal bar. de-energize coil and the spring returns plunger to top...one plunger hits a stop bumper, the other hits a second metal bar. pretty simple stuff.
Thanks again everyone.

Shawn.

Shawn,
First of all, Welcome to ECN! Do you think the customer would accept a "Ding" or "Ding Dong" on opening and closing? If so, consider using two reeds, one NOHC, and one NCHO, in series at two points on the arc radius of the door. The inner NOHC would stay in the magnetic field longer and still be closed for a short time after the NCHO closes. I also remember that different reeds were made for larger gaps for garage doors and the like. But again, it will most likely sound on closing too. The advantage is that 4 reeds are cheaper than 2, "interval on" TDRs and require no cabinet space.
Naturally, you would want the NCHO reed and the shortest "interval on" relay you can get if you go that route.
Joe

The sounder I suggested earlier in this post will produce a Ding/Dong when you close a door mounted switch. By setting the dip switches on the back it will sound continuously or only 3 times upon contact closure no mater how long the door is open. You can get it from any alarm supply co. (ADI) Will mount in a 1 gang box. Just need a normally open mag switch on the door. I have one on my shop door.

Hey Joe, thanks for the warm welcome. Firstly, let me say that your solution is absolutely brilliant. I never would have thought of it. I'm going to put the idea to the customer for consideration, but he's probably not going to go for it. I'm not sure what he'll like less...having the doorbells chiming twice, or having a second switch on his door with a cable running between the two. He's quite fussy. His fussiness is why I can't use the switch that Ed (EV607797) posted earlier...to much of an eyesore no matter how well it works.

Westuplace...thanks for the tip on the different chime unit. I think it's too late to swap out the actual chime. It's been a few days since I was on-site and the painters may be complete now. The old chimes would have to come down, the screw holes would need to be patched and the exposed area painted. I wish I had found out about this model earlier, I probably would have chosen it.
I fell like I'm shooting down all of your great ideas, it's just that this customer wants things just so. If I can't swap out the chimes then I suppose I'll just have to find the right relay and buy two of them along with boxes to mount them in. Oh well, that's the way it goes sometimes. Next time I'll know better!
Thanks again, you guys are awesome, I hope I can return the assistance some day.

Shawn.