ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Loud Doorbell

jdo1942: I had to do the relay thing to add a second doorbell at the G/F's parents place.
Turns out the transformer was large enough ( VA wise) to drive both chimes BUT the original bells were wired with 22/4 phone wire and would not operate properly when an additional chime was connected... Added a relay and rewired the button and existing chime ( with the existing 22/4 phone wire) and added in the extra chime and the problem was solved.

A.D

http://lamson-home2.com/WirelessChimes.php

under Extend-a-chimes
My best friend's mom had substantial hearing loss prior to her passing. This was the solution we picked. I took a few minutes to install the wireless transmitter in the chime assembly. We plugged the receiver / remote chime into a location where she was unable to hear the main chime. They came as a pair and we were able to find a stand-alone additional receiver / chime. They sound separate, programmable audibles for each door. This solution involves minimal wiring and gets the coverage needed without breaking the ear drums of a person near the main chime. We picked them up at the, "Save big money at", store.
Joe

I think that would be the answer. You could then hook up a 12-inch fire bell if you wanted to!

This is why I come here. I just bought a wireless extender for my home. I didn't know there was such a thing. Thanks.

Dave

There we are! I knew the solution would be apparent once the collective brain cells of ECN got on the case! Bravo!

Reminds me of something... recently I visited an abandoned ca. 1900 house and the door bell is impressing... I guess close to 8" in diameter, on a polished wooden base! Powered from a standard bell transformer that is probably not even half as old as the bell.

The idea for that was actually from an anecdote my late father once told me about how as a kid he decided that a conventional alarm clock wasn't loud enough, so he rigged up some sort of contacts on the clock to energize just such a large fire bell.

Apparently it was very effective -- Too effective, in fact. This was in the one of those Stoke Newington streets of small houses all joined together, and it woke up not only the entire family but also everybody in the adjoining houses as well. I gather it only ever got used on that one morning!

Back in the olden days alarm clocks had a "coffee pot" plug in back that you could plug 1000w into. I had a siren plugged in one for my roomie who went to work after I left. Sometimes it actually took a neighbor pounding on the door to get him up.