Thread: Doorbell laugh

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Had an idea...maybe it has been done already. Anyhow, I was thinking about putting some sound device under my doorbell cover that sounds a laugh, scream or whatever when the exterior button is pushed. It would obviously have to be run on 24 volts I think. Any thoughts or suggestions as to how to wire it?

Sure. Find out what voltage your doorbell button is switching - you'll need a DMM to do that. Attach a SPST relay with the correct coil voltage to one side of the doorbell button by removing one wire from the button, attaching it to one of the coil pins, and attaching the wire you removed to the other coil pin. The button is a normally open, momentary switch that completes the circuit when it's pressed. Attach the trigger wires of your sound device to the normally open and common pins on the relay. When the button is pressed the relay will connect those pins, activating your device.
Of course, your doorbell will still be active. If it's one that uses bar chimes, just stuff some cotton balls or tissues next to the bars to silence them. Don't let them contact any of the wiring in the chime box, though.
This method assumes that you're planning to have the scream come from the doorbell cover outside of the door (the low-voltage part of the circuit), not in the box that houses the chimes, buzzer or whatever. If you want to put the sound device in that box, you may need to use a relay with a 110VAC coil, depending on the voltage that the chime solenoid uses.

thanks for the reply. I was planning on the sound coming from inside the chime box, though. That should still be down stream of the transformer though, right? In other words....working with 24v at that point.

Elk Products makes a relay interface specific for doorbells.

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