I noticed that the doorbell button can be hooked up to the current doorbell system, but it mentions that its for the 24 volt systems. I have an older home where its only 16 volts, I have tried to ask 2gig but they have never responded if the doorbell switch will be ok on the 16 volt system.
We’ve not tried hooking the 2GIG doorbell button to a 16V system. I’ll reach out to 2GIG and see if I can get a definitive answer but officially I’d say no, try it at your own risk. The manual says 24V and doesn’t mention 16V.
If it’s just the extra bell sound you’re interested in, my guess would be that it should work as the button press is still going to close the 16V circuit. If the backlight is important to you, have you considered swapping out your 16V doorbell with a 24V system? They’re pretty reasonably priced.
Best Regards,
Ryan
Thanks for reaching out to them, light is not too big of an issue. The hard part is trying to find the transformer in a finished basement, 90% sure the previous owner sealed it up somewhere in the ceiling. It would just be nice to have both chimes, as the alarm panel chime can’t be heard in the basement, but the doorbell can be because of the location of the bell.
After speaking with 2GIG, the official word is as Ryan suspected. 2GIG has said that you can’t connect to 16V as it would under power the equipment, which will cause it to not work properly.
Thanks for checking into it for me, I guess my next project will be to find the transformer in the house.
If you have a basement, that would be the first place I would look. Most likely directly below where the doorbell chime is located. If the transformer is not directly below it, you should at the very least see the wire for the doorbell and visibly trace it back to where the transformer is.
If you don’t have a basement, I would look in a utility closet or possibly even the garage. Again, you should be able to trace the wire from directly above the doorbell chime in the attic.
Maybe a dumb question, how do I know if the contacts are 24v? I am looking into hardwiring it like this to keep our fancy doorbell and activate a camera on the front door with a notification.
Our doorbell is a nutone doorbell from around 2003. I can look up the model number later.
Take a digital multi meter, set it to AC mode, and attach it across the terminals on your doorbell button. On my system it registered 16v.
Thank you! Found one on Amazon that looks reasonably priced, I think it is on sale for Black Friday. Will use it to test.
Ryan, for clarification which 2Gig button can be used with an existing doorbell? I have an existing hardwired doorbell that I would like to monitor purely for notification events…would the 2gig-DBELL1-345 be the right option? I didn’t see anything in its sheet describing how I would wire it in, ideally it would be as easy as wiring in-line with the bell…but I saw mention on another thread that a relay and a 2Gig Thin D/W would be the way to go.
Just looking for some clarification on this as I ordered a 2Gig-DBELL1-345 based on this thread but am wondering if it is in fact the wrong option.
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Use the 2Gig-DBELL1-345 to replace your existing doorbell button with a 2GIG’s doorbell button. That’s the easier thing to do but it requires your doorbell to be 24VAC. Old doorbells used 16VAC or varying voltages around there and they won’t work with the 2GIG doorbell button.
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The 2Gig Thin D/W suggestion is a difficult to implement “home engineering project” that would require wiring in a relay which would activate when the doorbell is pressed and then wiring the 2Gig Thin D/W to the normally closed output of that relay.
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Another easy option is just do away with your existing doorbell all together and let the 2GIG panel and TS1 chimes be your doorbell. Then all you have to do is use the existing doorbell wires to power the 2GIG doorbell button and you don’t have to worry about detecting when the old doorbell circuit sounds.
Ryan, thanks for the feedback. If I felt like really putting the time into it I am sure I could craft a fun project based on Arduino to bridge between the two, but I think I will have to go for option #2. When I get around to it I will write up the steps that I used so that others may benefit.
Our house is a early 1900’s craftsmen in a registered historical district…so we have to do things that help preserve the character. The Mighty Mouse D/W sensors are really helpful, before finding them on your site (which was a big contributor to me buying from you guys…and the support I’ve received just helps affirm that decision) I nearly went with GE sensors with a GE to 2Gig takeover bridge as GE has some small sensors, just not as small as the MightyMouse.
I’m anxious to see the how-to, Russell/Ryan. I’m in the exact opposite boat…a new house, currently using a fancy doorbell button. --J