Ringer Box as Door Chime?

[Jack]

Hello, I have 2 ringer boxes that I'm not using and I was thinking about using one of them as a door chime. One is an older wooden box which used to have a magneto in it and needs some work to ring again since one of the leads on one of the coils is "missing" and the other is a working metal ringer box, a Kellogg I think.
So... what would I need to make, preferably the ex-magneto ringer box work as a door chime with a simple switch? I have a feeling that the problem I'll find is that I need 90+v AC @20hz for it to ring pleasantly, whereas line voltage would probably result in too frequent oscillations in the ringer.
Any ideas??
Thanks,
Jack

[Phonesrfun]

Jack:

Your suspicion is correct.  You will need 20 or 30hz.  Telephone ringers generally will not respond at 60Hz, and it is not recommended to run a ringer that is made for 90 volts on 120 volts, especially with the older capacitors.  Also, the doorbell buttons are designed for low voltage.  So, I would highly caution you against trying to run it off house current.

You can get a 118A frequency generator that generates 30hz 75 volts from older key systems, and they come up on e-bay every once in a while.  With that, you would need to rig up a 15-volt AC relay so that when someone presses the doorbell button, it would ring the ringer in the box through the 118A.

Good luck.

[bingster]

I'd advise agains using house current, too.  One rainy day with a friend ringing the doorbell, and he could easily be electrocuted.  However, there are bell type doorbells.  They sound very similar to a telephone ring, and are designed to run on low voltage doorbell transformers.  Here's a pair of them for next to nothing: 330359300317 (ebay)

[dsk]

Hello, I have 2 ringer boxes that I'm not using and I was thinking about using one of them as a door chime. One is an older wooden box which used to have a magneto in it and needs some work to ring again since one of the leads on one of the coils is "missing" and the other is a working metal ringer box, a Kellogg I think.
So... what would I need to make, preferably the ex-magneto ringer box work as a door chime with a simple switch? I have a feeling that the problem I'll find is that I need 90+v AC @20hz for it to ring pleasantly, whereas line voltage would probably result in too frequent oscillations in the ringer.
Any ideas??
Thanks,
Jack

If you take the one with only 1 coil, and hook it up with a 3 x 9V battery, and a bias spring, it may work as a door gong. Striking one bell, when pushing, and the other when releasing the button.   Right polarity may be important. Just give it a try.

dsk

[Jack]

Thanks for the replies! bingster, any idea on what voltage would run those bells? I asked the seller and he had no idea, I assume it might be line current, since it would need to be AC from the looks of them. Thanks, Jack
PS If anyone here wants to bid as well I would much prefer it that I just win them and split them up than end up in a bidding war! After all, 1 doorbell should suffice. Jack

[bingster]

Hey Jack,  doorbell buzzers and bells never run directly from house current because of the risk of electrocution at the outside push button.  Instead, a low-voltage transformer is placed between the house current and the door bell setup.  The transformers are always around 6 or 8 volts, and almost all door bells and buzzers used in North America are designed to work on those voltages.  So even though the seller doesn't know the voltage of the bells, they're certain to work with any common door bell transformer, old or new.  You can get the transformers at any hardware store, for as little as $10.

[Jack]

Thanks bingster, I'll check the extra transformers I have lying around. AC 60hz I assume? If so I can bypass the rectifier and use the transformer alone.