Help - Front Door Chime

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John Gornall

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
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Jan 23, 2001
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An Island in the Pacific
We like to keep the front door of our store open as weather permits. Many years ago we did some tests and found that 15% more of the people passing by would come into the store if the door was open rather than closed. For 20 years we had a little black box that had a light beam across the door and when someone entered a ding dong was heard - wires to the back where we were working caused another ding dong there as well. The person entering heard the chime and knew we were aware they had entered and this was a theft deterent and we in the back, 70 feet from the front door to the Vee Nialer, didn't leave customers waiting. But now this little black box has failed and we need to replace it and I can't seem to find another similar system. Do any of you have something like this or know where I can get one?

I have found one on the internet at www.doorchime.com/50.htm - a model DA 50 which seems ideal. It's wireless, the door sender uses batteries and needs no power cord, and the cordless receiver in the back has a volume adjustable chime. have any of you tried this model?

Last question - as the distributer of this item only accepts orders from within the USA, is there one of you that would mind mailing one to me in Canada?
 
John,
I've been using the one mentioned from Radio Shack for the past year. It works great, except the batteries don't seem to last very long (couple of months) & I've had it get (stuck on) several times. That drives me and the customer crazy
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Also, it works with a motion sensor, which is quite sensitive, so if your customer is standing near the doorway, it will continue to ring. I'm looking for something a little better
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Hi John, We have that model in both front doors and we have been happy with it. The Fed Ex truck sets it off when it's parked out front and sometimes Police cars do to. So if you have an abudancy of either near your door it may get annoying :eek:
 
I use a infrared sensor from Radio Shack that plugs into AC, so no batteries. It can use the built-in buzzer or set up for a remote buzzer.
 
Thanks, but the simple truth is I'm looking for something better than Radio Shack. I bought the unit from Radio Shack - it is an alarm with a buzzer so I had to buy a chime and put up with more wires hanging out of the thing - the instructions for wiring the chime were wrong and waited 2 days to get a fax from Radio Shack correcting the instructions so the chime would work. Now it sits by the door with wires like a rats nest and still doesn't work very well. The web address I showed above has a simple battery powered infrared sensor that mounts above the door and a wireless receiver that mounts and rings in the back of the shop. I like top of the line equipment that works well!
 
Just a thought: you might check the private security/burglar alarm companies for the upper end stuff of this kind.
 
and just another thought.... Would the mechanism you are looking for be the same as, or similar to, the infrared sensors on garage door openers? If so, maybe this will point you in the direction of a supplier...
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It's me, the insane search-addict! Try some of these, John. Hope they help.

here's one
and another
and another, or...
JUST CLICK HERE!

Originally posted by John Gornall CPF:
I like top of the line equipment that works well!
Click to expand...
John, that's what you'll find on the links above. If the Radio Shack model hasn't suited you, you can surely find one, especially on the 'Just click here' link.
 
For years we used various Radio Shack-level chiming devices on our doors that were never really satisfactory.

The best solution, if you can justify the added cost, is a basic commercial security system (like ADT). These come with an door-chime feature that is very reliable.
 
John, I've been using the AC one from Radio Shack for years. When I first got it, it would not send the signals back to the bell in the back room. The solution was to purchase a standard home type door bell transformer, it hooks up to the Radio Shack unit and works great. You still need all the wires going to the back room, but like a home doorbell, it's very dependable. I actually fried one of the Radio Shack AC ones trying to get it to send the signal to the back room without the transformer hooked up to it. The one I'm using now is the same one I hooked up twenty years ago. Radio Shack does make a few good things.

Hope this helps,

John
 
We have a "beam breaker" from an alarm system which is wired to a counter (you could easily put a horn on instead), having an accurate count of foot traffic through the door is most useful, I would recommend you consider having a sparky make up a device with both if you're not comfortable doing it yourself (I did it so it must be pretty darned easy). All the parts came from an electrical supplier along with their advise for making it all work.
....or a few nails of reasonable length in the doorway, screams can be heards for miles :eek: .
 
The other place you can check for door chimes is the store fixture places and catalogs. I usually have a couple around here but can't seem to find them when I want to. In the past I've noticed that they usually carry a couple of different choices.

Just another avenue to check,

Roxanne
(Where we're enjoying a beautiful spring day and the wildflowers are blooming)
 
I think a battery-operated device would be a maintenance problem, wouldn't it?

My plug-in Radio Shack unit has beeped at me for over ten years now. I haven't found anything better at any price, but maybe they no longer sell it. As I recall, it cost about $150.US

It's a retro-reflective infrared device in a black box about 8" x 5" x 3", mounted above one corner of the front door. An infrared light (invisible and unaffected by sunlight) beams diagonally across the doorway to a reflector mounted near the floor. The light signal reflects back to a receiver (located in the same unit right next to the sender); when the light beam is interrupted, it activates a piezo-electric beeper in the unit, and also one in the back of the shop.
 
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