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Convert an existing wired doorbell into a smart doorbell using ESPHome

frenck.dev

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Re: Convert an existing wired doorbell into a smart doorbell using ESPHome

#41

Post by jaeckel »

gh02t wrote: post #38
eadmund wrote: post #35

The only real advantage of this seems to be the ability to disable the chime during quiet hours. Otherwise it seems like a much more failure-prone doorbell (more components means more things to break). Why not go the other way entirely? Disable the chime, install a door knocker, and never worry about replacing outdated tech, dried capacitors, shorts or anything else for the rest of one’s life.

You can know if someone rings your doorbell when you aren't there is one tangible advantage. Or you can add a remote bell if you're often working in a basement, shed etc. If you don't want to deal with maintenance then don't, but some people like to play with stuff like this. The author of this article is one of the maintainers of ESPhome and one of the biggest contributors to Home Assistant, so he definitely is the…

> I have a [local only, no cloud] doorbell with a camera that does person detection.

Would you maybe share with us how you built it/which parts you used?

Re: Convert an existing wired doorbell into a smart doorbell using ESPHome

#43

Post by krisoft »

undecisive wrote: post #30
Someone wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m almost ignorant on this device, but FTA ( https://frenck.dev/diy-smart-doorbell-for-just-2-dollar/#2-t... ) “This relay module board for the ESP-01(S), It comes pre-soldered, and the ESP will just slide on top of it.” So, bending that pin breaks a connection between the CPU board and the relais board, so that pressing the doorbell wouldn’t be able to send a reset signal to the CPU, or, as the article says: FTA: “…

Ahh! So it's not the ESP that has an extra connection, it's the relay breakout board. That makes much more sense. Yeah, I guess you would need to sound the doorbell every boot, and that might be inconvenient in places with a lot of power supply issues / loadshedding. That said, that quick-boot-button link? That's some brilliant info right there.

> I guess you would need to sound the doorbell every boot

Funny that the store bought wireless doorbell I have does exactly that. :D I guessed it does that to avoid/reduce returns from people who doesn't manage to pair it with the doorbell button and think that it is "not working". So pre-emptively they do a chime right after you plugged in to show that it is working.

Re: Convert an existing wired doorbell into a smart doorbell using ESPHome

#44

Post by Semaphor »

eadmund wrote: post #35

The only real advantage of this seems to be the ability to disable the chime during quiet hours. Otherwise it seems like a much more failure-prone doorbell (more components means more things to break). Why not go the other way entirely? Disable the chime, install a door knocker, and never worry about replacing outdated tech, dried capacitors, shorts or anything else for the rest of one’s life.

I have a device that "forwards" the bell sound to a receiver because my office is too far away to hear the bell otherwise. This would solve it, your suggestion would be even worse.

Re: Convert an existing wired doorbell into a smart doorbell using ESPHome

#46

Post by alright2565 »

uxp100 wrote: post #23
alright2565 wrote: post #18

I wouldn't recommend crimping your own hookup wires as a hobbiest, especially not dupont. The unofficial tools for dupont mostly all suck, and the official tools are $400+[1]. [1]: https://www.mattmillman.com/info/crimpconnectors/dupont-and-... For my own crimping of dupont, I'm using the Iwiss SN-025 which works OK, but even then I've mostly switched to Mini-PV because I was tired of the dupont receptacles wearing o…

Hey, this is good info. I’ve got the pictured Amazon seller kit, and it works really bad! For the task of connecting 2.54mm “pin headers” on boards you prefer mini-pv. A little hard to search for, but does this require a special crimper of its own? As a hobbiest you don’t recommend doing your own crimping at all, and I am willing to pay money, but I do kinda need specific lengths due to a tight enclosure without much…

> A little hard to search for, but does this require a special crimper of its own?

The IWISS SN-025 works well for the Mini-PV too. Which makes sense, since the dupont connectors are a near-clone designed for cheaper production.

> As a hobbiest you don’t recommend doing your own crimping at all

I just don't find it very enjoyable, especially getting to the point where I have tools that are actually suitable! The IWISS SN025 is fairly new[1] and before I ran across Matt's blog, reliable information on this subject was hard to find.

But I mean I have after all gone through the effort of getting tools and connectors, so it's more of a medium "recommend against" rather than a "not worth doing at all". It's almost like my preference with assembling PCBs. I don't mind that as much, and am good at it, but if I can just pay someone $20 to do it for me, I'll do that instead. Except I don't think there's any services at that price point for cable harnesses.

[1]: https://www.mattmillman.com/iwiss-sn-025-another-head-scratc...

Re: Convert an existing wired doorbell into a smart doorbell using ESPHome

#47

Post by gh02t »

jaeckel wrote: post #41
gh02t wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can know if someone rings your doorbell when you aren't there is one tangible advantage. Or you can add a remote bell if you're often working in a basement, shed etc. If you don't want to deal with maintenance then don't, but some people like to play with stuff like this. The author of this article is one of the maintainers of ESPhome and one of the biggest contributors to Home Assistant, so he definitely is the…

> I have a [local only, no cloud] doorbell with a camera that does person detection. Would you maybe share with us how you built it/which parts you used?

Amcrest AD110 doorbell connected over wifi to a recycled HP mini-PC (can be had cheaply on Amazon) running Frigate (https://frigate.video/) with a Google Coral accelerator installed in one of the internal slots. The Amcrest doorbell does have a cloud video connection if you want, but I firewalled it off from the internet and use the local RTSP streaming over to Frigate. Frigate talks to my local Home Assistant install too for automation. Also built a little buzzer with an ESP8266 and a simple piezo buzzer that runs ESPHome, which Home Assistant can use to play little sounds for stuff like person at the front door, lightning strikes in the area, etc... whatever you want to. The doorbell also has a local API to expose notifications when the button is pressed, which you can link to HA with amcrest2mqtt.

The wifi connection for the doorbell isn't ideal for security purposes, but it's good enough and a lot easier than getting CAT5 to my doorbell. It is more or less 100% reliable with my home wifi setup, though again I'm not really counting on it for any sort of reliable home security.

OP is absolutely right tho that this setup requires work to put together and maintain. Configuring Frigate can be especially confusing, but there are other local options like BlueIris (paid, and Windows only which kills it for me but it is very capable). I've been in this game for many years so it's all easy to me, but getting started is definitely a learning curve. Very fun though, if it's your sort of thing. The DIY home automation community is in a bit of a golden age right now, IMO.

Re: Convert an existing wired doorbell into a smart doorbell using ESPHome

#49

Post by tstack »

eadmund wrote: post #35

The only real advantage of this seems to be the ability to disable the chime during quiet hours. Otherwise it seems like a much more failure-prone doorbell (more components means more things to break). Why not go the other way entirely? Disable the chime, install a door knocker, and never worry about replacing outdated tech, dried capacitors, shorts or anything else for the rest of one’s life.

I followed these instructions and the main advantage for us is that it can send notifications to phones and google/alexa devices. I ended up switching the software to sinric.pro, though.

Re: Convert an existing wired doorbell into a smart doorbell using ESPHome

#50

Post by reyostallenberg »

ulrischa wrote: post #36

Have somebody used a shelly 1 or so for this? I wonder how complicated this is because I look for a simple (maybe more expensive) but open and hackable solution

Yes, someone has

https://community.home-assistant.io/t/make-a-dumb-doorbell-s...

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