Doorbell Intercom any advice?

Lions21

I'm considering buying a doorbell intercom for my flat which is in a very quiet area with poor lighting. Has anyone any experience with these things?

I can pick up a black & white video version on ebay for about £75 but am unsure whether the video versions would be worth buying.

Does anyone know of shops on the high street where these can be looked at?

Thanks

Nile

Hello Lions21


Welcome to the MSE site.:wave:

We have one of these intercom things on the outside door at work, it's obviously been installed by someone like Catweasel (electrickery) because every time you pick up the receiver you get terrible feedback.:eek:

I hope your experience is better.

Kind Regards

Nile

Fruitcake

I'm very pleased with the video intercom I bought on Ebay from a place in Bristol. The one I got has a metal cover over the outdoor bit for extra protection. I also chiselled out the wall to sink it flush as my previous audio intercom got smashed off the wall.

You shouldn't get feedback if the two parts are far enough apart, ie not on either side of the same door but in another room or behind an inner door. Some shops like B&Q used to sell them but stopped a few years ago. I suspect the ones on Ebay are new "old stock" from these places.

Mine has a small outdoor unit with camera, speaker and illuminated bellpush. The indoor unit looks like a wall mounted 'phone with a small TV screen and a warning button which sounds a siren on the outside to scare people off.

The only drawback I find is that some visitors don't realise the button with a picture of a bell on it is the bellpush so they knock instead! Also some people press the bellpush to talk which means you can't hear them because the bell is ringing! Apart from that it's no problem.

If you get one of these, make sure it's not pointed at a streetlight as the image will flare out. If I remember I will look at the make of mine and post it back when I get home this evening.

Fruitcake

You Only Listen To Me When I'm Wrong

Lions21

At last people who have them!

Thanks for your help.

Fruitcake

I can't find a makers name on mine anywhere, not even on the back. I forgot to mention that my outlaws have had one of these for several years and have had no problems. They bought it in a B&Q superstore but it must have been the last one because when I went to look they had none left, and have had none ever since.

I think we paid about £60 for ours on an Ebay "buy it now," but collected it to save on the delivery charge.

Good Luck with your hunt anyway.


Fruitcake

You Only Listen To Me When I'm Wrong

catkins

Look in Maplins not the cheapest but good quality and they will give you advice. If you get feedback it can usually be adjusted to get rid of it.

Lions21

Gonna get one from ebay.

Thanks for your help.

21

melodytoon

I'm looking for one of these things with the camera, but can't seem to find one with enough cable. I need 10m from the front door to the internal unit, & at least 8m to run from the internal unit to the mains plug. If you did ever find the make or know of someone doing them, please let me know. I've tried Maplins & the people I spoke in two different stores didn't seem to know what day it was, never mind whether they sold the product. Thanks.

Lions21

Melody,

Sorry, only just seen your question. I bought it off ebay, just checked EBAY and there is one up there made by BNIB security (although I don't recall being able to see that on it). The outside box is not designed for outdoor use so was not appropriate for me.

It works really well even in the dark and is worth getting if you live in a block of flats and have it just outside your own door. You need a plug adaptor for the handset as it's not British made.

Hope you find what you're after.

21

melodytoon

Hi, I got something in the end. I ended up getting a "Two-way Talking Doorbell", which I found on a variety of sites including Help The Aged's (you can find a bit more detail on it here). Basically, it's a small unit that fixes on the outside wall, & then 25ft of telephone line is attached to a provided telephone unit inside the property. When the person outside presses the button, it rings inside the house (loudly) - the person inside just has to pick up the receiver & speak to the visitor, before going to open the door.

There's no wiring involved - the hardest bit was drilling the wall outside (I'd forgotten how heavy my old drill was!), but once that was done I just used the provided rawlplugs & screws to fix the unit to the wall, then used 'phone clips (not provided) to fix the telephone cable to the skirting board & it was done within an hour from start to finish. It runs off 4 x AA batteries placed in the 'phone unit itself, but for anyone buying this, don't get Duracell's. They're a tiny bit fatter than other AA types & don't lie properly in the space provided, with the result that the connection isn't stable. Cheap Panasonics (sometimes 2 packs for £1) do the job just fine.