Yale tele alarm bell box power

[jimmmmy]

Hi all, will be fitting a Yale alarm in the next few weeks and the bell box takes 4 D (6v) type batteries.
While Yale state that these should last 2-3 years (far less if the LEDs are activated) I would rather fit and forget so was thinking of fitting a 6v charger type device to power the box siren and LEDs indefinitely and was wondering what amperage the "wall wart" needs to be to achieve this.
Thanks

 

[secureiam]

Modifications will invalidate any warranties and may damage equipment.

It should be possible to get a dc power supply that is capable of meeting the needs but you need to make sure its safe to do so.

I would ask Yale for specific advice on this topic as it is there equipment.

 

[jimmmmy]

Hi and thanks for the reply. It wouldn`t really be a modification, just replacing the power supplied by the batteries with a constant supply thereby removing the need to replace the batteries every now and then with the added advantage of being able to have the LED`s on all the time. Have been told from another forum that a 6v (same as the batteries) 1amp power supply will be more than enough to power the sounder and LED`s 24/7 so will probably be doing that.

 

[Doggit]

It's not really a modification to the bell sounder, more of one to the transformer, You've got to modify the connector to attach to the plus and minus connections in the battery holder. A 6V 1amp transformer should be sufficient, but you could check with Yale what the total amperage rating is. I assume that you are putting the transformer inside the house.

 

[secureiam]

I would be surprised if used that much power, as its wireless using 1A when most wired bells use around 0.5A but a 1A should be plenty if it needs to draw.

A modification is to change something from its original design, originally designed to work on batteries.

Usually a specification somewhere on how much a device uses.

 

[bernardgreen]

Using a dummy battery made out of wooden dowel cut to the length of several batteries with coins fitted to the ends for contacts is a way to supply the required Extra Low Voltage to a device without modifying the equipment in any way.

The extra low voltage ( the battery voltage ) fed to the dummy battery is generated by a power supply unit that may be a larger battery or a power supply unit that converts mains power into smoothed DC at the correct voltage

Depending on the layout of the battery holder it may require two dummies. One with the positive lead and the other with the negative lead.

That said adding long leads to a device that relies on wireless communications may compromise the operation of the receiver. The long lead(s) will act as an antenna and bring RF energy into the unit and this RF energy may swamp the unit's receiver. RF energy of any frequency can swamp a receiver not designed to cope with out of band RF energy.

The power supply used to replace the batteries needs to be well filtered to prevent mains hum getting into the equipment. Equipment designed to work on batteries does not need to have any supply filtering ( batteries do not create hum ) and may be affected by mains hum on the supply.

EDITED to remove a possible mis-understanding due to my poor description

 

[Europlex]

Anyone know the name of a local Funeral Director, jimmmy is going to need one

Bernard, the HSE would have a field day if someone was killed with this ludicrous suggestion of yours.

Were are joking, aren't you?

 

[bernardgreen]

Were are joking, aren't you?

Yes it was badly worded ....... Dummy batteries are a way to connect Extra Low Voltage supplies to equipment that is normally powered from internal batteries. The Extra Low Voltage Supplies would come from a suitable power supply unit that may a larger battery or a may be a transformer + rectifier + filter that converts mains 230 volt AC into the required ELV smoothed DC to simulate the batteries normally used in the equipment.

I would assume the OP would have realised that the dummies would be connected to an extra low voltage that matched the battery voltage and not to the mains. That said the OP has bought an alarm that depends on one way wireless communication for its operation.

 

[jimmmmy]

Anyone know the name of a local Funeral Director, jimmmy is going to need one

I take it your referring to any unfortunate spider that might stray into the sounder and get enough of a jolt from a 6v 1amp supply to make the hairs on its legs stand up, quite funny anyway...haha (doh)
As for wiring up the box, luckily I`m not colour blind and can see red and black and my soldering skills are second to none (many years of RC planes and the like) and yes, a 6v psu (mentioned more than once) to match the battery voltage and perhaps a few ferrite rings to filter the non existant RF noise out (choke) excuse the pun

 

[MollyLPM]

Hi jimmmmy,
Did you make this modification?
Did it work OK?

 

[dbaplaya]

ive just posted something similar as im sick of getting up a ladder to change the battery. Did you find a solution?

 

[JohnD]

... im sick of getting up a ladder to change the battery. Did you find a solution?

In my elderly mother's house, I fitted the bellbox close to an upstairs window that was visible from the street but out of reach from the ground. No ladder and no sickness.

I mounted it so I could lift it off the keyhole shaped screwholes and wangle it into the house. If I was doing it again I might add a security thumbscrew or vine eye so I could undo it from the house but nobody trying to poke the alarm with a pole could shift it. Or add a safety chain. The tamper alarm sounds if the bellbox is moved.

The batteries do last years, so it is no big deal.

I use Lithium cells in some items for long life, but I haven't seen them in that extra-large "D" size to fit the bellbox. Maybe they are sold for industrial use. edit: yes they are

If I was going to power the bellbox from a PSU inside the house, I think I would want a standby battery supply inside the box. Unless you were going to assemble a new circuit I think you'd need a rechargeable cell that could be left on trickle indefinitely. Possibly a 6v SLA as used in my home system.

Before you know where you are, you'd be better off fitting a wired system, as you lose the advantage of "cheap and simple"