02-07-12, 02:54 PM | #1 |
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automated gong?
So I just tore a wall in my house in half and it just so happens that the doorbell chime was on the part that got trashed. I was looking at the options for doorbell chimes and am unimpressed so I got the great idea to build my own. I started by looking for chimes that I could hang when I ran across gongs. That's right folks. I'm thinking about having my doorbell sound a gong. I found some nice ones on Amazon and I figure I can just hang it on the wall. The only problem now is how to hammer it? I know not so much about electronics but I imagine that there is a motor of some kind that can get enough force to swing a gong hammer. I would hang the gong about 4" away from the wall so the hammer wouldn't have too far to travel. It could be powered by 120v and I could use a relay from the 16v that my doorbell system uses. Or.... I don't know what else.
I'm thinking about this gong. There are a bunch of creative folks here so I thought I'd toss this out and see what bites. Any ideas? |
02-07-12, 03:30 PM | #2 |
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Grab a $5 automotive power door lock actuator off ebay. You'll have to install a spring so it automatically retracts, but 16V on a switch would smash that gong pretty good. Put different tips on the actuator to tweak the sound.
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02-07-12, 03:58 PM | #3 |
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Not a bad idea. Making it retract might be an issue though,
My friend sent me a link to this site which is apparently all about solenoids. I just don't know how powerful and fast the action of them is. EDIT: Daox, A thought just came to as to why not. AC vs. DC. Oops. Good idea though. Last edited by S-F; 02-07-12 at 05:51 PM.. |
02-07-12, 05:24 PM | #4 |
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Not sure how much force you need to get a good sound, but my first thought is to use a basic doorbell. My basic bell is just two little solenoids, that when the button is pressed, jump a quarter inch and strike the chime plate. if this was mounted where it struck your gong instead, it might be enough to sound it.
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02-07-12, 06:51 PM | #5 |
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My door bell is pretty basic and the solenoid that hits the chime is just a simple electro magnet with a steel rod that gets pulled to the center and a wood tip hits the chime, I've made solenoids like that before with small copper wire wrapped around a drinking straw and a chunk of nail, use a weak spring to return it.
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02-07-12, 08:11 PM | #6 | |
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Quote:
You could rectify the AC power with a couple diodes.
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