Hi There,

I dont know how to get this bell going?

I dont know what voltage to give it or what?

I have an idea that its some sort of oscillating magnet but I cannot confirm.

 

See if it rings (the striker moves) when quickly connected and disconnected to a 9V battery. If it does then a standard door-bell transformer should work.

 

Hi There,
I dont know how to get this bell going?
I dont know what voltage to give it or what?
I have an idea that its some sort of oscillating magnet but I cannot confirm.

Typically they have an interrupter circuit/contact, every time the solenoid is energized, at the end of the stroke the coil power is interrupted by open contact, , ad-infinitum.

 

It is not electronic, instead it is a simple electromagnet that pulls the hammer that strikes the gong.
Mine is similar but it has 2 gongs. Push the button and it goes "ding" and release the button and it goes "dong".
I think they are powered from 24VAC.

 

There was a resistance given on the text printed on the coil, but none of the images gave a totally readable view of that whole number. So if the TS can read that value, which I am guessing is 5000 ohms, a 9 volt battery will not do much. It may ring directly off the 120 volt mains supply. OR it may produce a single ding for each pulse of DC from a half wave rectifier.
I think that A G has it right.
I see nothing that looks like an interrupter contact.
It may well be a telephone ringer bell, not that old, since it has a molded plastic cover.

 

There was a resistance given on the text printed on the coil, but none of the images gave a totally readable view of that whole number. So if the TS can read that value, which I am guessing is 5000 ohms, a 9 volt battery will not do much. It may ring directly off the 120 volt mains supply. OR it may produce a single ding for each pulse of DC from a half wave rectifier.
I think that A G has it right.
I see nothing that looks like an interrupter contact.
It may well be a telephone ringer bell, not that old, since it has a molded plastic cover.

It does clearly say 5000Ω. It seems to be designed for 120VAC, given the coil.

I would be extremely reluctant to suggest the TS attempt to use mains power to test it, however.

 

It is not electronic, instead it is a simple electromagnet that pulls the hammer that strikes the gong.
Mine is similar but it has 2 gongs. Push the button and it goes "ding" and release the button and it goes "dong".
I think they are powered from 24VAC.

There are two, coaxially mounted gongs that can be seen in the photos, as well as a striker that lies between them. With a 5KΩ coil, 24V seems a bit anemic, but who knows?

 

There was a resistance given on the text printed on the coil, but none of the images gave a totally readable view of that whole number. So if the TS can read that value, which I am guessing is 5000 ohms, a 9 volt battery will not do much. It may ring directly off the 120 volt mains supply. OR it may produce a single ding for each pulse of DC from a half wave rectifier.
I think that A G has it right.
I see nothing that looks like an interrupter contact.
It may well be a telephone ringer bell, not that old, since it has a molded plastic cover.

The housing is painted cast metal, not plastic.

 

It does clearly say 5000Ω. It seems to be designed for 120VAC, given the coil.

I would be extremely reluctant to suggest the TS attempt to use mains power to test it, however.

Exactly, that's why I suggested using a 9V battery. The DCR (usually lower than the AC impedance listed for a coil) of the coil will usually draw sufficient power (it doesn't take much) to move the striker.

 

There was a resistance given on the text printed on the coil, but none of the images gave a totally readable view of that whole number. So if the TS can read that value, which I am guessing is 5000 ohms, a 9 volt battery will not do much. It may ring directly off the 120 volt mains supply. OR it may produce a single ding for each pulse of DC from a half wave rectifier.
I think that A G has it right.
I see nothing that looks like an interrupter contact.
It may well be a telephone ringer bell, not that old, since it has a molded plastic cover.

If it's a typical door-bell transformer operated unit, a 9 volt battery WILL work just fine for functional testing.

 

If it's a typical door-bell transformer operated unit, a 9 volt battery WILL work just fine for functional testing.

Because our house had a system of bells for a servant, we have a large, 24V “signal transformer” which also runs the complicated doorbell (discrete Westminster chimes that use a motor and rotary contacts to play the tune).

9V would certainly cause the hammers to ring the chimes, if anemically...

 

16 V might feel anemic, but 120 V seems large to me. That's almost 3 VA of coil power.

Where did this come from? For example, if it were on a wall in a manufacturing space, then more coil power would make sense.

ak

 

Thanks for the replys.

I found a old printer power supply laying around and managed to get the bell kinda going with 34 V.

But I would need to pulse the current now if I am not mistaken.

I am thinking if I can't use an Arduino to use a MOSFET to pulse the current.

Here is a video of the bell on 34 V -

 

If you reverse the polarity, it should ring the outer gong. It does seem to be rather weak at 34V. I suspect it was designed for mains operation, but you don’t have to use a higher voltage than is sufficient to give you the sound you want.

 

If you reverse the polarity, it should ring the outer gong. It does seem to be rather weak at 34V. I suspect it was designed for mains operation, but you don’t have to use a higher voltage than is sufficient to give you the sound you want.

I will see what it does with 120v AC. Where I am located in South Africa we run 240v AC on all our circuits so I will check how to isolate half of the sine wave to get 120v AC.

 

I will see what it does with 120v AC. Where I am located in South Africa we run 240v AC on all our circuits so I will check how to isolate half of the sine wave to get 120v AC.

PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL WITH MAINS VOLTAGES

If the bell is from a local source, it seems unlikely it was intended to use 120V, but it also seems that 240V would be excessive. It would be very nice if you happen to have access to an auto transformer so you could slowly increase the voltage to the bell.

Is there a manufacturer listed on it anywhere?

What happens when you reverse the polarity from what you showed in the video?

 

I will check how to isolate half of the sine wave to get 120v AC.

That may not be wise. If the coil saturates with half-wave current its impedance will drop and current could become excessive. If you do try it, keep an eye on coil temperature. Heed Ya'akov's warning!

 

PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL WITH MAINS VOLTAGES

If the bell is from a local source, it seems unlikely it was intended to use 120V, but it also seems that 240V would be excessive. It would be very nice if you happen to have access to an auto transformer so you could slowly increase the voltage to the bell.

Is there a manufacturer listed on it anywhere?

What happens when you reverse the polarity from what you showed in the video?

I have worked with AC mains quite a bit so I am aware of the risks thanks. (I have set up my own inverter system as we have intermittent power in SA).

On the bell I saw there is a name called "Plessey" I can't seem to find anything on the internet with that brand.

I just wired the bell in reverse the polarity and the little arm seems to go in the other direction like to hit the outer bell ring.

I will only be able to test more later today as my power is going out from 12:00 -> 16:00.

 

On the bell I saw there is a name called "Plessey" I can't seem to find anything on the internet with that brand.

Could it be the one in section 6 of this http://www.samhallas.co.uk/repository/documents/plessey_catalogue.pdf
I worked for Plessey in the 80s, but we made Sonar not bells.

 

hi Ian,
This image shows what maybe your type of bell. [Top left pair]
E
BTW: Same problem in PE with power shedding.

https://oldschoolfirealarms.com/electric-bells-and-horns/