Two Chimes - Two power units?

[EWSBill]

Wondering.... do I need two "power units".... one for each chime?    Wouldn't think so but want to be sure.

[StephenB]

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@EWSBill wrote:

Wondering.... do I need two "power units".... one for each chime?    Wouldn't think so but want to be sure.

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I'm wondering that myself.  @JamesC - can you check on this?

[TomMac]

Maybe... with two chimes (say front/back ) there are 3 wires with one common...

the " power unit" has 2 connections to bypass the power for the camera.  Thinking you need two in this setup so power bypasses each set of terminals

[ADubTX]

I’ve hooked up the doorbell to just one chime in the house and neither house chime works. Might take 2 transmitters as the doorbell works.

[StephenB]

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@ADubTX wrote:
I’ve hooked up the doorbell to just one chime in the house and neither house chime works. Might take 2 transmitters as the doorbell works.

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Does it work ok if you disconnect the power module?

[ADubTX]

Yes, unhooked the the power unit and now the doorbell works. So basically you don't need the power unit.

[EWSBill · Accepted solution]

Interesting.   The primary function of the power unit is for handshake protocol for the doorbell itself.   The fact that you can use it without power unit may be a concern as one could steal your doorbell and perhaps use it at their house.  

Now, with that said I got my answer to original question.   You do not need two power units if you have two chimes.  Having two means the doorbell gets confused due to the dual handshake!   LOL

It appears my first doorbell got corrupted on firmware update.   I'm up and running now!

Bill

[StephenB]

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@ADubTX wrote:

Yes, unhooked the the power unit and now the doorbell works. So basically you don't need the power unit.

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I found that with my own doorbell.   Though most people do need the power module.

There are some risks with not using it - the doorbell chime might misbehave (humming, or sounding when it shouldn't), and the doorbell itself might overheat or otherwise have problems.  So be on the lookout for stuff like that.  FWIW, they don't appear to be happening on my own system.

Arlo is working with me to try to sort out what's going on with my own setup.

[StephenB]

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@EWSBill wrote:

The primary function of the power unit is for handshake protocol for the doorbell itself.   

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Where did you get that info?  Not sure what you mean by "handshake protocol".  If you mean the tamper detection, I think it'd be enough for the doorbell to report that when the power is disconnected.

My info from Arlo is that it is intended to make sure that both the doorbell and the chime are properly powered.  A "dumb" doorbell is just a switch that doesn't draw power.  The video doorbell needs to draw power all the time, and that power is needs to run through the chime(s) since they are on the same circuit.