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DB-1 Antique Noise Toy, what is it?

443

W9WDX Amateur Radio Club Member
Sep 25, 2010
258
112
53
Texas
Anyone know what this is or know how to test it? It looks like it may be missing a wire? See photo.

DB-1-01.jpg

DB-1-02a.jpg
 

s-l1600.jpg


Think it is the same thing as this, except yours is missing 2 wires and a momentary switch.
They sell on Ebay for $15 and come with pre-programmed sound bytes.
Like the road runner's 'meep-meep', or whatever . . .
 
DB-1 is a doorbell. White wire is audio output, red is power. Green wire 'keys' the noise when it's grounded, and the missing wire is probably ground.

Connecting the green wire to the transmit pin of the mike socket makes it a key-up 'bong'. A switch in line with the green wire shuts it off.

The voltage on the green wire might make it unsafe for radios like RCI2950 clones, where the mike doesn't key the radio, but keys a 5-Volt computer chip. A check to see how much voltage appears on the green wire will probably prove to be more than 5 Volts. This can be toxic to the unobtainium CPU chip in those radios.

Best I can remember, anyway.

73
 
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Wow, Had one of these installed in a Ebay Washington I had purchased, I couldn't find any codes or numbers to tell about the goofy sound it made. I turned on another radio and gave it a whirl, Wow a clopping horse that gave a winnie at the end. Wow kind of mid evil sounding. I would be embarrassed to use it unless I wanted to agitate. I wouldn't do that! :)
 
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Reactions: Shadetree Mechanic
DB-1 is a doorbell. White wire is audio output, red is power. Green wire 'keys' the noise when it's grounded, and the missing wire is probably ground.

Connecting the green wire to the transmit pin of the mike socket makes it a key-up 'bong'. A switch in line with the green wire shuts it off.

The voltage on the green wire might make it unsafe for radios like RCI2950 clones, where the mike doesn't key the radio, but keys a 5-Volt computer chip. A check to see how much voltage appears on the green wire will probably prove to be more than 5 Volts. This can be toxic to the unobtainium CPU chip in those radios.

Best I can remember, anyway.

73

Thanks for the info, will check it out and update. I think it probably is a Doorbell. Date code says 04 / 1988 so that's really old, doorbell was popular back then.
 
Added a black/ground wire to that empty hole, and fired it up, and nomadradio you were right it works like that. Red is B+ Missing/Black wire is GND and white is audio output, and green is trigger when grounded AND there is 9VDC present on that Green Wire.

On the scope the Audio output has two descending bursts, does "look" like a doorbell sound, will have to hook it up to an amplified speaker or something to see what it sounds like before installing it in any radio. I may have one around here that would be cool to have a Doorbell in, for running Disney Channel 19.
 

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