I am trying to upgrade our existing bell with my arduino to detect whether the bell is used and to mute the bell.
The circuit for the bell runs with 9V AC. In order to minimize the wiring I want to serially connect something to the bell such that it is possible with my arduino to turn the bell on and off and I can detect whether the bell was used.
I tried to use two relays: one as a switch which can be used by the arduino and one as a switch which will be closed when the bell is used. They were parallel connected. But since I am a beginner nothing worked as intended 🙂
Is it possible to do this with two relays? Or is there a better way to make it work?
EDIT
Thanks for the answer. The bell isn't earthed. I tried this:
What is wrong with it? 🙂
Best Answer
Here's your detection circuit:
simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab
The output will pulse 4.7V at the same frequency as the source when the bell is being triggered, which is appropriate for a 5V Arduino. Use a different zener diode if your Arduino is running at a different voltage. Note that R1 should be a 1/2W device or higher since 200+mW of power will be dissipated through it.
EDIT:
simulate this circuit
This new schematic connects to an input with the internal pull-up enabled. It will pulse low at half the frequency of the source.