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In the last few months, Digi-Key has been receiving a fair number of calls from folks asking for resistors and/or transformers for use with ring brand video doorbells, and it seems likely that many are finding DK through this page on the support.ring.com site.
are recommended by the ring product team for use with their equipment, and folks have been asking about the difference between the two.
Both are within ring’s recommended window of 25~33 ohms resistance, and 20~50W power rating. The FSOT30-25-ND measures roughly 1.25" x 1" x 0.6" and has some fairly convenient mounting holes, whereas the FVT50-25-ND is rather more cumbersome at 0.56" diam x 4" length. For the simple reason of physical convenience, the FSOT30-25-ND is likely the better choice between these two.
A related question along these lines is “Where can I get a suitable transformer?” All of these fall within the recommended output voltage range of 8~24VAC and come in a convenient plug-in form factor. Among them, the HM1574-ND would probably be a good first choice, as it lands nicely in the middle of the recommended voltage range and ties with several others in the group for lowest list price.
While I’ve yet to reverse-engineer one, it would appear that the Ring doorbells are designed to be able to function as a direct replacement for a traditional doorbell switch, which simply connects two wires together when pressed.
The recommended resistor is intended to act as a substitute in place of a traditional chime/bell mechanism in this case; without it, Bad Things would be expected to happen to the Ring device and/or the installation the first time somebody rang the bell.
Though on a much smaller scale, omitting the resistor without using a traditional bell/chime would be akin to cutting the cord off one’s toaster, twisting the conductors in the cord together, and plugging the cord into a live outlet. A stout spark and a tripped breaker/blown fuse is about the least unpleasant outcome one can expect from doing that… Similarly, omitting the recommended resistor when required is likely to cause permanent damage to one’s new $200 doorbell.
There is a setting in the doorbell app where you can tell it whether there’s a doorbell or not, and if there is whether it’s a mechanical or digital type. If you configure your Ring to not have a doorbell, then in principle the resistor is not required. But it’s probably good practice in case of misconfiguration or software error.
Ring “Stick up Cams” are designed to run 2-3 months on a large (2 ~“C” cell size) rechargeable battery, but they have a coax power connector that is described as a connector for a solar panel
I’ve crafted a tracklighting mount using an old tracklight base on the idea that a small low current 5v (usb) power supply hidden in the old base would then recharge the internal battery when the tracklight is powered on, but I am hesitant to risk a new Stick Up Cam to test the voltage/current question.
Does anyone know or have experience with the specs for this connector… for example, could a low current 5v power supply be used?
This suggests that the variants of the Stick Up Cam products are largely the same thing, save for any included power adapters and their format. There appear to be two power adapter variants for sale:
These appear at first glance to differ only in terms of the connector with which they are equipped. The marketing for the solar panel power sources suggests that the “battery” variant is equipped with a barrel-type plug, whereas the others are perhaps equipped with a micro-USB input.
From the information available on the website, it’s not abundantly clear which products come equipped with which connector. 5V adapters with a micro USB format output are quite common, and can be found here. Similar products equipped with a barrel plug can be found here, though being less standardized than USB-output products, there are some additional refinements that need to be made to that list to find a product that may be suitable. Some guidance on finding replacement AC-DC wall adapters in the general case can be found in this post. And if you’re feeling adventurous, a product such as the RAC05-05SK/277/W may be suitable for providing a more compact implementation which would be more conveniently incorporated into small spaces. A suitable output connector would need to be provided in this case however along with a hardwired AC line connection, the latter of which is not recommended for those without appropriate training.
Insofar as Digi-Key does not officially provide support for products not on our line card, the foregoing information cannot be guaranteed in any way.
I purchased one of the barrel plug units and determined that the power source is essentially a standard 110->5v USB supply.
Because of the size of the above power supplies, I am electing instead to use a smaller standard USB power supply that will fit inside the old tracklight base shown in the image above with an appropriate 1/8" coaxial plug that will fit the exterior power supply socket on the camera.
Other benefits of using the tracklight base as the power source is that the camera essentially disappears among the lights and is not noticeable compared to a dedicated wall or ceiling mount, plus the entire assembly can be removed or installed when needed in a few seconds.
