Can I modify Blink video doorbell to take power supply from 12/5/3V transformer instead of batteries?

T

tmcdiscord

Getting the hang of it
Dec 12, 2022
25
28
U.S
I have the Blink video doorbell that I purchased about 1 year ago. First, when I saw the title of the amazon product, they had this in it "... wired or wire-free". So I got fooled into thinking I can connect the video door bell to a dc 12v transformer so I can record 24/7. But then, of course after buying it, I found out how they advertised it was misleading and the 'wired' was only to be used with a chime (which I don't use).

Now, after some time, it was outside and not working because I got tired of replacing the batteries. So I thought of connecting it to a variable power supply with 3V, since it has 2 AA 1.5 batteries connected in series. I connected it to the variable power supply to test the idea of providing the device with power from a transformer. However, the device was only blinking red once and then it stops blinking (normally, it would blink till it get synched). So I increased the voltage to 6V, and I soon regret it. Now, it doesn't blink at all and it stopped working even when batteries are inserted.

I think the fuses got busted. I just need to solder in new fuses and things might work.

However, my question is, is it possible to modify this device so I can connect it to a 12/5V transformer and then I can achieve 24/7 hours recording with motion detection of course without worrying about batteries dying out?
 
What was the output amperage of your transformer?

Once you find the needed amperage & voltage of the Blink you can put in a in-line resistor.
 
Gargoile said:
What was the output amperage of your transformer?

Once you find the needed amperage & voltage of the Blink you can put in a in-line resistor.
Click to expand...
I'm not really sure if I remember, perhaps 0.2 amps. What is an in-line resistor? Is that just a normal resistor?
 
Are you sure the PSU you were using output DC? Can’t see any other reason why it wouldn’t work unless the batteries are in parallel?

I used to have a Ring Pro doorbell but replaced it with a Pro 2 and the sneaky Rings gits had replaced the transformer requirements, the Pro needed a 24v AC supply whereas the Pro 2 requires a 24v DC supply so had me scratching my head for quite a while.
 
I'm not sure, but it seems like a huge engineering design flaw not to use the line supplied power (or an incentive not to do so by the battery lobby). I plan to wire in a wheatstone bridge, capacitor and 3V voltage regulator taking the power from the door bell terminals. If that doesn't work, it going into the trash and I'll replace it with a competitive product. I'm so frustrated with Blink, it's completely unreliable. Their stock answer for issues is to reset the modem, router and nodes. Everything else works in my home that relies on the internet works, why doesn't this?

I will update once I make the modifications.
 
tmcdiscord said:
But then, of course after buying it, I found out how they advertised it was misleading and the 'wired' was only to be used with a chime (which I don't use).
Click to expand...
It would be easier to just power it off of a 16-24 VAC Doorbell Transformer. It should work without a chime wired in so long as the action when the button is pressed is current limited.

tmcdiscord said:
So I thought of connecting it to a variable power supply with 3V, since it has 2 AA 1.5 batteries connected in series. I connected it to the variable power supply to test the idea of providing the device with power from a transformer. However, the device was only blinking red once and then it stops blinking (normally, it would blink till it get synched). So I increased the voltage to 6V, and I soon regret it. Now, it doesn't blink at all and it stopped working even when batteries are inserted.

I think the fuses got busted. I just need to solder in new fuses and things might work.
Click to expand...
Powering it as designed from 16-24VAC would be your best option. If that doesn't work, do yourself a favor and just upgrade to the Reolink doorbell.
 
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