New RCA HSDB2A 3MP Doorbell IP Camera

[moista]

OK, finally its working.

Support answered really quick with standard answer (they described every single step the app force me to follow). Anyway, to describe my problem step by step, i tried it again and it just works. My guess is, they changed something in the backend or whitelisted the device s/n. For example, the site i.ezvizlife.com no longer works as of today without plugin, yesterday it did.

I attach the working (left) / not working (right) power-units:


I already flashed Hikvision FW and now I'm testing with a simple 12V DC Relais (chime-mode: classical). Its working now for 3 hours and I am confident that it will continue to work.

 

[pete_c]

Good news @moista !!

 

[David L]

OK, finally its working.

Support answered really quick with standard answer (they described every single step the app force me to follow). Anyway, to describe my problem step by step, i tried it again and it just works. My guess is, they changed something in the backend or whitelisted the device s/n. For example, the site i.ezvizlife.com no longer works as of today without plugin, yesterday it did.

I attach the working (left) / not working (right) power-units:
View attachment 79562View attachment 79563

I already flashed Hikvision FW and now I'm testing with a simple 12V DC Relais (chime-mode: classical). Its working now for 3 hours and I am confident that it will continue to work.

Glad you got it fixed. I am guessing we are going to have more Power Kit issues reported here...We have had several No Chime issues lately, maybe this explains their issues...

 

[msmcknight]

Hi All,

I'm trying to get a Hikvision DS-HD1 working and it's been a struggle so far. These posts have been helpful, unfortunately I'm coming into them 312 pages and 3 years late!

For whomever manages the DOORBELL 101 article, I'd like to suggest a couple of adds that I have learned so far...

When I first connected my doorbell I got the fast flashing red light and I couldn't find anything online that helped. The product documentation simply says it means "doorbell exception" -- about as useful as a sack of wet mice. Anyway, once I added the power module to the chime, as suggested in the 101 article, I got a blue light and was able to connect. I had read somewhere that the power module was only needed for mechanical chimes and mine are electronic so I had skipped that step of the install. In the 101 article, the only mention of FLASHING RED is left blank, so maybe add this as a note there?

Another one that has driven me crazy and I've been struggling with ever since I finally got that glorious blue light was that the doorbell would drop off the wifi exactly every 5 minutes... like clockwork. I just stumbled across a few posts about 136 pages into this thread and it was mentioned that the doorbell tries to ping it's gateway to determine if it has internet connectivity and if the ping fails, it drops and reconnects to wifi. I have my DHCP sever set so that the camera doesn't get a router or DNS information since I have no desire for my cameras to talk to the outside world. Instead of pointing the camera to the gateway, I just pointed it to another dumb device on my network... something that it could successfully ping. Where my camera wouldn't stay connected for more than 5 mins, it's now been online for almost a hour! This also isn't mentioned in the 101 article but was so much help to me.... but very hard to find.

I have a few problems with the camera that I still need some help with...

1) In iVMS-4200, I am not able to get motion events to work. In the live-view panel, if there is motion, I see the little red alarm indicator but I can't seem to get an event triggered. I do get PIR Alarm event alerts and I can get iVMS to trigger an "Alarm Triggered Pop-up Image" with PIR, but not with a Motion Detection event. This is all translating into nothing getting recorded to the storage server. I am not using internal SD card storage. All of my cameras record to a single iVMS Storage Server. I have about 20 cameras that work just fine in iVMS and have set this one up the same as the others, but it's just not working. Are there special steps I need to take to get recording and motion event triggering to work with this camera in iVMS? I've tried with iVMS versions 2.6.2.7 and 3.4.0.10.

2) When I press the doorbell button, it makes the ringing sound out of it's speaker and then the blue light goes off for a couple seconds and then comes back on again. Is that the expected behavior? I'm worried that the blue light going out is a problem indicator.

3) The doorbell is not ringing any of the chimes. In my house, I have one doorbell and three electronic chimes... one on each floor. Electrically, the transformer is connected to the middle-floor chime and the other two branch off of it. I installed the power module in this "central" chime. As mentioned above, this made the red flashing light turn blue. As far as I can tell, camera power is stable. Does this indicate I need a more powerful transformer? My current transformer is a 3-post model and it looks like it's currently wired to the 16v/10va posts. There are 24v/20va posts that I could use. If I simply swapped the wire on the transformer, would that give the doorbell the power it needs? The chimes are listed at 16v... would bumping the line to 24v hurt them? Or should I get a 16v/30va transformer instead? Would 30va overheat the camera?

If this was the wrong place to ask these questions, please forgive me and point me in the right direction.

Thanks to you all in advance

 

[pete_c]

Welcome to the forum @msmcknight.

The Hikvision Doorbell 101 document has been assembled per live user interactions and assembled from these 312 posts in an attempt to cover all bases with all scenarios and all of the sold Hikvision Video doorbells with their different apps.

That said I believe you are the first here with three electronic chimes connected to one doorbell button (assumed).

Personally I would suggest:

1 - configuring the video doorbell on a workbench with only a new AC power supply anywhere in the house and making sure it functions fine.

IE: make yourself a testing configuration using an old or new computer power cord cut such that you can connect the ac leads to one side of an AC transformer. Connect the other side of the transformer to your doorbell.

It is assumed that your current doorbell AC transformer is fine for the three chimes but most likely will not power your doorbell and three chimes.

2 - document you doorbell wiring, transformer wiring and 3 chimes wiring; post a drawing here before installation outside.

We will help and get you going.

 

[moista]

I had read somewhere that the power module was only needed for mechanical chimes

Well, I made a little circuit-sketch (wrong components, just for imagination):


part 1 is the classical chime wiring (Lamp = Chime). The Push-Button (Switch) closes the whole circuit if pressed - the Bulb shines, ehm i mean, the chime rings
part 2: the doorbell is more than just a push-button; it needs some current to record videos, scan for motion, etc. In contrast to part 1 the circuit is always closed (the resistor on top of the button represents this). Now is flowning as much current through the Chime as the Doorbell needs (the bulb would glim lightly, a classical/mechanical chime would ring quietly, the digtal one, well i guess it cant decide, what to do with this signal. In case of a button press, all available current can flow.
part 3 + 4: how can i be archived to get the chime working as it should? Well, we need a "smart resistor" in parallel to the consumer and this is done by the powerkit. Part 3 represent the initial/regular state (Button is not pressed) - most of the current flows through the Resistor on the right, because of this, the chime is not ringing. Part 4 represents the pressed state (someone pushed the button at the doorbell); now the "smart resistor" (powerkit) senses, that more current is flowing throug itself and stops to let the current pass through it - the current now flows through the consumer.
In this time, the doorbell receives no current - it has a small battery + capacitor build in and uses this for a few seconds. After a few seconds, everything goes back to inital state (part 3) and the battery will be charged.

So, my guess is, that your digital chime dont let the current flow through itself, respectively the resistance is too big to deliever enough current for the doorbell and the doorbell begin to flash red. This would be the explanation, why it begins working with the powerkit

I dont know how to do it right, but Im testing it currently with a Relay (in place of the bulb). In my case I connect the switching part of the relay to an ESP8266; in your case you could place the digital chime there.

It would be nice, if the Doorbell had more than 2 terminals...

 

[pete_c]

Thank you @moista for your drawings.

It would be nicer if the doorbell hardware was built similar to the Ring Doorbell.

For me here the Hikvision video doorbell worked fine here with my ancillary doorbell button, chine and a larger transformer.

Personally the Hikvision video doorbell is a mickey mouse hardware design compared to the Ring Doorbell.

I removed my Ring Doorbell such that I wasn't dependant on the cloud here.

That said I have installed the Ring infrastructure (alarm et al) in house #2 mostly because it is cheap and using it with a Ring to MQTT app with Home Assistant.

 

[Dwaynemps]

I have a ezviz on hik firmware recently changed my router but cannot get the doorbell to change back to ezviz wifi ssid, anyone any tips? Tried batch config but it doesn’t show up saying change ssid?

 

[David L]

w

I have a ezviz on hik firmware recently changed my router but cannot get the doorbell to change back to ezviz wifi ssid, anyone any tips? Tried batch config but it doesn’t show up saying change ssid?

I am not following what you are trying to do, why are you trying to change the DBs SSID? Are you reinstalling your DB? If your Access Point or Router has the same SSID as your previous, your DB should be able to reconnect.

 

[Kallb123]

I don't like assumptions, so I just reinstalled the ezviz app to try, because I never needed to turn it off actually and unfortunately, while the option is present, it doesn't work when you turn it off: error "operation failed, server exception".

So the "Outdoor Bell Sound" option doesn't work with hikvision firmware. Must be a specific feature added by ezviz in their firmware, that explains why the other mobile apps (Hikvision, Guarding Vision) don't have the option. This could be added to 101 (@David L).

Regarding the firmware update: I don't recommend upgrading fw automatically if you use another vendor's firmware, better check manually here in the forum every once in a while. I bet EZVIZ app obviously downloads ezviz firmware, but it's an assumtpion, and I don't even know how I could try. Right now the EZVIZ app reports that I'm using v5.2.4 build 200321, which is hikvision's latest fw, and it tells me there are no updated. But I would never dare to upgrade it this way. I suggest to disable automatic upgrades, unless you stick to the same vendor's hw/fw combo.

Thanks to your good questions we learned something new.

Do we know of any decent way to run an ONVIF-enabled firmware whilst also turning off the outdoor chime? I think it sod get annoying to neighbours but I also want PIR events via the ONVIF API into Home Assistant

 

[flynreelow]

Do we know of any decent way to run an ONVIF-enabled firmware whilst also turning off the outdoor chime? I think it sod get annoying to neighbours but I also want PIR events via the ONVIF API into Home Assistant

to my knowledge there is no way to turn off the outdoor chime.

 

[David L]

Do we know of any decent way to run an ONVIF-enabled firmware whilst also turning off the outdoor chime? I think it sod get annoying to neighbours but I also want PIR events via the ONVIF API into Home Assistant

We were all hoping EZVIZ would allow ONVIF support, strange that Hikvision, who owns EZVIZ, does. Now we are hoping for a future Hikvision firmware that will have the Bell On/Off feature that EZVIZ does. I would say anyone with a DS-HD1 should contact Hik and request this feature...

 

[msmcknight]

Hi all,

Here's a drawing of my current doorbell wiring. It's a mess, I know, but that's how the house was wired. As best as I can tell, I have everything connected correctly, but I'm no electrician so if you see something amiss, please point it out. The existing transformer was able to power all three chimes without issue. No-go with the DS-HD1 installed. Given what I've read here, I'm suspecting there isn't enough power given the number of "devices", the number of wire nuts, and the overall distance between the transformer and doorbell. Total wire run is close to 52' from transformer to DS-HD1.

View attachment doorbell-electrical-diagram-2021.01.17.jpg

Also, and a little more important, does anyone know how to get the HD1 to record to the iVMS storage server?

Please let me know your thoughts on the wiring, but also about recording to the storage server. If I can't record, I don't know if I'll keep this thing and the wiring won't matter much.

Thank you

 

[pete_c]

Nice drawing @msmcknight

Just a suggestion:

1 - for time bean leave the current 16V / 10VA transformer in place
2 - purchase a 16V / 30VA on Amazon for $19.99 ==> look for Doorbell Transformer Compatible with Ring Video Doorbell Pro 16v 30va Hardwired Door Chime
3 - on a workbench or wherever connect the 16V / 30VA transformer to your doorbell. Connect the app and configure the Hikvision device. Don't concern yourself about ringing the doorbell chime yet. Just configure the app to talk to a mechanical chime and connect it to your local WAP. Here is where you can configure it with iVMS server and check your Hikvision IP Config application.
4 - swap the 16V / 10VA transformer with the 16V / 30 VA transformer and connect your doorbell outside.

BTW here do not utilize the cloud app and just use VPN to call home. My Hikvision Doorbell is connected to the Leviton HAI OmniPro 2 alarm panel using an doorbel ELK 930 / debounce Elk 960 board. The Elk 930 is a current sensor board which did not work for me so I switched it out. Video goes to my OmniPro touchscreens, Zoneminder DVR and I am using jpg capture, RTSP and ONVIF. I also have an ONVIF to MQTT application which triggers a motion event from the PIR on the Hikvision. Lately many delivery folks do not press the doorbell button.

 

[randyth]

I purchased an ezvid db1 end of November (2 months ago) and got it working fine with the power kit and my existing mechanical chime.

This week though I noticed the db1 is not always triggering the chime consistently anymore (but luckily it is always triggering the phone ring. Notifications also work instantly on my Android phone so wifi connection is excellent).
When power cycling the db1 I sometimes get the chime working,... but it still is randomly.

I'm using a brand new 24v (15va) transformer (bought especially for this doorbell) which was working fine before.

Anyone else experiences the same? I'm on the latest ezvid firmware (using no sd card).

 

[David L]

Hi all,

Here's a drawing of my current doorbell wiring. It's a mess, I know, but that's how the house was wired. As best as I can tell, I have everything connected correctly, but I'm no electrician so if you see something amiss, please point it out. The existing transformer was able to power all three chimes without issue. No-go with the DS-HD1 installed. Given what I've read here, I'm suspecting there isn't enough power given the number of "devices", the number of wire nuts, and the overall distance between the transformer and doorbell. Total wire run is close to 52' from transformer to DS-HD1.

View attachment 79781

Also, and a little more important, does anyone know how to get the HD1 to record to the iVMS storage server?

Please let me know your thoughts on the wiring, but also about recording to the storage server. If I can't record, I don't know if I'll keep this thing and the wiring won't matter much.

Thank you

I have never used iVMS Storage Server, actually did not know of it's existence until you mentioned it. I run Blue Iris and I think most here do, anyway I briefly looked at their video and you mentioned already running the server on other cameras. In the video it shows adding the server after discovering the camera, do you have to create a server per camera? If so can you do that? I have messed with Scheduling on the Doorbell, but it is scheduling for recording to the SD-Card.



So you are correct on your transformer being under powered. Most here have upgraded their transformer from the builder grade 16v 10va and most here only have one Chime, I as well. If I were in your shoes I would only work with one Chime first, get it working, of course after replacing your trans. Keep in mind even if you do not keep the Hik DB your new trans. will work fine with your existing setup. All the new trans. does is give you the extra Load (Wattage) needed to keep the DB alive when Load is needed, like Doorbell button press...This video better explains what I am trying to say:



Back to your wiring, as Pete mentioned, several of us here bench tested our DB first, that is get it connected to our network and played with it before drilling any mounting holes. Of course most without a Chime and most with the new transformer on their bench, connecting it to AC outlet via a cut cord...We have had a few here with two Chimes, you are the first with three. I know one person got a second Power Kit for their second Chime and I believe the other did not. Either way, the thing to remember is the Power Kit regulates the power from the DB to the Chime, most put the Power Kit at the Chime, my point is you will need to wire the Power Kit in-between the DB and your 3 Chimes and hopefully the one Power Kit will be able to handle all three Chimes. This is why I would, if in your shoes, first get one Chime working then add a second then a third...

 

[David L]

I purchased an ezvid db1 end of November (2 months ago) and got it working fine with the power kit and my existing mechanical chime.

This week though I noticed the db1 is not always triggering the chime consistently anymore (but luckily it is always triggering the phone ring. Notifications also work instantly on my Android phone so wifi connection is excellent).
When power cycling the db1 I sometimes get the chime working,... but it still is randomly.

I'm using a brand new 24v (15va) transformer (bought especially for this doorbell) which was working fine before.

Anyone else experiences the same? I'm on the latest ezvid firmware (using no sd card).

I would read this from our 101:

⦁ If your Chime has suddenly stopped working (2020) - TechBill, TechBill - misally

 

[android52]

Hi,

I'm trying to follow the guide below to change my FW from EZVIZ (purchased) to HikVision - maybe I don't need to do this for what I want (I like the EZVIZ being able to broadcast to my Google Hubs, but want an ONVIF stream for my Home Assistant configuration and Synology Surveillance - which are currently showing a grey screen in live view - I did see some suggestions for this I haven't tried yet). I'm having problems and I'm hoping someone can help.

I've had the EZVIZ running for a few days and it seems to be functioning, I upgraded to the latest FW (V5.2.4 build 200904) and the app on my Android says "No new version available". I've loaded Batch Configuration Tool 3.0.2.6 on my laptop and have added by camera by IP and can see the Configuration of it.

I open the camera, click the "gear" icon to get to settings (wait for the functionalities to pare down to what the camera supports) and then try to use "Remote Upgrade" on the System Maintenance page to upload the "DS-HD1.dav" file that I downloaded. I keep getting an "upgrade failed".

I've tried Restore Default Settings (Partial) from the System Management Section of the System Maintenance page, I've tried restore Default Parameters on the main interface page - both before and after trying the upgrade (reconfiguring the EZVIZ FW with the EZVIZ app as necessary). I've also tried the "Upgrade" operation on the main page (on the camera's line in the interface - and the Upgrade status goes to 100% but shows as failed).

I've also tried doing the upgrade after resetting the EZVIZ settings (had to connect to the EZVIZ AP and the IP address changed from 192.168.2.xxx to 192.168.8.1) which also failed.

I'm really sorry if the answers to this are buried in the pages of this thread, but everything I've seen indicates this "just worked" for everyone, even on the most recent pages.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

This should be the step-by-step procedure, based on my experience:

Use camera's vendor app to upgrade to the latest official version of the official firmware
Use Batch Config v3.0.2.6 (not the latest one) to upgrade Firmware (SYSTEM->SYSTEM MAINTENANCE->Remote Upgrade)
Use Batch Config v3.0.2.6 (from main screen) to Reset the config of the cam (check the following screenshot)
 View attachment 62050
The camera should reboot automatically after this reset, if not, reboot it
Using the PC, connect to the AP of the camera softap_serial#, the wifi password is softap_authcode (seria#: s/n of the cam - authcode: 6 char authcode)
Reboot
Connect to the camera again (like in step #5)
Use Batch Config v3.0.2.6 to change default SSID from softap_serial# to EZVIZ_serial# and the password to EZVIZ_authcode (expected values for EVIZ app, mind the uppercase)
Reboot
Check with the PC the list of available wifi APs:

If you see the softap_serial# AP, it means you didn't change the SSID, so go back to step #8
if you see the EZVIZ_serial# AP, proceed with next step

Start the mobile app (EZVIZ on android playstore or Hik-connect available here: Hikvision App Store) and configure it like a brand new camera

I hope I didn't miss any step, let me know in case I did. This is the procedure I used some days ago, but I just wrote it out of my head now, so it has to be validated by someone who's doing the upgrade now so we can correct it. Please let me know.

NOTE: This is a general procedure for upgrade to another vendor's firmware, I don't know if Laview/Nelly's firmwares have differente AP names, you just need to adapt it to their specific differences but procedure is the same. If someone with Nelly/Laview firmware can tell me what AP they see after the upgrade, we can generalize the procedure.

(tag for @David L for 101 update)

 

[David L]

Hi,

I'm trying to follow the guide below to change my FW from EZVIZ (purchased) to HikVision - maybe I don't need to do this for what I want (I like the EZVIZ being able to broadcast to my Google Hubs, but want an ONVIF stream for my Home Assistant configuration and Synology Surveillance - which are currently showing a grey screen in live view - I did see some suggestions for this I haven't tried yet). I'm having problems and I'm hoping someone can help.

I've had the EZVIZ running for a few days and it seems to be functioning, I upgraded to the latest FW (V5.2.4 build 200904) and the app on my Android says "No new version available". I've loaded Batch Configuration Tool 3.0.2.6 on my laptop and have added by camera by IP and can see the Configuration of it.

I open the camera, click the "gear" icon to get to settings (wait for the functionalities to pare down to what the camera supports) and then try to use "Remote Upgrade" on the System Maintenance page to upload the "DS-HD1.dav" file that I downloaded. I keep getting an "upgrade failed".

I've tried Restore Default Settings (Partial) from the System Management Section of the System Maintenance page, I've tried restore Default Parameters on the main interface page - both before and after trying the upgrade (reconfiguring the EZVIZ FW with the EZVIZ app as necessary). I've also tried the "Upgrade" operation on the main page (on the camera's line in the interface - and the Upgrade status goes to 100% but shows as failed).

I've also tried doing the upgrade after resetting the EZVIZ settings (had to connect to the EZVIZ AP and the IP address changed from 192.168.2.xxx to 192.168.8.1) which also failed.

I'm really sorry if the answers to this are buried in the pages of this thread, but everything I've seen indicates this "just worked" for everyone, even on the most recent pages.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Have you seen our 101?
Not sure about Remote Upgrade, to load different firmware you click Upgrade on first screen, make sure you click check on your camera first, sometimes you have to hit Refresh at top left...

From our 101:

 

[android52]

Thanks David.

I did read the 101 - that's where I started. I tried the Upgrade from both the main page and System Settings - I just tried again as you suggested and this was the result (I also tried with the slashes turned the other way "\" instead of "/") :




I'm able to modify settings (removed EZVIZ logo, changed WDR, view the camera feed, etc.) in Batch Config - it is only the upgrade that seems to be an issue.

I also tried this from the System Maintenance dialogs and you can see "Upgrading Failed" using this method as well:




Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks again!

Have you seen our 101?
Not sure about Remote Upgrade, to load different firmware you click Upgrade on first screen, make sure you click check on your camera first, sometimes you have to hit Refresh at top left...

From our 101:
View attachment 79840