New RCA HSDB2A 3MP Doorbell IP Camera

[David L]

That is correct, everything is fine on the network side. If I open the RCA app, it asks for my password. Sometimes I can kill the app and reopen it and it will NOT ask for my password for a few more hours, really weird. I haven't tried a different app yet. Is there a ranking on which apps are better?

Well maybe but each App has slightly different features so it would be hard to Rank/Rate. I would definitely try LaView ONE, EZVIZ or even Hik-Connect. Just be aware in order to switch Apps you will need to remove the Doorbell/Device from each previous App. This is NOT reinstalling the Doorbell, it is just registering your Doorbell with that App./Cloud. You will need to scan your QR Code in each App to Add the your Doorbell.

So my experience with both EZVIZ and LaView ONE Apps are if I get a Push Notification on my Android phone and click it to launch the App, probably about 30-40% it will ask me for my password to re-login to the App. I just close the App and relaunch it from my Apps list or Shortcut icon and it works every time that way. Actually it works 100% of the time so I quit launching from a notification.

 

[Jack007]

Maybe the following information is useful to some.

I was thinking of purchasing a smart doorbell for some time now. It had to fulfill two basic requirements.
1. I should have maximum control over the doorbell, especially its data, The db-1 ticks all these boxes for me in that i can store its video fed 24/7 om my NAS and am not dependant of some cloud service. ONVIF would be nice but as i understand this would require a firmware "update" to a Laview version. Open question: Are the different firmwares regional locked?
2. The doorbell should work with my existing (wireless) gongs. My gongs are triggered by a closing switch. In order to research this I connected the db1 to a standard (doorbell) transformer (Beltrafo 15VA) in series with the powerkit. I intend to hookup a relay over the powerkit to make a switch to activate my gongs.
With this setup i hooked up an oscilloscope and took some "pictures" (BTW the transformer is connected to the 12 V coil).

This is the voltage over the DB1 during normal operation (not pressed) looks like this.

as you can see this is a reasonable sine (as expected). The peaks look a little bit distorted. Increasing the output voltage of the transformer (like 16 or 24 V AC) makes this worse.

The voltage over the powerkit is where it gets interesting:
This is the voltage at rest; a not activated DB1:

As you can see this is not a sine by far. Every half period is chopped away.

When pressing the db1 (a mechanical chime is configured in the ezviz app) , the compete 12 V AC is let trough for about 0.25 seconds. Probably to short to activate a standard 12 V AC relais.


It looks like this when the electronic chime (length = 3 sec.) is configured


Reducing the length to minimal (the app. says 1 sec.) results in a minimal activation time of about 2 seconds.

This is the voltage in more detail:


If there is some interest in this i will post some more of these pictures when i receive my relay. I'm curious how the powerkit behaves when there is a load on the system.

BTW:
I live in Europe so our mains frequency is 50 Hz.
The intended relay is this one: Finder 39.11.0.012.0060 FIN INT-REL.1W 6A 12VUC - Schakelrelais


Greetings,

Jack

 

[David L]

If you can test the Alexa skills on your fire tablet to confirm if that works as marketed, that would round out the 101 section for LaView ONE Halo variant. Yeah, I misread one of the amazon review on the Laview one halo as that user mentioned "google home/assistant" compatible but now see where they were actually talking about two different products "google home" and "assistant"(home assistant.io).

So I got started on my LaView DB Alexa test. Good news, after installing Amazon Alexa App on my phone the Doorbell showed as a device, I already had LaView Skill linked on Amazon. I also see my Fire Tablet, but it is showing offline. I have a few factors at play here, I have a VPN service on my phone, no problem, which I can turn off. Also have one on my tablet that I use, NoRoot Firewall, which I need to play with too, its not really a true VPN, it is a great App blocker though. Will let you know how it goes. Probably need to change the name of the DB in the Alexa App so I can address "Alexa, show the Doorbell or Front Door" easier.




UPDATE EDIT: I did get my Fire HD Tablet to show "Online", had to temporarily turn Off NoRoot Firewall App, turn On Location and a few more permissions, I believe Remote permission was one.

 

[David L]

Maybe the following information is useful to some.

I was thinking of purchasing a smart doorbell for some time now. It had to fulfill two basic requirements.
1. I should have maximum control over the doorbell, especially its data, The db-1 ticks all these boxes for me in that i can store its video fed 24/7 om my NAS and am not dependant of some cloud service. ONVIF would be nice but as i understand this would require a firmware "update" to a Laview version. Open question: Are the different firmwares regional locked?
2. The doorbell should work with my existing (wireless) gongs. My gongs are triggered by a closing switch. In order to research this I connected the db1 to a standard (doorbell) transformer (Beltrafo 15VA) in series with the powerkit. I intend to hookup a relay over the powerkit to make a switch to activate my gongs.
With this setup i hooked up an oscilloscope and took some "pictures" (BTW the transformer is connected to the 12 V coil).

This is the voltage over the DB1 during normal operation (not pressed) looks like this.
View attachment 53562
as you can see this is a reasonable sine (as expected). The peaks look a little bit distorted. Increasing the output voltage of the transformer (like 16 or 24 V AC) makes this worse.

The voltage over the powerkit is where it gets interesting:
This is the voltage at rest; a not activated DB1:
View attachment 53557
As you can see this is not a sine by far. Every half period is chopped away.

When pressing the db1 (a mechanical chime is configured in the ezviz app) , the compete 12 V AC is let trough for about 0.25 seconds. Probably to short to activate a standard 12 V AC relais.
View attachment 53558

It looks like this when the electronic chime (length = 3 sec.) is configured
View attachment 53559

Reducing the length to minimal (the app. says 1 sec.) results in a minimal activation time of about 2 seconds.
View attachment 53560
This is the voltage in more detail:
View attachment 53563

If there is some interest in this i will post some more of these pictures when i receive my relay. I'm curious how the powerkit behaves when there is a load on the system.

BTW:
I live in Europe so our mains frequency is 50 Hz.
The intended relay is this one: Finder 39.11.0.012.0060 FIN INT-REL.1W 6A 12VUC - Schakelrelais


Greetings,

Jack

Jack, this is great info. It has been many years since I was in front of an oscilloscope, back when I worked in the Cable TV Industry. We were always looking for noise
I too am interested in how the power kit behaves under Load. It is still a bit of a mystery, we know it is suppose to fix hum issues with Mechanical Chimes, some how regulating the power. But how?

Thank you again Jack, Great Post!!!

 

[plomaris]

I don't have Google WiFi, but their Mesh network is top of the line, I don't see where you would have any problems. As long as you can connect via 2.4GHz if needed then you should be good. Do you have the 3 Pack setup? Where is the closest one to your Doorbell (distance)? Will say, this Doorbell is not the best with WiFi range though, but on the 2.4 Band it seems pretty solid. Alot of the DYIers here have Ubiquiti networks...
Sorry, I know you are looking for someone else with Google WiFi to answer your question, hopefully someone will Chime In (Funny but I find myself using more Doorbell puns these days)

Thanks David. I'm hoping that someone with Google WiFi can confirm definitively that it will work before I make a purchase.

 

[Emiks5]

Maybe the following information is useful to some.

I was thinking of purchasing a smart doorbell for some time now. It had to fulfill two basic requirements.
1. I should have maximum control over the doorbell, especially its data, The db-1 ticks all these boxes for me in that i can store its video fed 24/7 om my NAS and am not dependant of some cloud service. ONVIF would be nice but as i understand this would require a firmware "update" to a Laview version. Open question: Are the different firmwares regional locked?
2. The doorbell should work with my existing (wireless) gongs. My gongs are triggered by a closing switch. In order to research this I connected the db1 to a standard (doorbell) transformer (Beltrafo 15VA) in series with the powerkit. I intend to hookup a relay over the powerkit to make a switch to activate my gongs.
With this setup i hooked up an oscilloscope and took some "pictures" (BTW the transformer is connected to the 12 V coil).

This is the voltage over the DB1 during normal operation (not pressed) looks like this.
View attachment 53562
as you can see this is a reasonable sine (as expected). The peaks look a little bit distorted. Increasing the output voltage of the transformer (like 16 or 24 V AC) makes this worse.

The voltage over the powerkit is where it gets interesting:
This is the voltage at rest; a not activated DB1:
View attachment 53557
As you can see this is not a sine by far. Every half period is chopped away.

When pressing the db1 (a mechanical chime is configured in the ezviz app) , the compete 12 V AC is let trough for about 0.25 seconds. Probably to short to activate a standard 12 V AC relais.
View attachment 53558

It looks like this when the electronic chime (length = 3 sec.) is configured
View attachment 53559

Reducing the length to minimal (the app. says 1 sec.) results in a minimal activation time of about 2 seconds.
View attachment 53560
This is the voltage in more detail:
View attachment 53563

If there is some interest in this i will post some more of these pictures when i receive my relay. I'm curious how the powerkit behaves when there is a load on the system.

BTW:
I live in Europe so our mains frequency is 50 Hz.
The intended relay is this one: Finder 39.11.0.012.0060 FIN INT-REL.1W 6A 12VUC - Schakelrelais


Greetings,

Jack

Hi Jack. Very interesting. What do you think is in the powerkit? What would be the replacing schematic, mimicking this? I guess at least a capacitor and maybe a diode?

 

[Pilot04]

So I got started on my LaView DB Alexa test. Good news, after installing Amazon Alexa App on my phone the Doorbell as a device, I already had LaView Skill linked on Amazon. I also see my Fire Tablet, but it is showing offline. I have a few factors at play here, I have a VPN service on my phone, no problem, which I can turn off. Also have one on my tablet that I use, NoRoot Firewall, which I need to play with too, its not really a true VPN, it is a great App blocker though. Will let you know how it goes. Probably need to change the name of the Db in the Alexa App so I can address "Alexa, show the Doorbell or Front Door" easier.

View attachment 53568

Thanks for the verification test so no need to proceed forward unless you still wanted your fire tablet to show the doorbell. That proves that Ezviz/Hikvision cloud is blocking my RCA HSDB2 doorbell via serial number and probably also Nelly's variant(unless they are planning to market it as Alexa/Google capable). Already contacted RCA tech support and they basically said I need to buy other Hikvision variants that market themselves as Amazon Alexa capable.

 

[David L]

Maybe the following information is useful to some.

I was thinking of purchasing a smart doorbell for some time now. It had to fulfill two basic requirements.
1. I should have maximum control over the doorbell, especially its data, The db-1 ticks all these boxes for me in that i can store its video fed 24/7 om my NAS and am not dependant of some cloud service. ONVIF would be nice but as i understand this would require a firmware "update" to a Laview version. Open question: Are the different firmwares regional locked?
2. The doorbell should work with my existing (wireless) gongs. My gongs are triggered by a closing switch. In order to research this I connected the db1 to a standard (doorbell) transformer (Beltrafo 15VA) in series with the powerkit. I intend to hookup a relay over the powerkit to make a switch to activate my gongs.
With this setup i hooked up an oscilloscope and took some "pictures" (BTW the transformer is connected to the 12 V coil).

This is the voltage over the DB1 during normal operation (not pressed) looks like this.
View attachment 53562
as you can see this is a reasonable sine (as expected). The peaks look a little bit distorted. Increasing the output voltage of the transformer (like 16 or 24 V AC) makes this worse.

The voltage over the powerkit is where it gets interesting:
This is the voltage at rest; a not activated DB1:
View attachment 53557
As you can see this is not a sine by far. Every half period is chopped away.

When pressing the db1 (a mechanical chime is configured in the ezviz app) , the compete 12 V AC is let trough for about 0.25 seconds. Probably to short to activate a standard 12 V AC relais.
View attachment 53558

It looks like this when the electronic chime (length = 3 sec.) is configured
View attachment 53559

Reducing the length to minimal (the app. says 1 sec.) results in a minimal activation time of about 2 seconds.
View attachment 53560
This is the voltage in more detail:
View attachment 53563

If there is some interest in this i will post some more of these pictures when i receive my relay. I'm curious how the powerkit behaves when there is a load on the system.

BTW:
I live in Europe so our mains frequency is 50 Hz.
The intended relay is this one: Finder 39.11.0.012.0060 FIN INT-REL.1W 6A 12VUC - Schakelrelais


Greetings,

Jack

Hi Jack. Very interesting. What do you think is in the powerkit? What would be the replacing schematic, mimicking this? I guess at least a capacitor and maybe a diode?

@fredkruger ended up cracking open a power kit if you guys are interested:

Inside Power Kit Pics

How did he do that with those knife fingers?

 

[Emiks5]

@fredkruger ended up cracking open a power kit if you guys are interested:

Inside Power Kit Pics

How did he do that with those knife fingers?

Wow that is a little more than thought.

 

[Jack007]

Hi Jack. Very interesting. What do you think is in the powerkit? What would be the replacing schematic, mimicking this? I guess at least a capacitor and maybe a diode?

Well looking at the internals of the powerkit (see post 1425 on page 72, thanks to the author) is see a:
* LM193 (a voltage comperator) with some diodes and resistors
* LCB710 (which is a solid state relais)
* and a IC dubbed DB1 which i can't make out the writing (maybe a rectifier bridge?). Maybe the author could take a better picture.

I'm not an electronics guy but it looks something like an electrical separation or a control mechanism to prevent the flow of a current trough the db1 which would be to high.
In the older Hikvision KB6003 the current was only limited by the chime or with the help of an external 10 ohms resistor (and the KB6003 itself ofcourse).

 

[David L]

Thanks David. I'm hoping that someone with Google WiFi can confirm definitively that it will work before I make a purchase.

Understand. Just don't miss the under $100 sale Amazon has with the DB1, you could always return it within 30 days. We had a great return experience with Amazon, around/before Christmas we needed to return a potential Christmas present and was instructed to go to Kohl's. Wild but all we had to do is drop it off, they scanned a bar-code given to us by Amazon, Kohl's packaged it and sent it back to Amazon for free. It was great, took all of 10 minutes in line. Not sure if that was just for the Holidays or not.

Just looked and only 10 left DB1, no pressure

Wow, I did not know the DB1 has 3 face plates, wow, kewl.

 

[David L]

Wow that is a little more than thought.

I know right? Some were referring to it as a resistor, I think I was one of them Obviously much more than that.

 

[David L]

Thanks for the verification test so no need to proceed forward unless you still wanted your fire tablet to show the doorbell. That proves that Ezviz/Hikvision cloud is blocking my RCA HSDB2 doorbell via serial number and probably also Nelly's variant(unless they are planning to market it as Alexa/Google capable). Already contacted RCA tech support and they basically said I need to buy other Hikvision variants that market themselves as Amazon Alexa capable.

So are you after Alexa support or Google? I know that stinks that some brands are not supporting certain things. I could see maybe not having ONVIF so they could sell their NVRs. But what is wild is LaView, mainly sells NVR/Camera combos and was the first to enable ONVIF support on our Hikvision DBs through firmware. Does not make sense to me. Also, I would think all brands would want to jump on Alexa/Google support. When it comes to buying Smart Device (IoT) it is top on most peoples list.
I have watched the Car Industry change drastically to support Android/iOS, had one Salesman tell me the younger generation don't buy cars for brand/quality/even price etc., they buy based on the Infotainment system and driver assist systems. Ford/Chevy is no longer making sedans (Crazy), now only SUVs, of course with back seat displays for the little ones...Today's pacifiers

Reason I asked about Alexa support is I may have my LaView ONE Halo for sale, once I get my EZVIZ I ordered received/setup. We mainly have Google Assistant in house so I jumped on the EZVIZ to do what I just stated above Oh, what was I thinking, haha Though, I have not approached family/friends yet, nor told my wife my buy/sell plans Worse case I put it on my backdoor.

 

[NickTheGreat]

So I've been troubleshooting my LaView One for a while now. New transformer, checked the wiring diagram, all that jazz.

Just took everything off and checked my voltages; everything seems fine.

I can't even reset the doorbell. I hold the little button for a while and it doesn't do anything. Even when I unhook it, it stays lighted up.

Is this this hosed? Do I need to leave it unwired for a really long time?

 

[David L]

So I've been troubleshooting my LaView One for a while now. New transformer, checked the wiring diagram, all that jazz.

Just took everything off and checked my voltages; everything seems fine.

I can't even reset the doorbell. I hold the little button for a while and it doesn't do anything. Even when I unhook it, it stays lighted up.

Is this this hosed? Do I need to leave it unwired for a really long time?

I would, I read one person here state at least an hour. There is a battery inside that why you still have a light with no power hooked up.

 

[fredkruger]

Well looking at the internals of the powerkit (see post 1425 on page 72, thanks to the author) is see a:
* LM193 (a voltage comperator) with some diodes and resistors
* LCB710 (which is a solid state relais)
* and a IC dubbed DB1 which i can't make out the writing (maybe a rectifier bridge?). Maybe the author could take a better picture.

I'm not an electronics guy but it looks something like an electrical separation or a control mechanism to prevent the flow of a current trough the db1 which would be to high.
In the older Hikvision KB6003 the current was only limited by the chime or with the help of an external 10 ohms resistor (and the KB6003 itself ofcourse).

Sorry I don't have access to take more pics of the power kit at the moment.
But I did take some notes:
Components:
LM2903 dual differential comparitor
LCB710 solid state relay
L830CP unknown
851/MB65 diode rectifier
1.5a fuse I think

I did eventually wire up an ac relay DPDT so I could also wire into alarm/NVR and mechanical chime.

As far as I could work out the power kit just shorts it's two wires allowing the current to bypass your Doorbell solenoid or electronic chime. If it didn't do this, then the solenoid would either activate, make a buzzing noise or burn out.
The DB1 just shorts it's contacts when its button is pressed. The power kit somehow detects this and opens its connection, allowing all the current to go to the mechanical chime solenoid or electronic chime.
When the DB1 button is pressed it's terminals short together, at this point it's self powered from it's rechargable battery and your transformer is then only powering your chime. This is why I can't understand why people need to use a 30va transformer. Surely you only need a transformer big enough for your chime (as long is it's more higher than what the DB1 uses. 5w according to spec)

In the app I need to set as electronic chime because when set to mechanical chime, it activates to quickly to open my relay.
As far as I can see the only difference between between mechanical chime and electronic chime is that electronic chime can be set for 2-10secs and mechanical chime has a fixed time of less than 0.5secs

If the resistance of the doorbell wire is too high then the power kit doesn't switch.
When mine didn't work, I connected the DB1 on a short bit of wire close to the chime and it worked ok
Testing with some 5ohm resistors also confirmed that your need less than 5ohms or so for it to work. Upping the voltage from 12 to 16v overcame this resistance for me.
Although the doorbell worked on 12v, the power kit did not open (with my longer wire) it's circuit therefore my chime or relay didn't work.

Hope this helps someone....

 

[fredkruger]

Maybe the following information is useful to some.

I was thinking of purchasing a smart doorbell for some time now. It had to fulfill two basic requirements.
1. I should have maximum control over the doorbell, especially its data, The db-1 ticks all these boxes for me in that i can store its video fed 24/7 om my NAS and am not dependant of some cloud service. ONVIF would be nice but as i understand this would require a firmware "update" to a Laview version. Open question: Are the different firmwares regional locked?
2. The doorbell should work with my existing (wireless) gongs. My gongs are triggered by a closing switch. In order to research this I connected the db1 to a standard (doorbell) transformer (Beltrafo 15VA) in series with the powerkit. I intend to hookup a relay over the powerkit to make a switch to activate my gongs.
With this setup i hooked up an oscilloscope and took some "pictures" (BTW the transformer is connected to the 12 V coil).

This is the voltage over the DB1 during normal operation (not pressed) looks like this.
View attachment 53562
as you can see this is a reasonable sine (as expected). The peaks look a little bit distorted. Increasing the output voltage of the transformer (like 16 or 24 V AC) makes this worse.

The voltage over the powerkit is where it gets interesting:
This is the voltage at rest; a not activated DB1:
View attachment 53557
As you can see this is not a sine by far. Every half period is chopped away.

When pressing the db1 (a mechanical chime is configured in the ezviz app) , the compete 12 V AC is let trough for about 0.25 seconds. Probably to short to activate a standard 12 V AC relais.
View attachment 53558

It looks like this when the electronic chime (length = 3 sec.) is configured
View attachment 53559

Reducing the length to minimal (the app. says 1 sec.) results in a minimal activation time of about 2 seconds.
View attachment 53560
This is the voltage in more detail:
View attachment 53563

If there is some interest in this i will post some more of these pictures when i receive my relay. I'm curious how the powerkit behaves when there is a load on the system.

BTW:
I live in Europe so our mains frequency is 50 Hz.
The intended relay is this one: Finder 39.11.0.012.0060 FIN INT-REL.1W 6A 12VUC - Schakelrelais


Greetings,

Jack

That very interesting, but I can't understand why the sine wave is changing. Is your power kit connected correctly - in parallel with your chime solenoid? Or in series
?

 

[indieaz]

You may have a faulty power kit. Which transformer did you get? I would check voltages at each connection, Trans., Chime, Doorbell with a Volt Meter. If you have an Amp Meter then it would also help.

16v 10va vs. 16v 30va Doorbell Transformer This may help to see what volts you need as well as Load.

Thanks for the reply!

Transformer I installed:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GND8RMQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm getting 17.8 volts at the transformer. 17.6 volts at the chime, and 17.5 at the door. I have a rear button wired to my chime, I tried disconnecting that and my results don't change any. Also my voltages/behavior aren't changing when I unplug the power kit (I'm not sure what the power kit is even supposed to do?).

If i remove the power kit and leave the IR light off then the doorbell camera operates just fine, beyond a very minor humming from the chime that you have to stand right next to it to hear. With power kit installed, when I ring the doorbell camera the unit shuts off until i disconnect the power kit.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I would, I read one person here state at least an hour. There is a battery inside that why you still have a light with no power hooked up.

Thanks man, that seems to have worked. It was working for me before, but never since I upgraded the transformer, and never with my existing mechanical chime.

 

[David L]

Thanks for the reply!

Transformer I installed:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GND8RMQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm getting 17.8 volts at the transformer. 17.6 volts at the chime, and 17.5 at the door. I have a rear button wired to my chime, I tried disconnecting that and my results don't change any. Also my voltages/behavior aren't changing when I unplug the power kit (I'm not sure what the power kit is even supposed to do?).

If i remove the power kit and leave the IR light off then the doorbell camera operates just fine, beyond a very minor humming from the chime that you have to stand right next to it to hear. With power kit installed, when I ring the doorbell camera the unit shuts off until i disconnect the power kit.

Your voltages look good. Have you tried changing Chime Type (Mechanical Chime, Electronic, Not Installed) in the App? After reading fredkruger #1976 message I am looking at our Doorbell different. I now question wiring/distances/resistance. fredjruger mention he moved his Doorbell next to his Chime in a test which worked.