Connecting the SimpliSafe Video Doorbell to a Digital Chime

I recently purchased a SimpliSafe Video Doorbell and after installing it I found out that it caused my digital chime to constantly ring. After talking to SimpliSafe, and being told that the doorbell isn't designed to work with a digital chime, they sent me a Chime Connector to see if that would fix the problem. When I installed the Chime Connector the constant ringing stopped but now the chime wouldn't ring at all when the doorbell button was pressed. After talking to SimpliSafe again they told me that I had two options: 1) Replace the digital chime with a mechanical chime, or 2) Return the Video Doorbell and reinstall my original doorbell. I didn't want to replace the digital chime and believed that there had to be a solution to get the Video Doorbell to work with a digital chime. After a lot of Internet searching I found an Instructables posted by NaokiH5 titled "Adapting a Video Doorbell to a Digital Song Chime." NaokiH5 provided a nice wiring drawing but after reviewing it I realized I could eliminate one of the doorbell transformers in his design. Also, during my solution search I came across a lot of postings of people who were just looking for a material list and a wiring diagram they could follow to get their Video Doorbell to work with their digital chime. The following sections provide the Bill of Material and Wiring Diagram that I used to provide power to the SimpliSafe Video Doorbell so it will operate and to get the SimpliSafe Video Doorbell to ring my Heath Zenith digital chime when the doorbell button is pushed. While I only have a front doorbell I also included a Bill of Material and Wiring Diagram showing how I would install two Video Doorbells if I wanted to have a front and rear Video Doorbell.

I hope this helps you get your SimpliSafe Video Doorbell working with your digital chime.

Step 1: Bill of Material - Single SimpliSafe Video Doorbell

I used the following components in my front door, single Video Doorbell installation:

1 - SimpliSafe Video Doorbell

1 - SimpliSafe Chime Connector

1 - Heath Zenith Multi-Tune Chime

1- 120V/16V AC Door Chime Transformer

1 - URBEST HH52P AC 24V Coil DPDT 8 Pins Electromagnetic Power Relay w DYF08A Base

2 - Fairchild Semiconductor 1N4001 Diode, Standard, 1A, 50V, DO-41

18 Gauge Doorbell Wire

I purchased the Chime from Home Depot. I purchased the Relay and Diodes from Amazon. You can use chime, relay and diode components from a different manufacturer as long as their component meets the same specifications.

Step 2: Identify 'Coil' and 'Switch' Side of the Relay

The relay in my Bill of Material has two parts - the relay housing and the base - and may come as two individual items. To assemble, insert the housing into the base, the pin configuration on the bottom of the housing will only fit into the base in one way. Your relay may not look exactly like this but you should be able to identify the 'Coil' side and 'Switch' side using this picture as a reference.

Step 3: Wiring Diagram - Single Video Doorbell

Follow this wiring diagram to install a single Video Doorbell by connecting each wire to the corresponding components and terminals.

Wiring diagram notes:

• Turn off power to the transformer at the breaker panel when wiring the components together.
• Line colors used for clarity to show each individual wire run, doorbell wire typically has a red and white wire.
• Install diodes with cathode end (represented by solid black line on the diode symbol and a similar marking on the actual diode) connected to each terminal as shown.

If you wanted a single Video Doorbell (i.e. for the front door) and a regular doorbell (i.e. for the back/rear door) then follow this wiring diagram for the Video Doorbell and just install the regular doorbell per your chime manufacturer's instructions using the same transformer as depicted in the wiring diagram.

If you don't feel comfortable performing this installation, an electrician can do this for you.

I've included a downloadable PDF if you prefer to have a printed copy to reference when doing the installation.

Step 4: Bill of Material - Two SimpliSafe Video Doorbells

If you wanted/needed to install two SimpliSafe Video Doorbells then your bill of material would look like this:

2 - SimpliSafe Video Doorbell

2 - SimpliSafe Chime Connector

1 - Heath Zenith Multi-Tune Chime

1- 120V/16V AC Door Chime Transformer

2 - URBEST HH52P AC 24V Coil DPDT 8 Pins Electromagnetic Power Relay w DYF08A Base

4 - Fairchild Semiconductor 1N4001 Diode, Standard, 1A, 50V, DO-41

18 Gauge Doorbell Wire

Step 5: Wiring Diagram - Two Video Doorbells

Follow this wiring diagram to install two Video Doorbells by connecting each wire to the corresponding components and terminals.

Wiring diagram notes:

• Turn off power to the transformer at the breaker panel when wiring the components together.
• Line colors used for clarity to show each individual wire run, doorbell wire typically has a red and white wire.
• Install diodes with cathode end (represented by solid black line on the diode symbol and a similar marking on the actual diode) connected to each terminal as shown.

If you don't feel comfortable performing this installation, an electrician can do this for you.

I've included a downloadable PDF if you prefer to have a printed copy to reference when doing the installation.

Step 6: Relay Options

I used a Double-Pole Double-Throw (DPDT) 24VAC relay because I had it available and I knew the terminal configuration. You could use a Single-Pole Double-Throw (SPDT) 24VAC relay in place of the DPDT relay(s) in my wiring diagrams. Just make sure you know which terminals connect to the coil and which terminals connect to the normally closed and normally open switches.

There are lots of other relay options available that can be used in this design as long as you know which terminals connect to the normally closed switch and which connect to the a normally open switch.