I am looking for recommendations for a smart relay device to use with a old fashioned ‘push to make’ 8V AC doorbell.
Basically, I have an old fashioned ‘push to make’ doorbell which, when the button is pressed, activates the old fashioned mechanical bell sounder (i.e. ‘RIIIIIING’ sound) in our house. This switch/bell loop are connected behind an 230V->8V AC transformer module in the consumer unit. This setup gives a ring duration equal to the length of the button press (i.e. if you just press the button quickly you get a quick ‘RIING’ or a long ring if you hold your finger down on the bell for a longer period you get a longer ‘RIIIIIIIIIIIIING’).
I am very happy with my current bell and want to retain the same dynamic i.e. ‘push-to-make’ behaviour with the bell ringing for a duration equal to the length of the button press.
I wish, however, to add a ‘smart relay’ into the circuit so that I can ‘sense’ that the door bell has been pressed and trigger behaviour in my Home Assistant system. I also wish to be able to disable the doorbell circuit via the ‘smart relay’. I understand that some of these relays don’t work with low voltage AC, but I’d prefer not to have to introduce a separate AC->DC transformer, so I would prefer something that can work with my existing 8V AC transformer while ensuring that the voltage at the push button remains low.
I have seen a project involving use of a Sonoff Mini 2, but I was not clear whether this unit would work with the push-to-make bell that I have. My initial reading of the unit’s operation was that it would treat any length of push-contact as a single ‘pulse’ event, but I may be misunderstanding that.
Any advice would be appreciated.