Video Doorbell and Wireless Line 6 G75 Relay Glitch

[TailGator911]

I came across an interesting dilemma the other day. I am walking around the house multi-tasking, talking on iPhone Blu-Tooth, playing my bass and using the Line 6 Wireless Relay input and we are in the middle of tossing around some ideas . I recently installed a security system w/2 cams and a video doorbell. So when I walk from my kitchen and go past the front door my phone dings and tells me there is someone at the front door. Nobody there. Video comes up on my phone. Nothing. I soon figure out that when I am parallel to my front door from anywhere in the house my video doorbell goes off. I turn off the relay and it doesn't happen, only when I am mobile and have the wireless relay transmitting from my guitar. Same frequencies?? I am looking thru the lit that came with both an neither listed a specific transmitting frequency. Only the relay says 24-bit/48khz digital signal. I can find nothing on the video doorbell that tells me any frequency. It's no big thing, but it kinda reminded me of something many moons ago when I first got the Radio Shack 2xt (?) and I was parked in front of my future wife's house waiting for her out in the car and playing on the radio when her neighbor's garage door went up. Every time. It was hilarious.

 

[K4EET]

<snip> I am walking around the house multi-tasking, talking on iPhone Blu-Tooth, playing my bass and using the Line 6 Wireless Relay input and we are in the middle of tossing around some ideas . <snip>

Bass player? I used to play a 1978 Fender Precision Bass with a Peavey 200 watt head and dual 15 inch Jensens in the cabinet. I started playing bass in 1972 on some bass guitar that I cannot even remember the brand of with a Sears Silvertone 1484 Twin Twelve Piggyback Tube Head and Cabinet. I have sadly sold everything long, long ago but based on current prices, I wish I still had that '78 P-Bass and the Sears Silvertone amplifier combo set. That Sears head had a mechanical reverb unit too!

<snip> So when I walk from my kitchen and go past the front door my phone dings and tells me there is someone at the front door. Nobody there. Video comes up on my phone. Nothing. I soon figure out that when I am parallel to my front door from anywhere in the house my video doorbell goes off. I turn off the relay and it doesn't happen, only when I am mobile and have the wireless relay transmitting from my guitar. Same frequencies?? <snip>

Could that be "The Bassman cometh?" LOL! Imagine what a young mischievous kid could do at night with a Line 6 Wireless Relay riding a bike up and down streets on a bicycle (remotely ringing doorbells)... LOL!

<snip> It's no big thing, but it kinda reminded me of something many moons ago when I first got the Radio Shack 2xt (?) and I was parked in front of my future wife's house waiting for her out in the car and playing on the radio when her neighbor's garage door went up. Every time. It was hilarious.

That would be funny! It would be even more funny if the neighbor came outside and observed the garage door going up and down seemingly all by its lonesome...

Cheers! Dave

 

[TailGator911]

haha yup it was hilarious.

Hey I think we talked guitars once before. I am a Fender Jazz man myself. I have a couple P-basses but I like those Jazz slim necks. My fav Fender bass is the Sting reproduction model of his '53 tele bass. The original was very heavy and the reproduction is swamp ash and very light on my neck. Good for me after disc replacement surgery, for sure.

Still working music, doing soundtrack and jingle work from home. I've got a 24-track Tascam and ProTools. Keeps me out of trouble Last year I did an instructional DVD for bass fishing. lol Believe it or not it was a blast. Doing my best Ry Cooder impersonation with all those swampy scenes with black water and cotton moss. I love that stuff.

My newest toy is a Martin 000-13e acoustic guitar (the Road series). It's a newer Martin with onboard tuner and Fishman electronics and very affordable ($1200) and maybe the only guitar I have ever unboxed that was perfectly set up and tuned right out of the box. Unreal.

So back to the origin of my post. What do you think is causing this?

 

[K4EET]

<snip> So back to the origin of my post. What do you think is causing this?

Well @TailGator911, where is the receiving unit for the wireless front doorbell? At least I guess it is wireless since you are activating it as if somebody pressed the doorbell button. Have you searched the Internet to see if you can find the transmit and receive frequencies for your doorbell and the Line 6 Relay? Alternatively, do you or a friend happen to have or have access to a spectrum analyzer? You might have to go hunting for the two transmit frequencies. Actually, you are mainly interested in what the Line 6 Relay "looks" like on the transmitted spectrum and then to verify that the doorbell transmits an AFSK type signal on some frequency that identifies which doorbell has been activated. If these two frequencies are not the same, then there may be some kind of frequency mixing occurring. May take a bit of troubleshooting. By the way, does the Line 6 Relay unit have the capability to change the operational frequency? Cheers! Dave

 

[prcguy]

Bluetooth, Z-Wave and other wireless things are all in the 2.4GHz WiFi band. They should not collide or affect each other but if one device is right on top of another that is at a distance from its mate you can swamp out its receiver and affect its operation.

WiFi is a bad idea for security cameras and doorbells. There is a flaw in the WiFi protocol and a simple $15 device can render your entire wireless system useless, it will disconnect everything in the house. I proved this to my local Neighborhood Watch lead when I pulled up in front of her house, fired up my not to be mentioned device and targeted here wireless system. I walked through all her cameras, pushed the door bell and she had nothing on any camera and here Ring doorbell did not work. Any crook with some smarts, or who reads this can bypass your WiFi based cameras or alarm system.

If you want real security, go hard wired.

 

[K4EET]

If you want real security, go hard wired.

I tend to agree with that but don't allow the security system to "auto-dial" the monitoring center via a hardwired PSTN; copper or fiber. The crook can easily defeat that route at the telephone box on the side of your house... I don't know if those units have gotten smart enough to detect cut lines with an alternate means of contacting the call center.

 

[TailGator911]

Makes sense. The video doorbell simply activates an app on my iPhone, pops up the video feed at the door. I have a good ADT system installed in the house that is all hard wired and coded and monitored, had it for years but no cams. I just liked the idea of seeing who is at the door when I am expecting a delivery and I didn't want tv monitors that I have no room for. Have a cam looking at my driveway and another looking at the RV and barn and my trash cans. My biggest violators are a family of raccoons that make their rounds on trash night. This little system came with 3 wifi cams and an app, that's it. The audio 2/way intercom is in sync but the cams are very herky jerky with lots of lag. I do not see any way to find what the operating frequency is, much less how to change it. Well, it was cheap and you get what you pay for huh.