Heath/Zenith SL-6166-C Wireless Plug-In Door Chime Kit with Molded Plastic Cover, White
by Heath/Zenith
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Heath/Zenith SL-6166-C Wireless Plug-In Door Chime Kit with Molded Plastic Cover, White
Customer Review: Ask Not for Whom the Bell Tolls...
Summary: 5 Stars
I am the doorbell man, an expert, so to speak. Over the past few years, at my drivethru window, I have gone through a number of wireless doorbells. The reason for this is quite varied. The first time, the wired doorbell was stolen. The second time, the doorbell was sideswiped by someone in the drivethru. The third time, the wireless transmitter shorted out in the rain. The fourth time, I got a stupid 'bird' doorbell, which I didn't know chirped 'london bridge' and other classic tunes which drove us all bonkers. The fifth and last few times, the magnetic backing we put on the transmitter (so that we can retrieve it and keep it from being stolen) was not strong enough to keep people from knocking if off, and subsequently driving over it. The last 2 doorbells did not transmit through our cinder block and brick walls the great distance of say, 6 feet. Also, the last 2 did not have "easy pressibility": in other words, some light presses did not transmit a ring.
Who would have thought doorbellology was such a complex and thought provoking subject?
Anyway, this bell has "easy pressibility," transmits well and is quite loud. And it's white, which goes with everything. Everything you would want in a door chime.
And BTW, we found a way to keep the transmitter from sliding off: we used a giant binder clip we had been saving for some unknown purpose...but that's neither here nor there.
If this was a comparison review, this particular model would win compared to everything I have used. Inexpensive. Loud. Accurate. Highly recommended.
Customer Review: Get something else
Summary: 2 Stars
This is inexpensive and had the chime sound my wife and I wanted. I'll leave it to other reviews to discuss long-term problems, I just now installed mine and it has worked three times out of three.
The install process is from the "we don't care" school. There are indentations where the screws go, but you have to push the screws through the plastic - there's no hole or poke-away tab.
If you want to change the tone - I didn't, but I read the manual - you open the doorbell unit and change jumpers! This is fine if you have spent time setting up hard drives, but strikes me as an odd process for a doorbell with a total of three (3) sounds to choose from. Similar doorbells use a button on the underside of the ringer to change tones from one sound to the next.
The doorbell functions so far, the bell is fifteen feet from the ringer, but the workmanship is consistent with the bad reviews and does not fill me with confidence.
I recommend that you buy something else.
Customer Review: Unreliable puts it mildly
Summary: 1 Stars
It seemed fine at first, right up until the return time elapsed. Sneaky thing. Well, almost fine. The battery sits a bit loose in the pushbutton unit, so when attaching it, the battery slid a bit and I needed to remove, adjust, and reattach. It worked. As I said, worked fine for a little over a month. Then it started working about half the time. Then it rained heavily and it started working all the time... as in ringing without being actually touched. Maybe something in the unit swelled? I had to unplug the receiver until things dried out.
I've just changed out the battery in hopes of it working. I went through the "adjust battery, snap in place, remove to adjust shift caused by snapping in place" dance again, but then it worked. But after a few pushes over a few days, the battery has apparently slid out of place again. Off to buy one with a better rating.
Customer Review: VERY short life - a waste of money
Summary: 1 Stars
Like many other reviewers noted; this doorbell is a piece of garbage, a total waste of money.
My doorbell button was located in the carport, completely out of the weather. It worked very good at first... even at a distance of about 30 feet, in a bedroom, without a clear line of sight.
Mine lasted no more than 2 months:
- it started randomly ringing, as if a ghost is at your door (get out of bed for nothing)
- new batteries made no difference (expensive little things)
- testing at short distance: still no good
Summary: It doesn't work at all now, a useless product on it's way to the landfill. I do NOT like throwing away money (chime & new batteries) So, here I go once again in search of a decent doorbell.
Be well, Jeff
Customer Review: Reliable and not annoying.
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this doorbell not to use as a traditional doorbell but to use in the house. After yelling to my daughter repeatedly and running up and down the stairs, I felt like this would be a reasonable solution to get her attention.
We live in a condo, so there is the interference from other families to deal with, and we had no problems. Also, it works from downstairs in the front of the house to upstairs in the back of the house with doors closed and other electronics running. No trouble there, either.
Loud enough to be heard over music or to wake up a sleepy teen, she no longer misses her phone calls and I no longer have to go to great lengths or interrupt what I am doing to get her attention! We are pleased, it worked out well for us.