I have had several customers ask about using buried PVC to connect their driveway bell to a short segment of hose at the end of their driveway. The reason for doing this, usually, is to conceal what would be a very long length of driveway hose that is being replaced by the buried PVC. Here are a few things to remember if you choose to install a buried PVC system: The inside diameter of the driveway hose is 3/8". You will need to transition from the PVC to the 3/8" ID hose using transition couplers. Any water or condensation that gets into the PVC will affect the performance of the bell and may pevent it from ringing. Be sure to glue all PVC connections with PVC cement and to use plumbers tape to connect any metal fittings. The reason for this is to keep the PVC as air-tight as possible and to keep moisture out.
The Milton bell can operate on up to 300' of driveway hose and the Original bell can operate on up to 150' of driveway hose. The inside diameter of the standard driveway hose is 3/8" and the inside diameter of the smallest common PVC is 1/2". Be sure to test your system prior to burying it to make certain that the bell works with the length of 1/2" PVC and hose before you actually bury it.
"Ding-Ding".....Milton
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Milton service station bell rings when email arrives.
Recently, I have been trying to customize a Milton bell so that it will ring when an email arrives. Of course I do not want the bell to ring when every email arrives, just certain emails. I have it set up to ring when emails arrive from someone important to me or with certain words in the subject line. It has taken me some time to figure it out but here are the basic steps that I went through to set it up.
I began with the "rules wizard" in Microsoft Outlook. The rules wizard allows you to monitor incoming emails and scan for emails that contain defined words in the subject line. I then had Outlook execute a simple .BAT file that changed the voltage between pins 4 and 5 on the DB-9 port or COM port. The voltage between pins 4 and 5 was not enough to ring the bell or to even close a low-voltage relay. I had to insert a simple transistor circuit to amplify the signal and ultimately activate the relay.
After getting the electrical signal to the COM port and getting it to activate a relay the rest was straight forward. The last step was to connect the solenoid inside of the bell to the relay.
The electrical signal that is sent to the COM port through the .BAT file is sent in two momentary pulses. This simulates a car driving across the driveway signal hose at a service station: “Ding-Ding”.
It is a conversation starter. You have to be very selective on which emails you want to have the bell ring for. It is definitely a merger of the internet and petrolania.
Please let me know if anyone is interested and I can share more of the specific details.
Milton
I began with the "rules wizard" in Microsoft Outlook. The rules wizard allows you to monitor incoming emails and scan for emails that contain defined words in the subject line. I then had Outlook execute a simple .BAT file that changed the voltage between pins 4 and 5 on the DB-9 port or COM port. The voltage between pins 4 and 5 was not enough to ring the bell or to even close a low-voltage relay. I had to insert a simple transistor circuit to amplify the signal and ultimately activate the relay.
After getting the electrical signal to the COM port and getting it to activate a relay the rest was straight forward. The last step was to connect the solenoid inside of the bell to the relay.
The electrical signal that is sent to the COM port through the .BAT file is sent in two momentary pulses. This simulates a car driving across the driveway signal hose at a service station: “Ding-Ding”.
It is a conversation starter. You have to be very selective on which emails you want to have the bell ring for. It is definitely a merger of the internet and petrolania.
Please let me know if anyone is interested and I can share more of the specific details.
Milton
Saturday, February 9, 2008
"Ding-Ding"
As a young kid I can remember riding my bicycle across the driveway hose at the gas station over and over listening to it ring "Ding-Ding" each time my bike rolled across the hose. To make it even more fun my friends were also riding their bikes across the hose. The bell was ringing like a machine gun. It was a lot of fun. It probably drove the gas station employees crazy.
Then, the employees of the gas station would sit waiting for the next customer to arrive in chairs lined up in front of the station. They would fill cars with gas in addition to checking the oil, tire pressure, and cleaning the windshield. As far as we could tell they tolerated our fun and after a few times of riding our bikes across the hose we were on our way.
On another occasion in New Orleans, I was walking through a neighborhood gas station with my grandfather, and he pointed out to me that my name was on the bell, "Milton". I found it interesting and thought that it would be neat to have one of those bells.
The "Ding-Ding" of the gas station bell was carved into my memory.
After several years I have rekindled my interested in these gas station bells. I began selling the bells and kits including everything necessary to set up a working bell system for both residential and commercial applications.
Milton's Bells has taken the standard gas station bell into the 21st Century. We offer a modified gas station bell that operates off of a low-voltage signal. This bell has been used as a door bell in an industrial loft apartment, in auto-shows, and for very long driveways where a driveway hose would be impractical.
We are also working on a modified bell that connects directly to you personal computer. The bell could be set to ring when an email is received. Of course there are email rules that would need to be set so that not every email would generate a "Ding-Ding".
Then, the employees of the gas station would sit waiting for the next customer to arrive in chairs lined up in front of the station. They would fill cars with gas in addition to checking the oil, tire pressure, and cleaning the windshield. As far as we could tell they tolerated our fun and after a few times of riding our bikes across the hose we were on our way.
On another occasion in New Orleans, I was walking through a neighborhood gas station with my grandfather, and he pointed out to me that my name was on the bell, "Milton". I found it interesting and thought that it would be neat to have one of those bells.
The "Ding-Ding" of the gas station bell was carved into my memory.
After several years I have rekindled my interested in these gas station bells. I began selling the bells and kits including everything necessary to set up a working bell system for both residential and commercial applications.
Milton's Bells has taken the standard gas station bell into the 21st Century. We offer a modified gas station bell that operates off of a low-voltage signal. This bell has been used as a door bell in an industrial loft apartment, in auto-shows, and for very long driveways where a driveway hose would be impractical.
We are also working on a modified bell that connects directly to you personal computer. The bell could be set to ring when an email is received. Of course there are email rules that would need to be set so that not every email would generate a "Ding-Ding".
Instructions to assemble your long-driveway low-voltage Milton bell kit.
Assembly: Connect your low voltage, two-strand electrical wire to the two screws at the bottom of the remote end of driveway box (gray box). I recommend an 18 AWG stranded wire. Connect the other end of your two-strand electrical wire to the two screws at the bottom of the Milton bell.
Next connect the black driveway hose to the silver tube on the bottom of the end of driveway box by pushing the hose over the silver tube until it is snug. Do the same for the Milton end-of-hose anchor on the other end of the black driveway hose.
The bell must be positioned so that the name Milton reads upright to work properly. Also, the gray box must also have the hose and electrical wire connections mounted so that they are facing down toward the ground to work properly.
The air switch is located in the gray box and could possibly need to be adjusted due to changes in humidity / temperature between Houston and your location. I have adjusted it to be sensitive and it should ring the bell when something as light as a bicycle crosses the driveway hose. Adjusting the sensitivity is described on my website under the link “Servicing you Bell”. See Figure 6.
Next, plug the bell into a standard 110V electrical outlet to test.
Be sure to mount the Milton bell in an area that is not directly rained upon as it has electrical components inside. A spot with an overhang or inside of a garage, that does not get wet, is the ideal location.
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