Hello everyone,
Slowly but surely, the exterior plaster is going on, so we urgently need to decide on an intercom system.
The general contractor is installing some kind of "standard unit" (I don’t remember the manufacturer – but he said it’s a very cheap one for 200€) which we actually don’t really want.
However, we don’t want to spend a fortune either and have set a budget of around 700€.
We have:
- Front door with fingerprint reader and motorized lock (fully wired electrically)
- All necessary connections in the entrance area prepared for this (2-wire system and LAN)
- Our tech setup in the basement with PoE switch, Speedport for fiber optics, 2 access points (one each on the ground floor and top floor) to provide sufficient Wi-Fi (if that matters at all for the choice of intercom system)
We want:
- No intercom upstairs (we consider it “unnecessary” nowadays – however, it would be important that the doorbell can be operated via app or external device, so we can open the door and speak even when upstairs on the move)
- Intercom on the ground floor (preferably a “tablet” with video – but not a must! Audio would also be sufficient, but it should look nice and not be a handset with cable or similar)
- Is a door chime necessary inside the house? Is it possible to install something so I can hear the doorbell upstairs and maybe also in the hallway area? Otherwise, I would only hear the chime on the tablet and possibly on the external devices, right? What would be the best way to do this?
- Appearance is very important – a nice, simple doorbell (if possible with name engraving) and a nice indoor unit (preferably tablet-style if possible)
--> I read a lot about the company Metzler here – this could also fit within the 700€ budget in my opinion (model VDM10). After some research, I think you can hardly go wrong with this. The question I have, though, is: Can I find it somewhere cheaper?
I would appreciate any personal experiences with your “intercom search” and how satisfied you are with your current system.
Also, I welcome tips/tricks, installation advice for the home network (with app control via Wi-Fi, etc.), and the best ways to manage it all.
Thanks in advance!
Slowly but surely, the exterior plaster is going on, so we urgently need to decide on an intercom system.
The general contractor is installing some kind of "standard unit" (I don’t remember the manufacturer – but he said it’s a very cheap one for 200€) which we actually don’t really want.
However, we don’t want to spend a fortune either and have set a budget of around 700€.
We have:
- Front door with fingerprint reader and motorized lock (fully wired electrically)
- All necessary connections in the entrance area prepared for this (2-wire system and LAN)
- Our tech setup in the basement with PoE switch, Speedport for fiber optics, 2 access points (one each on the ground floor and top floor) to provide sufficient Wi-Fi (if that matters at all for the choice of intercom system)
We want:
- No intercom upstairs (we consider it “unnecessary” nowadays – however, it would be important that the doorbell can be operated via app or external device, so we can open the door and speak even when upstairs on the move)
- Intercom on the ground floor (preferably a “tablet” with video – but not a must! Audio would also be sufficient, but it should look nice and not be a handset with cable or similar)
- Is a door chime necessary inside the house? Is it possible to install something so I can hear the doorbell upstairs and maybe also in the hallway area? Otherwise, I would only hear the chime on the tablet and possibly on the external devices, right? What would be the best way to do this?
- Appearance is very important – a nice, simple doorbell (if possible with name engraving) and a nice indoor unit (preferably tablet-style if possible)
--> I read a lot about the company Metzler here – this could also fit within the 700€ budget in my opinion (model VDM10). After some research, I think you can hardly go wrong with this. The question I have, though, is: Can I find it somewhere cheaper?
I would appreciate any personal experiences with your “intercom search” and how satisfied you are with your current system.
Also, I welcome tips/tricks, installation advice for the home network (with app control via Wi-Fi, etc.), and the best ways to manage it all.
Thanks in advance!
rick2018 schrieb:
You could simply use the Fritzphone app.As far as I know, that requires a FritzBox, right?
@Prager91
You should have mentioned these requirements earlier in the other "Router/Network Thread" 😉
You could quite reliably set up DECT throughout the whole house using "multiple" FritzBoxes and then build your Wi-Fi network on top of that. In that case, you would skip the Speedport + access points...
Or you could leave the FritzBox in the basement, where DECT reception should be fine on the ground floor, and use the Fritzphone app on your phone in the upper floor as Rick suggested. The app only requires Wi-Fi. It effectively turns your smartphone into a regular handset and is often more convenient than having an extra handset somewhere... At least one does not exclude the other, and it can be considered a useful addition.
netuser schrieb:
As far as I know, this requires a Fritzbox, right?
@Prager91
You should have mentioned these requirements earlier in the other "Router/Network Thread" 😉
You could quite reliably cover DECT throughout the house using "multiple" Fritzboxes and build your Wi-Fi network on that basis. In that case, you would skip the Speedport + access points...
Alternatively, you can leave the Fritzbox in the basement, DECT reception should be fine on the ground floor, and upstairs you can use the Fritzphone app on your phone, as Rick mentioned, which only needs Wi-Fi. The app basically turns your smartphone into a regular cordless handset and is often more convenient than having an additional handset somewhere... At least these options don’t exclude each other and can be used as a supplement.We have now decided on the “standard doorbell system” from Comelit, which the electrician usually installs here almost everywhere... A small audio device on the wall in the living area (he said the sound can typically be heard in the hallway and upstairs as well) and that’s it. Nothing more 😀
Regarding the home phone:
We will place a regular DECT phone on the ground floor and hope the reception at least reaches from the basement to the ground floor. Alternatively, as you said, everything can be controlled via the Fritzphone app over Wi-Fi (which should be fine through our access points on the ground and upper floors) using the phone.
I think that should work... And if the DECT reception turns out to be bad, I’ll have to reconsider or just tell my wife there won’t be a home phone 😀
Nevertheless: I can get everything done with the Speedport, right? I don’t necessarily need the Fritzbox? I can also connect the Fritzphone to the Speedport?
By the way, there’s also the
Speedphone 12 ?
Prager91 schrieb:
We will place a standard DECT phone on the ground floor and hope that the signal coverage at least reaches from the basement to the ground floor.You can forget that.Originally, I also had the FRITZ!Box in the basement, with analog phone and intercom setup—everything worked perfectly. New FRITZ!Boxes only have one analog port, so I switched to using FritzFon cordless phones. This required moving the router from the basement to the ground floor office and also changing all the LAN connections because the network distribution is still located in the basement.
driver55 schrieb:
You can forget about that.
I originally had the FRITZ!Box installed in the basement, with analog phone and intercom—everything worked perfectly.
New FRITZ!Box models have only one analog port, so I switched to FritzFon. Because of that, I had to move the box from the basement to the ground floor office and also change all the LAN connections, since the network distribution still takes place in the basement. So you mean with DECT it’s not possible to get a connection from the lower ground floor to the ground floor, or is the signal so weak that it’s really not worth considering?
That means the router HAS to be in the ground floor office? What am I supposed to do with my nice router/switch setup in the basement? Move everything upstairs to the office? That can’t be right... There must be another way.
Prager91 schrieb:
So the router MUST be placed in the ground floor office? What do I do then with my nicely organized router/switch setup in the basement? Can everything really be moved upstairs to the office? That can’t be right... It has to work differently somehow.No, the router does NOT have to be placed on the ground floor. However, depending on how the telephone network is implemented in your house, it might be necessary or practical to install an additional Fritzbox on the ground floor (it could be an older model like the 7490 or similar). In that case, I would avoid using the Speedport.
You wouldn’t connect the Fritzfon to the analog input of the box; instead, you would use the internal DECT function of the box(es).
In theory, the same should be possible with Speedports and Speedphones instead of a Fritzbox and Fritzfon, but I cannot provide reliable information on that. Using a Speedport would mean losing the Fritzphone app on your mobile phone, so you might end up having to distribute multiple Speedphones around the house. Maybe someone else can share their experience with this...?
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