Review on Aiphone CCS 1A ChimeCom2 Single Door Answering by Mandy Martin

EDIT 02/26/2015: I discovered something important. I got lucky with the first one installed. I used two 18/2 thermostat wires because the hardware store didn't have small 18/5 spools. The distance was about 25 feet (50 feet of wire for both locations) and everything worked great. I bought a second intercom for my daughter's house and got an 18/5 coil so I only had to pull one wire. BIG MISTAKE! Nothing but static. I've tried all sorts of things. I ended up resorting to a separate 18/2 line for the voice. I still connected it to the existing doorbell wire next to the transformer, but tried to keep the voice a few inches from the power source as much as possible. Presto! Crystal clear voice. So don't mix power and voice in one package, use two separate channels. --------- This device is everything I needed and nothing more. The Aiphone has another model that is battery powered and unlocks the door, but it doesn't have a backlit button and doesn't make a "ding-dong" sound on the outdoor unit. I wanted light and ding dong and didn't care about battery power or unlocking doors so this model is perfect for my needs. In fact, I've just ordered another one to install at my daughter's house. Connecting an outdoor unit is very easy. Simply remove your existing doorbell button, run two wires from the old button to the intercom and screw the new unit to the wall where the old button used to be. Connecting the indoor unit is a different story now. The instructions are pretty good, but there are multiple ways to wire it up, depending on how your existing doorbell is wired. I'm good at electrical circuits so I figured it out, but I understand how intimidating this is for a true beginner. You need to run four wires from the indoor unit to the transformer. I used two 18/2 thermostat wires. Two wires connect to the transformer for power, and two wires connect to the old doorbell wires coming from the outdoor unit for voice transmission. Running the cables in the wall was the most difficult part of the installation. But after that, the intercom works fine and looks very neat. The voice is very clear and free of interference. Be sure to use good quality cables, tighten connections with new cable nuts and do not route cables near AC power cables. There's no need to use your existing doorbell transformer and wiring if you can't or can't. I do not want. Just buy an Aiphone 12V plug-in transformer, connect two wires to the transformer, and run the two wires directly to the outdoor unit.