Apartment Intercoms
Wired and Wireless Apartment Multi-Tenant Intercom Systems
The intercoms on this page meet the needs for apartments or for multi-tenant or multi-unit residential or commercial needs. There are a few different technologies that all allow visitors to select the tenant they want to call and then speak live to them. All are capable of activating an electric door strike or gate opener.
Are you looking to install a new apartment intercom, or multi-tenant intercom? Then read the first section underneath the list of products below. Have an old apartment intercom that needs repair or new parts? Then skip to the second section. Looking for a wireless apartment intercom? The last section covers these.
Updating an Old Wired Intercom System
If you have an old wired apartment intercom system and the tenant stations still work, you can upgrade to new technology and still use those old tenant stations. Our AL1002 Touch Screen Internet Connected Video Intercom has the ability to do that by adding "relay boards" to it.
These boards have a matrix of relays that can be activated by the AL1002. The primary use for these boards is to replace an old-style push-button type door entry button panel with the touch-screen AL1002 and still be able to use the building's wired tenant stations (audio only). These relay boards can handle up to 512 apartments. The relays replace the buttons and when someone selects a tenant from the directory, their relay closes to simulate a button press. We have stainless steel covers to replace the existing button panel, but the existing speaker and microphone are removed from the button panel and then mounted to this new steel cover. The AL1002 will also call the tenant's App on their smartphone, but if they pick up through their existing wired tenant station, they will not be talking through the App or AL1002, but rather through the old speaker and microphone.
This allows for upgrading old multi-tenant intercoms to newer video intercom capability with smartphone or tablet PC Apps. Click the following link to see this product and call us if this is something you are interested in.
Touch Screen Internet-Connected Video Intercom
Installing a New Wired Apartment System
Apartment Intercoms That Need Repair
- Is the problem isolated to one or two apartments? Then you likely just need to replace the apartment stations. You'll first want to remove those stations from the wall and inspect the wires. Are they connected to the terminals on the station? Disconnect them from the station and from the other side at the door and run a continuity check between pairs of the wires by connecting two wires together on one side and then putting a continuity checker on the same two wires on the other side. If you do not get a positive reading, then you have broken wires somewhere and they will have to be replaced.
- If the wires are OK, it could be a defective station so swap it to an apartment with a working station and see if the problem follows. If so, replace the station.
- If that isn't the problem, then it may be with the entry door station. Check all the connections on the door station thoroughly. If everything looks good you may need to replace the entire door station, or the amplifier for the entry door panel, but first check the button for that station to make sure it is not the problem. You may need to disconnect the wires to the button and see if the button has continuity when pressed. If the button is OK, then it is the amplifier board driving the apartment station and you will need to replace it. This could be in the form of a separate amplifier circuit board or an enclosed unit that is in a different location than the button entry panel.
- Is the entire system dead? Then the problem could just be the power supply that drives the amplifier circuitry. Make sure you test the outlet the power supply is plugged in to first. Then, using a voltage meter, check the output power on the supply to see that it is putting out the voltage it is supposed to according to what's printed on it (make sure to disconnect the power supply because defective components could be drawing too much current from it).
- If the power supply is working, then the problem is with the amplifier unit that runs the entire system. These are not repairable, but even if the original manufacturer has gone out of business, you may still be able to use a replacement amp like the PK543A we offer (see a typical wiring diagram below). Most manufacturers used an apartment station that was similar except for Nutone. There is a lot of circuitry on their boards so you will need to replace the entire system with them. If you can find the manufacturer name somewhere, we can try to figure out compatibility. Just send us an email with the info you have.
Wireless Apartment Intercom
If you can't run wires, then there are wireless options available. There are some benefits of wireless systems as well. With wireless systems, tenants don't even have to be home to answer calls from visitors. Systems that use cell phone service not only don't require running any wires to tenant’s apartments, they can call any phone number, either landline or mobile. There is a small monthly fee for the cell phone service of these intercoms.
