Customer Reviews

M & S SYSTEMS DS-3B Door Intercom Station with Bell Button

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The M&S/Linear DS3B is a fully functional door station for use with several of the M&S/Linear intercom systems. It includes a two-way speaker through which visitors can communicate, as well as a lit doorbell button.

The biggest issue with the door station is that it seems to lack any real documentation. The speaker unit has two wires coming out of it, which are easily enough to wire. However, the doorbell button has no wires, leaving one to guess about how it should be wired. There are two screws near the button on the back, so it seems apparent that one should simply hook the two needed wires (coming from the wall) to these screws. Unfortunately, this doesn't work. What is actually required is the total removal of these screws as if to take it apart. When one does this, the button comes apart, revealing two smaller screws inside which are actually the ones which need to be wired. Not knowing this results in a lot of wasted time and head scratching when the doorbell fails to ring.

Other than the wiring confusion, though, no complaints, and the fact that the doorbell button lights up is nice at night.

This unit is designed to work with an existing 4 wire intercom installation. It does not include the rough-in kit (the box inside the wall).

I bought this to replace an ancient, broken, M&S door intercom.

It arrived without instructions but installation was a breeze. There are four connections to make, two for the speaker and two for the lighted button. You have to remove a small cover on the back of the button when connecting the wires.

The faceplace screw positions are identical to my old (15+ years) faceplate.

The whole operation took less than five minutes.

I used this to replace an inoperative door bell/speaker from an M&S system that was installed in 1994. It fit perfectly in the existing front door bell/speaker box. As others have said you have to remove a small cover to attach the wires to the door bell-no big deal. It took me 15 minutes to install with an extra set of hands to help. The lit bell is nice and the speaker sounds very clear. I'm very happy with this purchase an I'd buy again.

I bought a house built in 89 and I think the intercom system was original. Wired this thing up and it worked perfectly with the existing intercom system. The only trick was to figure out the buttom combinations to push to get the "listen" and "talk" functions to work on the base station. Also, the added bonus which I did not anticipaet was that the screw holes actually perfectly lined up with the old system. I couldn't have been more lucky with this purchase.

As previously noted, no instructions provided. Manufacturer provides 800 number on packaging but will not accept calls from end users for technical support - what good is that? I tested wiring as shown on their FAQ page, so chime does work but doorbell is not working. Don't know why - FAQs say faulty doorbell but no info on how to test the bell itself or if I wired incorrectly - rubbish.

Update to my review...After navigating Linear Co website found the following email address: intercom@linearcorp.com. Here is response I received to my request regarding installation instructions:
My inquiry: I just bought a new doorbell speaker DS38 and bell does not work. The M&SD packaging did not come with any wiring instructions. I looked in your FAQs and did test the chime by shorting the wires - chime works, but bell button does not. I have a yellow and orange wire that go to the bell - does it make a difference which screw I attach them to?? I live on a fixed income and do not want to pay $85.00 service call and I consider myself relatively handy for an old broad. Thanks for your help.

Their answer: Thank you for contacting Linear. The secret to the front door station is this - is the front door button light up? If not then you've terminated the wires to the wrong spot. There is a weatherproof cap that goes over the back of the button. You need to remove that cap and terminate the wires directly to the back of the button. Your button will then light up and should work fine, as the circuit is simply a contact closure the orange/yellow have no continuity. So it doesn't matter which wire goes to which terminal on the back of the button. If your front door station is light up and still not working then you may have a bad front door station and I would recommend that you return it to whom you purchased it from.
My response: As I said I am relatively handy but I was attaching wires to the cap screws ergo the problem. Unit works fine now and thanks for saving me $85.00. Still think some written instructions in the packaging would help.

Their response: Generally our product is sold to dealers and distributors who have been installing intercoms for years. But I agree with you, we should have some kind of documentation; at least a link to a website that gives you the walk thru instructions. Unfortunately those decisions are made far above my pay scale.

The company does not stand by their system. They relagate any repairs on their systems to companies that service a variety of products and services (such as alarm companies) and these companies don't know what to do with the M&S systems. I have a system that I purchased two years ago, had it repaired numerous times but it still doesn't work. Upon contacting the M&S company, they give tech advice over the phone but you may be on your own to translate their advice into an actual repair.

Product was delivered on time and very easy to install thanks to the review regarding how to locate the two electrical connectors under the button. Highly reccommend.

Ordered this because my Nutone original equipment intercom doorbell speaker was not working. While this is attractive...the doorbell DID NOT work with existing wiring although the intercom did.

Was able to order just the intercom speaker directly from Nutone/Broan.

BAD PRODUCT, NOT COMPLETE... DONT BUY!!!