NuTone IS68 Entry Door Speakers
Monday, October 21, 2013 at 3:46PM The number one problem for both IK15 and IK25 Systems are the entry door speakers.
Like any intercom equipment that's outside, it has a hard life and it will fail sooner or later. The IS68 is a unique Entry Door Speaker that is used only with the IK15 and IK25 DoorCom Systems.
What makes the IS68 unique and different from all other NuTone Door Speakers has to do with the total number of wires it needs to operate both the Door Chime Push Button (to ring the chime) and the Door Speaker (for communication).
For almost all other NuTone Intercom Systems, Entry Door Speakers require 2 pairs of wires (4-wires total) to operate both the Chime and the Speaker. One pair of wires are connected to the Chime Push Button and the other pair of wires are connected to the Speaker Cone. These 2-pairs of wires have no operational connection between them, they just happen to be connected up at the same location (but at different terminals) when the Door Speaker is installed.
The IS68 is different because it only requires 1 Pair (2-wires) for BOTH the Chime Push Button and the Door Speaker, these 2 functions share the 2 wires. NuTone designed the IK15 and IK25 this way so that these systems could be installed in place of a standard 2-note mechanical door bell system and reuse the original wiring. The IS68 would be mounted in the same spot where the original door bell push button had been located and it would reuse the same original 2-wires.
The IS68 Door Speaker is made up from the 3 basic pieces that all NuTone door speakers have. There is a plastic faceplate which has a small speaker cone attached to it and a non-illuminated push button. These 3 pieces are not really special, but how they're connect together is special.
In the IS68, the Speaker Cone is connected directly to the Push Button. As shown in this simple schematic drawing there are 2 capacitors that connect 1 terminal of the speaker cone to 1 terminal of the push button. The 2nd terminal of the speaker cone is connected to the 2nd terminal of the push button by a short piece of wire.
The push button also has an additional wire on each terminal. These connect back to the IK15 or IK25 Master Station.
This is a very cleaver design and it's easy to duplicate on the back of a standard, modern NuTone Door Speaker.
Since the IS68 door speaker is no longer available from NuTone, being able to modify a modern door speaker to replace a failed IS68 is a good thing.
Here's a list of what is needed to create a correct replacement for a failed IS68 Door Speaker:
1 - NBD300 Door Speaker: available in Bright Brass (BB) Antique Brass (AB) Nickel (N) or White (WH)
1 – NES300DBL Plastic Door Speaker Surface Mounting Frame (box)
2 – 100uf 35 Volt Electrolytic Capacitors (Axial capacitors are easier to work with, Radial capacitors will work just as well)
Cindy & Christopher
Don't Pay Outrageous Prices for a New-Old-Stock NuTone IS68 Door Station
Lately I've seen prices for NOS NuTone IS68 Door Stations rise to outrageous prices on eBay, any where between $125.00 and $145.00.
If you have a NuTone IK15 or IK25 and your IS68 Door Station has failed, you don't need to pay those kinds of prices for a little brown plastic speaker, that's honesty not very good looking.
I started writing about how to convert a new, modern NuTone Entry Door Station into a fully compatible replacement for the IS68 awhile ago and I though it was time to show people how easy this it to do.
This Video takes you through the process, step-by-step.
I know that not everyone will want to do the conversion themselves, so you can contact us directly to order you already converted NuTone Door Station.
Or, you can call our office to order your Converted Entry Door Station 925-743-8236
Cindy & Christopher
You can now Rebuild your NuTone IS68 Entry Door Station
Recently we came accross a small supply of NOS NuTone Speaker Cones for the IS68 Entry Door Stations.
These Speakers Cones have not been available from NuTone for more than 10 years and without them - there was no real way to repair the IS68 Door Speaker
I decided that the best use for these Speaker Cones would be to build up complete, replacement Speaker / Push Button wiring harness, that would simply drop into the original IS68 plastic housing
Here's a Video that shows how i build up this rebuild kit:
We have about 200 Speaker Cones available - which means we can build that many rebuld kits. If these prove to be popular - we will have our Speaker Cone Manufacturer make more of them for us.
Reader Comments (15)
Thanks for your explanation of the undocumented IK 25 system. I installed one of these at a friend's store 11 years ago and just learned that NuTone no longer sells parts for this, at least in Canada.
Hi Rod,
NuTone doesn't sell parts for the IK25 system anywhere, not just Canada. I recently acquired an official NuTone schematic for the IK15 and IK25, which I will post as a download as soon as I get it scanned.
Any chance you can show a completed photo of this? I have all the pieces but am doing something wrong. The button just keeps going off.
Thank you!
Where do you install the capacitors in the NDB300?
Hi Mortier,
As shown in the schematic drawing (in the IK15 article), the 2 capacitors are installed from 1 terminal of the speaker cone to 1 terminal on the pushbnutton.
The polarity of the capacitors must match the polarity as shown in the drawing, otherwise the door station will not work correctly
Since you are modifying a NuTone NDB300 Door Speaker, you must also remove the miniature light bulb from the pushbutton. The NDB300 will not work as a replacement for the original IS68 if the bulb is left in place.
Thanks
Chirs
There's one more part to check: the speaker. An ohm-meter confirmed that the speaker on my IK15
was blown. I found a replacement speaker at my local electronic store but this looks to be a suitable replacement:
The speaker cones used throughout the IK15 and IK25 systems are all 16 ohms. The inside speaker cones are rarely ever a problem, I don't think that I've ever had to replace one. The speaker cone inside the IS68 Entry Door Station is typically the speaker cone that will fail. Finding a replacement is difficult due to the size limitations.
Chris
The original capacitors are 25 Volt. Are the 35 volt ones necessary because of the different speaker?
Is it better to use the 25volt ones?
Hi Cobram,
The voltage of the original capacitors in the IS68 Door Speakers vary based on when the IS68 was manufactured.
When replacing the capacitors, you should always use the same voltage as the originals parts.
Thanks
Chris
on my system, the bell rings, but the audio does not work?
the speaker looks clean. do you think it could be just the capacitors?
Hi Big O,
It is very likely that the speaker cone in the entry door station has failed.
Thanks
Chris
Chris: Can one use the “M&S IS69AB-K (antique brass) door speaker for Nutone” (from Central Vacuum Stores on-line) as a straight replacement for the old Nutone IS-68 door speaker WITHOUT having to do more than add in a surface mounting frame (box)? (In particular, without having to add in the capacitors?) When I spoke to a sales person at Central Vacuum they said this was a true replacement, but I’d like to get your expert opinion before I paid $100US ($150CAN) plus shipping for this potential replacement. Thanks for your assistance.
Hi George,
The short answer to your questions is , No. The speaker being sold by that company is not designed as a direct replacement for a NuTone IS68 Door Station.
I doubt that is it a real IS69 in any way, it is probably a NuTone NDB300 door station.
Here's what would need to be done to convert it for use with a IK15 or IK25 Intercom System
1. Rewire the speaker and pushbutton to match the wiring layout of an IS68 Door Station
2. Add the 2 capacitors to the circuit so it can operate on just 2 wires
3. Remove the miniature light bulb from the pushbutton
You should also know that since the original IS68 used a 16 ohm speaker cone and the NDB series uses a 45 ohm speaker cone, there may be anoticable drop in the volume to and from the entry door stations
Thanks
Chris
I live in a community where all of the units have the IS 68 doorbell/intercom at the entry door. Changing to and modifying the outside appearance of the dwelling could be problematic. Is it possible to simply replace the capacitors and keep the unit?
Hi Stan,
The capacitors are not the problem when the IS68 Entry Door Station fails. The problem is usually the Speaker Cone, which is no longer available.
I understand that many HOA's are reluctant to allow changes to the exterior of homes within the development, we face the same challenges with HOA's where we are.
The simplest approach is to address this issue from a Safety standpoint. The NuTone IK15 and IK25 are Entry Intercom Systems, which allow the resident to securely find out who's at their front door
before opening it. If the System is not working because the IS68 has failed, and the HOA won;t allow a modern replacement Entry Station be installed due to cosmetic reasons, they bare the responsibility for any
problems or injuries that occur from the lack of security for every unit with a non-functional unit.
I have used this approach in several complexes and it seems to be on point with the Board of Directors for the HOA.
I have had some complexes that have simple replaced all of the IS68's at one time to keep everything looking the same
Chris