So, you have a plain old doorbell at home, but you’re looking enviously at these new, internet-enabled doorbells that send alerts to your mobile device when someone comes-a-knockin’, no matter where you are in the world? Sure, you could lay out a pretty penny for one of those consumer solutions, but where’s the fun in that? You’re a maker, after all.

 
Source: Giphy

Writing a custom Android or iOS app for this small task would be overkill, but perhaps you’re already using Telegram, the cloud-based messaging app with the open API. That would take care of receiving the notifications, but obviously you’ll need a circuit on the sending side to IoTize that trusty doorbell…

If you thought “Raspberry Pi,” you’re on the right track. If you thought “Raspberry Pi Pico,” which has far fewer bells and whistles and is thus much cheaper, you’re even warmer. If you thought, “how about that just-released new Pico W with the built-in Wi-Fi,” then you’ve rung the doorbell of Maurício C. P. Pessoa (GitHub: Mauker1), who’s put together just such a project:
 
Doorbell notifier powered by Raspberry Pi Pico W and Telegram. (Source: Mauker1 on GitHub)
Called the PicoDoorBell, his notification system can send messages directly to a Telegram user, or even to a group or channel!

On the software side, he’s using the Micropython environment, developing in the Thonny IDE. He has full details over on the project’s GitHub page, which is great for anyone wanting to try out the Pico W’s Wi-Fi capabilities.

We look forward to seeing what you’ll dream up for the Internet of Things with the Raspberry Pi Pico RP2040 W. If you come up with something amazing that the world just has to know about, why not share it on our Elektor Labs platform, where your idea might just be discovered and become an Elektor magazine article, or a product to be sold in the Elektor store!