Schrader Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I haven't talked to my dealer about this yet... I wanted to throw it out this way and see what kind of ideas are out there.I have a front service door into my garage that is used for most foot traffic in and out of the house. We have a tendency to forget to lock this door at night. I'm looking for a simple solution that would allow me to be notified that the lock is open. I think I just need some sort of contact switch that I could connect into Control4. The actually indicator I'm not worried about, as I can program an LED from a switch or something to flash or be a different color when the lock is open. I'm just looking for a way to determine the state of the lock.Thanks for any help!Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 If you can wait a couple months, Black and Decker are teaming up with C4 to give you zigbee controlled locks that will do exactly what you're looking for and give you ability to lock and unlock the door... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Why not just go with a auto lock deadbolt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 One of the CardAccess products would do what you are looking for, won't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I'm with codeman on this...wait for the new zigbee locks. A traditional magnetic sensor switch won't work because there is no way to mount one part of the sensor to the actually moving bolt that locks the door. Plus, you would need an incredibly sensitive one even if it could be installed because of the fact that when unlocked each part of the sensor would still be an inch apart at maximum...most sensors would consider that closed.What you could do is retrofit a button into the door jam, but you need to be able to get wiring back there and either get it back to your controller or to a card access wireless contact sensor. That would work well, just mount the button inside the jam so that the bolt pushed the button. If the button is closed, the door is locked. Problem is, I have no idea where you would find such a button. Should be too hard to find online....this is intriguing actually...I have the same problem with the man door in my garage. If you find a solution share it and I will do the same.If this can be done easily and on the cheap, it might make sense for some doors over the zigbee deadbolt, which I am sure will be $100+. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 True, if he needs indication the Zigbee device will probably give that. I don't know if traditional auto-deadbolts have postion sensors or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 If they make that Zigbee deadbolt and it doesn't indicate whether it is locked or not, it will be an epic failure.However, having those zigbee locks couple with the remote from card-access and you could open your doors...both man doors and garage doors.Maybe one of those remotes DOES make sense...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrader Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 I'm more interested in the indication of whether the door is locked or not. I've considered the autolock deadbolts, but knowing my luck, I'd lock myself out of the house when sneaking out for a smoke late at night. Yes, I have keyless entry on the garage doors, but even with Liftmaster jackshaft door openers, the wife is bound to hear me.Now, combine the indicator feature with the ability to lock and unlock remotely, and I'd easily spend $100+ a pop.Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 ^Funny! Hmmm, I would like to know what kind of sensor would fit best then... A hall-effect switch embedded in the strike pocket would most likely get you into the ballpark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Quit smoking and then you'll have enough money for the Black and Decker locks and you wont have to sneak out at night either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Someone makes deadbolt sensors, but I couldn't find the URL with a quick Google search, but the ones I've seen are installed in the door jamb, and are a physical switch with a mechanism that buffers the switch from the deadbolt itself, since the deadbolt can be thrown with quite a lot of force.As far as the Black and Decker Zigbee lock, yes it notifies when the deadbolt is thrown or retracted, as well as giving you the option to notify based on the user that unlocked the deadbolt.It can also be set to auto-lock after 30 seconds.It's a nice piece of kit. I can't wait until it's released.The one issue with it is that you'd typically also want a door sensor, since the B&D lock can't tell if the door is *closed* when it activates the deadbolt. To ensure security, you'd need to know that the door is closed *and* the deadbolt thrown.RyanE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Makes sense, unless they included a contact sensor in the door piece and the jamb piece. That would be cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_J Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 http://www.safemart.com/GRI-Recessed-Contacts-Switches/GRI-38-Plunger-Contact-w-Terminals-in-Brown-PB-2020-T-BR.htmThese work well behind a deadbolt if you can get the wires to one of your contact inputs.C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Someone makes deadbolt sensors, but I couldn't find the URL with a quick Google search, but the ones I've seen are installed in the door jamb, and are a physical switch with a mechanism that buffers the switch from the deadbolt itself, since the deadbolt can be thrown with quite a lot of force.As far as the Black and Decker Zigbee lock, yes it notifies when the deadbolt is thrown or retracted, as well as giving you the option to notify based on the user that unlocked the deadbolt.It can also be set to auto-lock after 30 seconds.It's a nice piece of kit. I can't wait until it's released.The one issue with it is that you'd typically also want a door sensor, since the B&D lock can't tell if the door is *closed* when it activates the deadbolt. To ensure security, you'd need to know that the door is closed *and* the deadbolt thrown.RyanECan I say that most C4 users already have contacts through their security systems? Certainly would be nice to interlock the auto feature with the door contact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 The auto-lock feature is separate from the Zigbee functionality. You either have it turned on or off.However, you can certainly use a door sensor in conjunction with the auto-lock, since the lock reports when it locks, you could have Control4 programming that would check to see if the door is closed, and alarm on it if it's not. Whether the lock actually throws the deadbolt at that time is pretty much irrelevant.RyanE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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