Shop&Lock's Signals Magazine

When installing electric strikes and maglocks, don't forget to install the surge suppression devices, especially if they are included with the lock.  Many people doing installs make this common omission that causes technical support calls and premature equipment failure.  They make think that these devices are optional.  Included diodes, MOVs or TransZorbs (TVS) act as surge suppressors that prevent high voltage spikes from radiating to other electrical components. A strike is an inductive load (coil of wire) internally, and when they are allowed to de-energize rapidly (when a controlling relay cuts power) the strike briefly acts as a source of...

Hole saws have cutting speeds that should be considered when drilling into frames and doors. I once saw an installer take a $60 (employer supplied) hole saw new out of the box to drill a hole in a steel door frame. The saw got burned up before the hole was completed. When using a hand drill, be aware of the drill's RPM. Many hand drills can run up to 2000 RPMs, most to 1000. This may be too fast for the saw, depending on material. In a steel door frame using a bi-metal saw, you should stay under 80 surface...

I spoke with a customer on the phone that was having two problems. First is that their electric strike is not always releasing when energized and second, the Wiegand card reader is not reporting a card number on the controller reliably with every swipe. Being familiar with these issues after outfitting hundreds of door installations, it's obvious to us through our technical support notes that the correct cable type may not have been used for the application. We asked the installer..."what type of cable was used to wire these two devices to the controller?"  Answer...CAT5 cable. We then asked, why didn't...

Shop&Lock's Signals Magazine is building with short, interesting articles being prepared featuring access control tricks and tips!  Signals was created to highlight installation techniques, to talk about door hardware selection and to make it easy to understand how to properly deploy door hardware for your entrances.  We are inviting experts in the field to contribute their articles and experience.  If you have materials or ideas to publish, please email us at tech@shopandlock.net