fingerprint door looks
Larry Moss
past I had built my own keypad entry system. I just got my hands on a basic
keypad and electric strike, and I controlled it with the Mac mini that
controlled everything else in the house. I'm moving now and want to play
with a fingerprint scanner. The kids can't forget or share codes and they
won't lose keys. The all in one units with lockset and integrated
fingerprint reader seem like the easier solution. Can anyone recommend one?
This one seems to have a good feature set and a decent price:
http://www.keylessaccesslocks.com/biometric-fingerprint-keyless-lock-150-users-keypad-prox-stick.html
Does anyone have any experience with it? Any other suggestions?
The down sides of this:
* It doesn't look like it records which person opened the lock. That's not
a critical thing, but it's nice to have a log of who's been in and out.
(and maybe even what time the kids came home.)
* If I built a system with a fingerprint reader that I could tie to a
computer, it could have different behaviors based on who opens the door.
Maybe it would send a text to let me know that the kids are home, or a
contractor doing work shows up.
* I'm sure others in this group can appreciate this. If it works out of the
box, there's no tinkering for me to do. (Yeah, it will be more reliable
than something I build that relies on a computer, but what fun is that?)
Thanks for any suggestions.
--
Larry Moss, http://www.airigami.com
PO Box 23523, Rochester, NY 14692, (585) 359-8695
Airigami: The fine art of folding air.
Please help with Our latest project: http://airigami.com/kickstarter
Josepi
abandoned due to problems. Fingerprint dirt on the screen were one problem.
I suspect a few locked out of their own laptop resulted in dropping the
idea.
I use Schlage keypad deadbolts and they work great! I tired some other
brands (the ones with the four AA batteries) and what a piece of junk. New
batteries required every 3-4 months. Need ones that do not do much mechanism
moving (like the deadbolt) off the battery energy. The Schlage 9v battery
last about 2-3 years so far.
------------------------
"Larry Moss" wrote in message news:ipdasl$55j$1...@dont-email.me...
Larry Moss
> Fingerprint systems were installed on most laptops a few years back and were
> abandoned due to problems. Fingerprint dirt on the screen were one problem.
> I suspect a few locked out of their own laptop resulted in dropping the
> idea.
Thanks for the response. I see your point. The one I was looking at
(http://bit.ly/kjurpi) does have a keypad also so I'm not stuck if one
method of entry fails, but I agree, if the fingerprint scanner isn't going
to be reliable, it's not worth spending money on. I was hoping in the last
few years that the scanners have improved.
> I use Schlage keypad deadbolts and they work great! I tired some other
> brands (the ones with the four AA batteries) and what a piece of junk. New
> batteries required every 3-4 months. Need ones that do not do much mechanism
> moving (like the deadbolt) off the battery energy. The Schlage 9v battery
> last about 2-3 years so far.
This does look good. I see Schlage also has their LiNK systems that would
give me the user notification piece, but they're subscription-based. Is
there another similar setup that would notify me on my local network of
someone entering. From there, I can send my own notifications or act in any
different way I want, perhaps even turning on a light. I know there are
other ways of turning on a light, but I just like the idea of different
components being integrated (if it won't cost me a fortune).
Josepi
system too.
The X10 system was about the best I had but there are so many better ways of
doing it, probably, now. Other guys use newer and improved systems that
support X10 and I will upgrade one day when I get more time. I have anoisy
electrical system so the X10 doesn't work well but....
I used the X10 wireless motion detectors. The wireless stuff is very
unreliable though. I follow most of my motion detectors with a CPU generated
"OFF" command in a longest time desirable so that it follows the motion
detector's off signal. This gives me some insurance of lights not staying on
forever. Another all off signal is issued in the middle of the night each
night, also. I have about 4 good wireless motion detectors out of 12 or so.
The yield wasn't good at all. Another problem was the receivers send out
bad codes occasionally. I have about 4 out of 6 receivers that have become
unreliable over the years. They will jam all the other units when they
constantly send garbage. Wired motions would be best but they are not bad
for night lights etc...
With a motion detector you can tell if a person has entered a room on your
computer and turn on a light. Sequences of travel can be determined with
several in different rooms.
eg.
If MOTION_OUTSIDE then
DELAY(60 sec)
if NOT DOORBELL_RING then
TURN_ON(LAWN_SPRINKLER)
endif
endif
---------------
"Larry Moss" wrote in message news:ipeij5$ju1$1...@dont-email.me...
Larry Moss
> doing it, probably, now. Other guys use newer and improved systems that
> support X10 and I will upgrade one day when I get more time. I have anoisy
> electrical system so the X10 doesn't work well but....
I used X10 pretty extensively in the old house. I never liked it. I had all
the problems you discuss and was always working on amplifying X10 signals
or filtering noise whenever any new device got added anywhere. But at
least, with constant and careful tweaking, I kept it working. Now that I'm
moving, I want to start over with something better since there are other
options now. It's been a while since I really followed this group, so I
need to get up to speed on my options again.
Since my immediate need is the door lock, I thought I'd use that as a starting
place. If I can find a decent lockset that integrates with another home
system, that might be the push I need toward a particular platform. I'm not
afraid of homebrew stuff for non-mission critical elements either. That
would actually make the whole process more fun. (I want to learn about
arduino or similar platforms and thought using them for a home automation
project might be a way to do it.)
You went quite a bit into motion detection for lighting. While that might
be nice, I'm actually more interested in knowing who entered the house, and
not that there's a person there. I have small kids that are just now
getting big enough to start allowing them a little more freedom. I don't
necessarily need to be there the moment the bus arrives, but it would be
nice to know that they made it home. The low tech solution is they walk in
the door and call me to say they're home, but there has to be an easy
approach to this since I'm going to be changing the locks anyway. (Keys are
not a good solution for these kids. One of them loses his glasses on the
way to the bathroom. :-) )
Josepi
I never gave my kids any keys. They entered through the garage with a
standard wireless keypad, into the mudroom with a mechanical, autolocking,
programmable combo lock (was brutally expensive years ago). The only danger
in a storm or bad weather was a power failure to enter the garage. We had a
garage door key hidden under the deck for them...may be still there??...LOL
WIth the combo locks the first thing their friends do is to try to beat them
and spy when they press the code in. The kids also like to show off to their
friends and show them. First hint of that and the combos were changed each
time. They grow out of that.
The electronic Schlage ones I have in this new house take many combos. Guest
passwords are easily installed and dismissed again. It is nice to allow
deliveries into the garage but not into the house although most of my tools
are there.
A webcam with special software may be your answer. Some will "ring" the
other end when motion is detected but a monthly service fee is always the
drawback on that one.
The lighting things was mostly for stairs lights for guests staying over and
late or night lights. If you get up to pee the light turns on and the motion
det. turns it off in 2 minutes. If it is dark outside CPU sends an off
signal after about 30 seconds.
Another cool thing was a "somebody home" macro. If nobody was home that
night (based on Mot Det and button sensing all over the house) and based on
a partial random times sequences of lights went on and off starting upstairs
and working there way down to the porch light and then back to bed again.
This worked so well a few neighbours knowing I was away for a week or two
had a meeting on our front lawn whether to call the cops when nobody would
answer the door...LOL
I am looking forward into getting back into it but the co-gen inverter noise
is a pest with this stuff. A better system is in order for sure.
------------------
"Larry Moss" wrote in message news:ipeluh$u2u$1...@dont-email.me...
Larry Moss
Not at all. Well, not too much. Well, maybe a little. :-)
Actually, the kids are just young. I want to give them a little more
freedom, or the illusion of freedom so they can learn to be more
independent. My hope is that in a few years when the first one reaches
high school, he'll know enough and I'll trust that's he's learned enough
that I really don't have to follow him or know everything he's doing. But
I want to give even the youngest one the feeling that it's her house too.
She can unlock the door to get inside (even if we all just got out of the
car together).
The situation I was referring to before though, was one where I'm leaving
work late because I lost track of time, get stuck in traffic on the way to
get home before the school bus and I miss the bus by two minutes. If the
kids can't get into the house, the driver can't drop them off. The bus
doesn't come at a consistent time every day, so I don't actually know if
I've missed the bus when I get back. So far I've never actually missed the
bus, but it's been close. And if there's a babysitter involved, it is sort
of nice to know when they get home. I'm not too much of a control freak. I
won't use a nanny cam to spy on them. I just want small assurances that
everything is ok.
> WIth the combo locks the first thing their friends do is to try to beat them
> and spy when they press the code in. The kids also like to show off to their
> friends and show them. First hint of that and the combos were changed each
> time. They grow out of that.
It's nice to know that they grow out of that. That's one of the things I'm
worried about. If there are no combos, there's nothing to be shared. It's
not even that I don't trust my kids or their friends. There are times I
give temporary combos out to other people because that's easier than
meeting them at the door. I have no problem with that. Just trying to keep
things simple.
> A webcam with special software may be your answer. Some will "ring" the
> other end when motion is detected but a monthly service fee is always the
> drawback on that one.
Nah. Don't need special software or monthly service for those. At least
not the ones I'm using. I'm using a cheap linksys wifi cam in my studio
that grabs a shot on motion detection. I use it more to build time lapse
videos of projects I work on than for security (but the latter is nice).
Here's the studio cam:
http://airigami.com/larry-moss/airigami-studio/
(You won't see me there now. I'm home. The bus already showed up. :-) )
Here's one of the time lapses from that cam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnvqtEbYV1Q
Would it be too spammy a thing to do to mention a kickstarter project I
have going now that shows another cool timelapse? (Link available if it
wouldn't be out of line.)
It's also set up to put the latest pic on my web site for others to watch
what I'm building when in the middle of projects. I could have that trigger
other actions as well. But I don't really like the idea of cameras around
the house. Even if they're just detecting motion, as an artist and
entertainer, I spend my days in front of cameras all the time. Having them
follow me home feels creepy. (And, whatever it may have sounded like
before, I'm not a control freak and don't want anyone else in the house to
feel like they're being spied on.)
> Another cool thing was a "somebody home" macro. If nobody was home that
> night (based on Mot Det and button sensing all over the house) and based on
> a partial random times sequences of lights went on and off starting upstairs
> and working there way down to the porch light and then back to bed again.
> This worked so well a few neighbours knowing I was away for a week or two
> had a meeting on our front lawn whether to call the cops when nobody would
> answer the door...LOL
:-)
Josepi
thing.
We had a very loud garage door opener and talked about replacing it but
liked the idea we knew what time the kids got home.
The "control freak" was more about the "controls" you like to experiment
with, not the control you want to exert, like controlling the world not the
people.
The webcam sounds good. Will it auto email or transmit the picture after
motion? Can you get access to it remotely?
----------------
"Larry Moss" wrote in message news:ipf4fi$dom$1...@dont-email.me...
Larry Moss
> The webcam sounds good. Will it auto email or transmit the picture after
> motion? Can you get access to it remotely?
It can do either. I have it ftp the image to my web server so it's
available immediately. The page I mentioned before has the most recent
image from the camera. It has email as an option, but I haven't played with
it.
It has a built in webserver, so as long as I have a way of reaching my
network, I can get to it. I use dyndns.org for dynamic DNS so I can reach
my network. They offer their own service as well, but I like what I'm
doing.
It's a Cisco/Linksys Wireless camera for about $100. I'll find the model
number if you care.
Josepi
OTOH I want to set up a home control system again, someday and will need to
leave a low power unit on.
Thanx but not for right now. I would lose it anyway, in the meantime. I
would probably remember your name more than the model info.
--------------
"Larry Moss" wrote in message news:ipgq34$lko$1...@dont-email.me...
DBone
Through this $238 or $299 box you can communicate for free with any z-wave item within your house. I use mine to link to lights (over 15 sets), locks, blinds and thermostat. No monthly fees once you have the stuff. I also manage our rental property with the same system so i can provide codes to renters that they will remember and i can delete once they are out.
The added kicker is that squareconnect also links up with this system so that I can use old iphones/ ipod touchs and an ipad to control my TVs and all other entertainment equipment through wifi as well as my z-wave stuff. i.e - one remote control for the whole house. The controllers from squareconnect are pricy but work so well. Check them out at http://squareconnect.com/.
Hope that is helpful.
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