Oznog
Active Member
I've got a wooden picket fence with a gate that backs up to a park. Sometimes I leave by the street and want to come back through the park and vice versa. But the padlock can only be placed on the inside of the latch and can't be accessed from the other side. If I leave that way I have to leave it unlocked, if I left from the street there's no way to unlock the fence from the outside. Modifying it to put the padlock on the outside would only make it impossible to leave from the inside.
So my idea is to make an electronic lock. Probably a keypad on each side or maybe even an RF tag. It must be solar powered (with a battery of course). The electronics part is no problem at all for me.
The question is, what kind of actuating mechanism can lock and unlock the gate? Ideally, it should be able to stay in the unlocked position with no power being expended because some days I go in and out a lot and don't want to mess with the keypad (a special code would do this). But also, it ideally shouldn't be easily defeated from the inside. i.e. if somebody jumps in over the fence and starts coming out hauling my stereo I'd prefer the gate not be openable just by pushing a locking cylinder out of the way with your fingers. I'm sure if he brings a screwdriver or a big pair of boots he'd get it open but why not make it harder for him?
Also, of course this is an outdoor application and will have to deal with sunlight, rain, etc.
I have a motor-driven car door lock actuator from surplus that looks kinda sweet. It doesn't have limit switches to disable the motor current though, so it can always be easily pushed out of position from the inside.
Actually the whole thing is pretty hard to figure out. If you look at a gate latch with a lever that runs front-to-back (thus accessible from either side) the horizontal bar it grabs onto is mounted on the outside, on the swinging door. On the part that mounts on the fencepost there's a hole in the moving lever that, when closed, lines up with a hole on a fixed piece for padlocking. I was thinking about pushing a bar through that. However, if the gate is open when that happens the bar will only succeed in locking the latch closed but then the gate can't be closed into the latch. It could also push in when the lever's being held up, which would probably lock the lever open and then the door will close but not latch.
Now keep in mind that a wooden fence gate expands and contracts with the weather which is why these broad latches are used for fences. The gate's mating surfaces moves 1/4" up,down,left, right all the time. A stock deadbolt-type door keypad will not line up consistently.
Any ideas on this one? Also, anybody got a line on fully weatherproof outdoor keypads?
So my idea is to make an electronic lock. Probably a keypad on each side or maybe even an RF tag. It must be solar powered (with a battery of course). The electronics part is no problem at all for me.
The question is, what kind of actuating mechanism can lock and unlock the gate? Ideally, it should be able to stay in the unlocked position with no power being expended because some days I go in and out a lot and don't want to mess with the keypad (a special code would do this). But also, it ideally shouldn't be easily defeated from the inside. i.e. if somebody jumps in over the fence and starts coming out hauling my stereo I'd prefer the gate not be openable just by pushing a locking cylinder out of the way with your fingers. I'm sure if he brings a screwdriver or a big pair of boots he'd get it open but why not make it harder for him?
Also, of course this is an outdoor application and will have to deal with sunlight, rain, etc.
I have a motor-driven car door lock actuator from surplus that looks kinda sweet. It doesn't have limit switches to disable the motor current though, so it can always be easily pushed out of position from the inside.
Actually the whole thing is pretty hard to figure out. If you look at a gate latch with a lever that runs front-to-back (thus accessible from either side) the horizontal bar it grabs onto is mounted on the outside, on the swinging door. On the part that mounts on the fencepost there's a hole in the moving lever that, when closed, lines up with a hole on a fixed piece for padlocking. I was thinking about pushing a bar through that. However, if the gate is open when that happens the bar will only succeed in locking the latch closed but then the gate can't be closed into the latch. It could also push in when the lever's being held up, which would probably lock the lever open and then the door will close but not latch.
Now keep in mind that a wooden fence gate expands and contracts with the weather which is why these broad latches are used for fences. The gate's mating surfaces moves 1/4" up,down,left, right all the time. A stock deadbolt-type door keypad will not line up consistently.
Any ideas on this one? Also, anybody got a line on fully weatherproof outdoor keypads?