Keypads, Telephone Entry and Access Control

Keypads are a great way to use your automatic driveway gate or even a pedestrian gate. There is a huge number of different keypads available from a basic code only to ethernet based communication but here are the main types. Basic code only keypads, intercom, telephone entry and cellular. Most of those are available with or without an actual keypad or a card reader.

Code only keypads can be a great way to restrict access into a property. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes from industrial housings to a plastic flip pad. Most keypads will be hard wired to whatever it is controlling but there are a few wireless options as well that can make installation very low cost. These can also be wired into an access control system that can track what code was used when at what location.

Intercom stations are becoming more and more popular usually with video now. These can be a great way to know who is at your gate before letting them in. These are traditionally installed with a basic 2 wire voice communication to an inside station mounted in the house. Now we can install with an ethernet wire that allows you to communicate and control your gate from your cell phone while you are in a different part of the world. We can even install a wireless bridge to avoid having to run an ethernet wire from your house to the gate.

Telephone entry systems are becoming a thing of the past but are not obsolete yet. These use a telephone line from your telephone provider, even if it’s from Comcast, to basically loop in your driveway gate into your homes telephone system. Some telephone entry systems can call your cell phone but typically will not provide pictures or video. These can be tied into an access control system as well.

For the situations that are cost prohibitive to run a hardwire to the keypad location, there are now cellular options to establish communication. There are a couple different brands of cellular keypads that can include external cameras, card readers, video or photo push notifications but all of them have a monthly fee for the cell service. These also require a good cell signal even though an external antenna can be added to help when signal is spotty. Don’t worry about which carrier you currently use because you actually pay the monthly fee to the keypad company who in turn pays the provider, so it cannot be added to an existing plan. We usually use whichever provider that has the best signal strength at the keypad location which we will test beforehand.