electic door locks

[meirman]

How is it possible that hotels in NYC and elsewhere with electric
looks were not able to open the doors because of the black out.

Don't these things come with instructions in case of power failures?
Shouldn't they be able to run off of a car battery, for example, even
if nothing else runs. They could skip identiy checking and only open
for master key cards.

Or why don't they have keyholes with metal keys for backup?

What if someone hurt himself in the dark and couldn't get to the door
to open it? What if only the hotel is out of power, and someone
wants to get his luggage or violin and fly out of town?


Meirman

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or not you are posting the same letter.

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[the Wiz]

Because the locks are computer-controlled and the computer was dead. The
fail-safe on these locks is that people can get OUT of the rooms without power.
Power is required for entry only.
A system tech with wiring diagrams might have been able to release the locks
with a battery if they were DC, but it might not have been possible with AC
operated locks. Had the hotels had a properly configured backup generator
(power for the security computer *and* the lock mechanisms), there would been no
problem.

My power failure gear includes a kerosene heater with 4 days fuel (for winter),
a Coleman stove with a week's fuel, a windup/solar radio, flashlights, oil
lamps, canned food, dried soup, and 20 gallons of water. If the phone lines are
up, I have corded phones that work without power (it's amazing how many people
have only cordless phones). If my ISP is alive, the network UPS is good for
about an hour (DSL) and the laptop battery is good for about 3 hours (dialup)
plus a car charger if a vehicle can be started. If the cellular service
provider is alive, there are two spare batteries for the cell phone.

The longest I've been without power in recent years is 36 hours in January of
2000 (ice storm, not Y2K), but 300,000 customers in Memphis, TN, were without
power (some for more than 12 days) in July/August this year because of a severe
storm. They really weren't interested in New York's 2 day blackout. The
various media outlets may have New York as the center of their worlds, but much
of the country has a different outlook ;-)

meirman <meirman@invalid.com> wrote:

How is it possible that hotels in NYC and elsewhere with electric
looks were not able to open the doors because of the black out.

Don't these things come with instructions in case of power failures?
Shouldn't they be able to run off of a car battery, for example, even
if nothing else runs. They could skip identiy checking and only open
for master key cards.

Or why don't they have keyholes with metal keys for backup?

What if someone hurt himself in the dark and couldn't get to the door
to open it? What if only the hotel is out of power, and someone
wants to get his luggage or violin and fly out of town?


Meirman

If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.

Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

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[Mark Haase]

In article <ivd2kvgn43sos71hkqbrvg38lh1ff0v5lq@4ax.com>,
meirman <meirman@invalid.com> wrote:

Or why don't they have keyholes with metal keys for backup?

Most of the appeal of card keys is that a customer can't copy one (or
lose one) and break into the room at a later date. Each time a card is
issued, its written with a new code and the lock is reprogrammed with
that same unique code also.

 

[DaveC]

On Mon, 18 Aug 2003 18:53:29 -0700, Mark Haase wrote
(in message <mehaase-28410D.21532918082003@netnews.upenn.edu&gt:

In article <ivd2kvgn43sos71hkqbrvg38lh1ff0v5lq@4ax.com>,
meirman <meirman@invalid.com> wrote:

Or why don't they have keyholes with metal keys for backup?

Most of the appeal of card keys is that a customer can't copy one (or
lose one) and break into the room at a later date. Each time a card is
issued, its written with a new code and the lock is reprogrammed with
that same unique code also.

To put it another way, when the room card key is programmed at the desk, the
code for opening the door *now* is written to the card, and the code for
opening the door *for the next visitor* is also written to the card.

When the next visitor gets a key card with the next code on it, the previous
one is invalidated when the new card is inserted.

I always thought these locks were battery operated. The rooms that I checked
into had no power wires to the door lock mechanism (on the door). How are
they powered?

Thanks,
--
Dave C.
dave-usenet3016@mailblocks.com

 

[Mark Haase]

In article <0001HW.BB66DC8900279050072A6E70@news.individual.net>,
DaveC <dave-usenet3016@mailblocks.com> wrote:

When the next visitor gets a key card with the next code on it, the previous
one is invalidated when the new card is inserted.

Ahh so the door is not programmed remotely, but is actually programmed
via card key? So the only connection it needs is power...

 

[Mark Haase]

In article <0001HW.BB66DC8900279050072A6E70@news.individual.net>,
DaveC <dave-usenet3016@mailblocks.com> wrote:

I always thought these locks were battery operated. The rooms that I checked
into had no power wires to the door lock mechanism (on the door). How are
they powered?

This question also got me interested...a quick google turned this up:

http://www.keymart.com/htl_key_cards.htm

This system, at least, is battery powered. I suspect nearly all of them
are.