r/accesscontrol

SMA quote landed last week and it\'s well over budget, so now I\'m doing the homework I should have done a while ago.

We\'ve had Gen͏etec across 5 sites and around 40 doors. It\'s been mostly fine. What bothers me is how locked in we are, and how every small change needs a conversation with the integrator.

Got pointed toward Acre S͏ecurity, apparently the licensing is more straightforward, but I don\'t know anyone actually running it.

Both are Mer͏cury so a swap wouldn\'t mean replacing controllers, which is the only reason I\'m considering it. What I can\'t get a read on is whether Acre holds up in production or if it just demos well.

Trying to work out if it\'s worth the switch or if I just suck up the renewal.

I’ve been in this industry for over 14 years at this point and is it just me or do project managers not do a fucking thing? I’ve worked for 4 different companies and it always seems like pms push everything off on leads. What do they actually do? I’m asking in earnest.

Edit: Project*

Did these guys get dumber or am I getting bitter? Over the years I noticed the technical capacity getting lower and lower. Even Mercury/HID....what the fuck is going on?

What is your go-to lockpick to use on panels when a key cannot be located?

SO I have a site where I am needing to add UPS power on to a rack of switches. My question for you is when I am figuring out my power requirements should I just include the draw for the switches or should I be adding each individual camera that draws from each switch?

Do any of you put reader ID labels on all your readers? I'd like too, but I'm not sure what to do on readers that are exposed to the elements

I was asked by a fire inspector to provide a fire relay for an electric strike to allow the FD to ENTER. That is not in any code book I have ever read. The door is free egress out, card in.

I have always understood we all work out of the same code book. That is not in any NFPA reference I know of.

When asked to show it to me in writing, he can't. I am not trying to be unreasonable, but if people learn that you can pull a fire alarm and walk in, they will. SMH

I have a Kantech KT1 on my bench... EntraPass Corporate Edition on my server.

My KT1 has an HID MiniProx 5365 connected via Wiegand and Kantech KT-MUL-MT connected by OSDP.

I have a mystery prox card here that is recognized by both readers, but for EntraPass to see it, I have to add... BOTH "H10302 37 bit" AND "MIFARE 32 Bit CSN" in the Reader Type field for the controller.

If I remove either, it doesn't work. I've gone through several other formats without success on any individual one.

Any guesses as to what format this thing ACTUALLY is?

This is an example of the insanity that is found on FN. enjoy...

$45/hr for 40hrs ($1800 total)

"This would most likely be 4 10 Hour shifts Monday through Thursday."
yes the buyer thinks that is all it will take to install the following:

1. 112 CAT6 cables
2. 2 CAT6 per AP for 7 indoor APs and 2 outdoor APs
3. APs Mounted
4. 14 composite cables
5. 9 card readers
6. 5 door sensors
7. conduit ran in warehouse
8. j hooks in office space
9. 2 post rack
10. ladder tray on back and side wall
11. bond "ground" rack and ladder tray
12. 6 paging horns

26' lift provided

screenshots in post on FB

https://www.facebook.com/groups/lowvoltagenation/permalink/4480727792217015/

I’ve got one of my hospital customers who says that their current access control company wants to stop working on their system because of supply problems.

Current system is Lenel. Is there any reason that Lenel parts/ systems would be in short supply?

I would jump in but I don’t have the access control certification required by the local gummint authorities.

I’m thinking maybe the current vendor is hurting for people.

Does anyone know of any parts shortage or anything like that with Lenel?

We have a building where we installed a doorking system and it worked fine for months but now we're having an issue, seemingly with the TCP IP converter. Coincidentally the problems started after their IT department added some of their gear. Every morning when the leasing agent gets in to start adding tenants they get a fail to connect but after resetting the TCP IP module it works fine the rest of the day. Any thoughts? The only issue i see is we are powering the TCP IP off of the 1835 pedestal that is mounted inside. We want to explore any problems with our side of things before we start pointing fingers at their IT.

Looking for advice from access-control/security techs.

We have a LenelS2/S2 system with elevator cab readers. One elevator intermittently fails fob reads and S2 logs bit mismatch. Programming appears to match the working elevator reader, and both elevator reader setups look the same in S2.

Important detail: the physical reader on this elevator was replaced about 2 years ago, but it did not solve the issue. So I’m leaning away from the reader itself being the root cause, unless the replacement was configured the same way or the issue is damaging/corrupting readers over time.

Using S2 Card Decoder on the same known-good fob, I saw:

• Good read: 26-bit
• Failed read: 13-bit, all 1s
• Good read: 26-bit
• Failed read: 24-bit / completely different number

So the same credential is not consistently reporting the same bit length or card number.

The issue happens randomly, sometimes while the elevator is moving and sometimes while stationary. The elevator also appears to do frequent reference/learning runs between the bottom and top landing.

My suspicion is not card-format programming or the reader itself, but Wiegand signal integrity somewhere between the cab reader and S2: D0/D1 wiring, reader voltage drop, ground/shield issue, travelling cable noise, S2 reader port/blade, elevator interface wiring, or electrical noise from the elevator equipment.

What would you check first?

I’m building operations, not the security contractor. I’m trying to collect better evidence so we can push the right vendor: elevator contractor vs security/access contractor/save time if we have to have both on site to have this issue resolved. It is an 11 year old issue and I have recently taken over operations of the building. 

Edit: Thank you all so far for the advice. Of all the communitys, this one has been the most receptive to questions! My job isnt a "perfect all", we are just always around, try to fix if we can (withing limits) and hire trades as needed from there out. I always try and learn and apply before straight calling out. So thank you all !

I do this for a living but at an enterprise level, and I know all the systems, but I’m looking to help a small business that just needs swipe beep click on two doors. Anyone have any options for something cheap that works reliably?