🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <205@nbc1.UUCP>, abs@nbc1.UUCP (Andrew Siegel) writes:
> I've been wondering for a while about those card-keyed door locks
> that you find in newer hotels.  I have three questions:
> 
> 	1) How are they powered?  (I can find no evidence of wires
> 	   running to the door itself.)
> 	

I lived in an apartment bldg. once that had the kind of doors where
each apt. had a button the occupant could push to unlock the door.
You've all seen these.  There were double doors, so power did have
to get into the door (not just the door frame) to operate it.  I found
that power got to the door via a small and inconspicuous set of
contacts set into the door frame and in the door, in the jamb on the
hinge side of the door.  In this case, these were at ground level at
the very bottom of the door.
     We also had an intercom that didn't work, and when visitors came
and buzzed someone's apt., the resident would usually let the visitor
in without knowing who was there.  We had a few unpleasant incidents
with troublesome people getting in this way, by just buzzing various
people's rooms at random until someone let them in.
     I took it upon myself to deal with this once.  I examined the
door and found how the power got in, and disabled the electric lock
by putting a piece of plastic in the jamb to keep the contacts from
touching each other.  Since it was at ground level, it stayed there
and didn't fall out.  And since this was all so inconspicuous, nobody
knew what was wrong or where to look to fix it.  The result was that
residents couldn't unlock the doors from their rooms, but had to go
to the door physically to open it for visitors.  I, for one, was
quite happy with this state of affairs.  (But then, I lived on the
ground floor.)

-- Jay    ....{ucbvax,sun,decwrl}!imagen!jay