Having recently moved to a new apartment, one of the first things that I decided to do was build an RC entry system
Here’s some pictures:
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The black box at the top is a simple Velleman RC control kit and the black box below is a 240VAC->12VDC regulated converter. The Velleman RC receiver has two relays, one connected to an electric strike lock and the other connected over the button input in the entryphone which unlocks the main door.
On the RC transmitter there are two buttons, and as they are currently connected, one opens the main door and one unlocks the electric strike on the apartment door, with a 5 second timer on each.
This works well so far and I have paired the transmitters with the receiver so that default unpaired transmitters will not activate the relays. A few weeks on, having already locked myself out once, the next step is to extend this project.
I intend to have the RC transmitter connected separately to some embedded linux board, probably the spare Alix and Phidgets boards I have from the robot I built a while ago. The linux board will signal over a separate frequency to this door entry system. The linux board will perform a variety of functions from logging entries to automated surveillance. Additionally the linux board will have net access and possibly run asterisk. I can either SMS my way in or alternatively call in to asterisk and do some voice authentication. More to follow when I actually have time to get this done..