Access control
A keypad entry system opens a door or gate with a code instead of a key. Elwin Security installs, configures, and supports keypad entry systems for commercial and multifamily properties in Santa Clara and the San Francisco Bay Area. The scope covers the keypad, the electric strike or maglock it releases, the power supply, the request-to-exit device, the cable between them, and the tie-in to a gate operator, telephone entry panel, or access control controller.
Use case
A keypad with its own relay, a keypad at a gate, and a keypad reader wired to a controller are different installs. The wiring, the power, and the place where codes are managed change with each one.
A Camden CM-120 keypad holds 999 user codes of 1 to 8 digits and has one REX input and one door contact input. The relay switches the strike or maglock, so the lock, its power, and the exit device belong in the same scope.
A Linear AK-11 holds up to 480 entry codes of 1 to 6 digits and has two Form C relays, 5 amps and 1 amp at 24 volts maximum, in a cast aluminum enclosure for a wall or pedestal. Linear's manual routes four wires between the gate and the keypad, two for power and two for control, and connects Relay 1 to the operator's OPEN terminals.
Service focus
The manufacturers' installation documents name what each keypad needs from the opening. The site walk is where that list meets the door or gate.
Camden's CM-120 instructions include a lock varistor (MOV) "to be used when an electric strike or magnetic lock is connected directly," and the spec sheet says using the Wiegand output disables the wired relay outputs. A Camden CX-ED1079 strike is field-selectable for 12 or 24 V AC or DC and for fail safe or fail secure, and draws 260 mA at 12 V. Your fire marshal or AHJ determines compliance.
Linear's AK-11 manual says to mount a gate keypad "in clear view of the gate, but far enough from the gate so the user cannot touch the gate from the keypad," and suggests 18 AWG for power, with up to 500 feet of 18 AWG for the power run. DoorKing's 1506 keypad holds 1000 4-digit codes, runs on 16 VAC, and has secondary keypad capability for the DKS Telephone Entry and Access Plus systems. DoorKing's 1815 series outputs 26-bit Wiegand and cannot be used stand-alone.
Elwin installs and configures PDK access control, and PDK's readers page lists a Keypad Reader with an integrated proximity reader and a push button reader that takes proximity credentials, PIN, or both.
Site walk
The walk records the opening against the manufacturers' published limits so the keypad, lock, power supply, and cable are ordered once.
Frame type (hollow metal, aluminum, or wood), the latch the strike must catch, closer behavior, and whether the door is fire-rated or an exit. On a narrow aluminum stile, the existing latch decides the trim: Alarm Lock lists its DL1200 and DL1300 as retrofit outside trim for Adams Rite 1850, 1950, 4710, 4070, 4730, and 4900 Series latches and requires the DL1225 or DL1250 with the 1850 and 1950.
The count of residents, staff, or vendors against the keypad's capacity, whether anyone needs card plus PIN, and who will add and delete codes at the keypad or in the controller software.
Where the power supply will mount, the distance from it to the keypad and the strike, and whether the operator or telephone entry panel at a gate can power the keypad. Linear's manual says the AK-11 can take power from the access device or a separate power supply.
The request-to-exit device, the door contact, and the lock's fail safe or fail secure setting. Your fire marshal or AHJ determines compliance.
Scope details
Manufacturers publish capacity, relay, power, and cable figures for each part. The site walk checks those figures against the opening.
The CM-120 and the AK-11 each ship with a factory default master code printed in the manual. Camden's manual says to keep careful track of user codes and to whom they are assigned, and Linear's includes a manager's entry code log.
The L models add a latch monitor.
Linear's AK-11 manual allows up to 500 feet of 18 AWG for the power run and 22 AWG or larger for other connections.
Process
The sequence keeps the keypad tied to the lock, power, and cable it depends on.
Standalone keypad with its own relay, gate keypad on an operator or telephone entry panel, or keypad reader on a controller. The choice sets the parts list: keypad, strike or maglock, power supply, exit device, door contact, and cable.
Result: A parts list with each item's voltage, current, and cable run on it.
The keypad is set in its box, mullion, or pedestal, the strike or maglock is fitted to the frame, the power supply is mounted, and the relay, exit, and contact wiring is landed. Camden's instructions wire the supplied MOV directly to the strike or magnet.
Result: The lock releases on a valid code and on the exit device, and holds otherwise.
Factory master codes are changed, user codes are loaded, relay times are set, and the property team is shown how to add and delete a code. On a CM-120 the relay time delay is 1 to 255 seconds or latched; on a DoorKing 1515 the door open time is settable from 1/4 second to 99 seconds.
Result: A written code list the manager keeps, and a keypad the team can change without a service call.
What matters
An access control equipment standard, the ADA design standards, and manufacturer sheets each state requirements; your AHJ or attorney decides how they apply.
Linear's AK-11 manual carries this warning for gate keypads: "TO AVOID SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH, MAKE SURE THAT THE UNIT IS FAR ENOUGH FROM THE GATE SO THAT THE USER CANNOT TOUCH THE GATE WHILE OPERATING THE KEYPAD. HOWEVER, THE GATE MUST BE FULLY VISIBLE FROM THE KEYPAD."
It depends on the keypad. A Camden CM-120 holds 999 user codes of 1 to 8 digits. A Linear AK-11 holds up to 480 codes of 1 to 6 digits. A DoorKing 1506 holds 1000 4-digit codes and six 5-digit codes, and a DoorKing 1515 holds 400 codes of 4 or 5 digits. An Alarm Lock Trilogy DL1200 narrow-stile trim holds 100 PIN codes of 3 to 6 digits, and the DL1300 holds 2,000 users.
Site walk
Tell Elwin what is not working, what systems are already on site, and which access points matter most. The next step is a scope grounded in the building, not a generic product list.
