JasonOfOz

Hi Everyone, Just wondering if anyone has come across a Fortress Access Control system before? I'm trying to find them online but they seem to have disappeared. Looking at the controllers, they were based in Newport but website is down and there are no further details even with extensive searching. Does anyone know what happened to them and whether they have been taken over by another company? Thanks

I know this is a bit of a longshot but does anyone have any industry contacts for installers in Amsterdam? One of our global clients is opening an office over there and would like us to help them deliver an access control / CCTV system. Again, we would prefer to work with someone local so any recommendations / introductions would be great. Thanks again. ps. In return, I'll make sure we throw in a space-cake or two

Hi Everyone, We have a project coming up in Newcastle and would like to work with a Partner who is based up there to help us deliver an access control project. Once delivered, our Partner will be responsbile for delivering annual preventative maintenance and ad-hoc service requests. Ideally your firm is SSAIB or NSI (Silver or Gold) approved but not necessary. Knowledge of one of the "enterprise level" systems would be highly regarded e.g. C.Cure / Gallagher / Inner Range / Lenel / S2 / Pacom (again - not a deal-breaker). If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Thanks.

No i meant that if you didn't claim on the insurance did you just pay it out? Or manage to fix the damage? Thanks for the tip re Aviva. So has your experience with SISS stopped you from using them again?

hehe.. ladder is in perfectly ideal position for servicing

Heavy ladder..or heavy engineer! Out of interest, what did you do?

Hi Everyone, It's that time of the year again and we need to renew our insurance policies. Traditionally we have used firms like SISS / Suttons / Camberford Law and all have been great. Of course we have never made a claim on any of our policies. Has anyone made a claim on their insurance and if so, how was that process? It's something I've never thought of before but it made me think that even if a premium costs £1k more than the next one, it may be worth the extra expense, if it means there's a higher chance of completing the claim - particularly if it's a big one. If you have any experiences to share, it would be great to get your thoughts. ps. also feel free to share any broker recommendations not already mentioned

Thanks ElecTech, it is something we considered but apparently some doors (i.e. panic doors) require the use a mechanical process to unlock. The ones that drop power to locks via microswitch are technically electrical so may not meet the necessary BS EN standards. Happy to stand corrected.

hehe.... looks like i'm Le-doing it ourselves

Hi Everyone, We are looking for a security systems company in Paris to look after a few clients we have out there. We have one small access / intruder project out there in the coming months and we would prefer to pass the work onto them so they can more effectively service our client locally. Many thanks. J

Hi Everyone, I'm wondering if there is a solution we haven't yet considered with an old Lilin set up. Old PTZs use MLP1 and the matrix we are using can only recognise MLP1 / 2 protocol. In the past 12 months we replaced one of the PTZs but are having some issues with it as it doesn't seem to receive the STOP command. We are told that there is a known bug that they are unwilling to fix. In fact, based on a conversation earlier this week, Lilin are pulling out of analogue altogether, which is fair enough. Now that another PTZ needs replacing we are thinking what we should do next. Here are the options identified: 1. Replace w/ similiar Lilin PTZ - knowing there is a bug + it may be difficult to get hold of these cameras 2. Replace all PTZ + matrix - solves the problem know but not future proofed 3. Upgrade to IP - challenging cable routes 4. Don't replace PTZ - just replace with fixed cameras or "multi-lens" cameras Be great to see if you have come across this and if you have any other thougths. Thanks.

Hi - the latest update is that even if you get a HID + Hitag2 card, it may not work because it still needs to be programmed for Paxton. Arrrggghhhh

They just want the doors to be physically secure. We were having a debate amongst the team about whether using the doors would actually drain or save power. Obviously the reader and relay would consume power, we were thinking that as the system drops power to the magnetic lock, would that even things out? Not sure if it works like that but I have been told that battery will drain more if the doors are used. Spoke to Yuasa Tech this morning to sanity check the numbers. They suggested that we use either of these 2 batteries: - NP65 x 3; or - NPL100 x 2 (the L, means long life - i.e. 7 years as opposed to the standard 5 year life - not necessary in this case as it's a one off) I needed roughly around 180Ah on each door based on his calculation. Seems all calculators give out a slightly different figure. I asked about the Leisure Battery and he said that they aren't generally designed for this sort of application. Hope that helps others....

When people say generators, I'm thinking the fuel powered ones. I'm guessing there are those that you simply charge up on mains - is that what you are talking about? Any suggestions?

I suppose you can only use Z/L on inward opening doors anyway. Unless you use it on the "unsecured" side of the door which then needs to be properly documented somewhere. We come across this all the time but specify either: 1. Different type of lock that goes in frame: - electric lock (expensive) - bolt - or last resort a shear lock 2. Could use a transom and if they do hit their head at least its a smoother impact than a corner of a maglock. 3. I have seen maglocks mounted vertically on a frame (imagine a vertical transom) Hope this helps.

Hi Everyone, Got another weird one to challenge you all with. We have a client whose building is doing a power shut down over Easter but they require 3 doors that are access controlled to remain live throughout. They can't physically lock the doors so they have asked us to boost their battery back up for a total of 84 hours. There are 3 x door controllers + double maglocks + 3 readers. Estimate draw of each door to roughly 2-2.5Amps. I was going to simply add some more batteries to their existing system but surely there is a better way than wiring up 20 x 12V 17Ah batteries to each door?? Please help me get out of this box that I've been stuck thinking in....

Hi Everyone, We have a door that is an emergency escape / panic door that is open to the elements. We also need to ensure this door is linked to access control. Similar doors in the building have had the Abloy EL560 locks fitted and their panic bar fitted but this one isn't externally rated. I would have thought there are plenty of externally rated panic bars around for use on public sport stadiums etc but i haven't found any that can also work with access control. If you have any ideas, please feel free to share Thanks.

I saw this in another post and actually this looks perfect - but do you know if the door release relay is on the secure side of the door? This looks quite nice but I still need for it to release a door - not sure if it does that?

Not sure why but like London buses, these all come along at once!! One of our Clients needs the ability to know when a visitor has arrived at their front door. Problem is that they are away from their desk quite a bit. I think we only have 3 options to choose from: 1. Wireless: We tested AES out already and there's too much interference so signal is not great, otherwise having a wireless (dect-type) handset is ideal 2. App based: Some intercom systems enable you to answer/operate the intercom via an app - Comelit do one and it seems quite viable 3. Traditional wired based system - we are installing a Gira system at the moment at another building where you can have remote "gongs" installed installed in various locations (just like mini-sounders or door chimes) - this is quite good but wiring is a pain in this building so i'm trying to avoid it - I was wondering whether there is such a thing as wireless, relay activated door chimes - this would solve my problem, but i don't want us having to custom build anything. Any ideas?

We've got a client who needs an audio / video intercom. Cabling was going to be really difficult so we recommended AES's Wireless system. Although the wireless side held up, the quality of the image was not great. Mostly this was due to the light background and dark foreground, making it difficult for the viewer to see the person's face clearly. Does anyone know of a video intercom whose camera can handle a light background. Ideally an intercom with a camera that has wide dynamic range, but I haven't been able to find one so far. Many thanks.

Thanks for your thoughts. This is related to a similar post I submitted a while ago about using a provider who only offers Lone Worker Protection. When I asked them about how they deal with a "confirmed" panic alarm, they said that technically, their Monitoring Station is the secondary confirmation. What's most important is that a 2nd device isn't required, so thanks for your thoughts.

I'm hoping someone can help as I think i have completely confused myself in trying to understand Panic Alarms. A client wishes to have one installed just for their Receptionist who works alone. They want to have the option for police response on pushing the button. We are considering using an IoN40 with a 710R wireless panic button. Although it is Grade 2 and a double push button, i am confused by what is meant when someone says confirmed or unconfirmed. In the case of panic, do you need another device to generate a police response? Sorry if this is a stupid question

We made the decision to certificate all of our spur installs only so that it covers us and proves to the client we have done our bit properly so there's no come-back down the track. However, what we found the biggest issue to be is locating the breaker on the dist. board. Then sometimes not being sure what else that breaker is hooked up to. All this then takes time because if we are in the Comms Room, we don't want to take down critical servers while we are installing a spur - so need to consider works being done out of hours. I have heard of guys working live but I don't want to waste my life in jail so don't want the risk.

We made the mistake of using CAT-5 - CCA w/ baluns Never again! Our runs were less than 90m but still, this affected image quality - we had to boost it with additional PSUs to give it a good signal.

The readers are P38 which suggests Paxton only readers (or AA prox) but most likely Paxton as the card is a Paxton card. So even if they were multi-format readers (i.e. P50 Mifare reader) the card still can't be read by a MIFARE reader, hence the need for a dual format card. Conversation with Paxton this afternoon suggests that their readers can read HITAG2 cards but will only read the card number, so not as secure as Paxton's on format. I'm awaiting a test card from HID to see if this works and let you know how it can go.