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Shoutout to the old timers who warned me about digital door locks
When our shop in Tacoma started putting in those first digital door lock systems about eight years back, I thought it was just a gimmick. I mean, a keypad and a little motor instead of a solid mechanical latch? Felt like asking for trouble. Then we got a call for a stuck car at the Cascade Medical Center, and the issue was a failed sensor in the lock assembly. Took me and a buddy three hours to trace the wiring and find the bad part, a tiny chip that cost maybe five bucks but shut the whole thing down. What changed my mind was seeing how reliable they've become with the newer models, especially for hospitals and offices where access control is a big deal. Now I keep a full set of diagnostic tools for them in my van. Still miss the simple click of a good mechanical lock though. Anyone else have a part they hated at first but now can't work without?
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shane_clark4d ago
Had the same fight with our building's keycard system! The trick is to hold the card steady for a full second after the beep, don't pull it away so fast. Also, keep it in a separate pocket from your phone. The magnets in your phone case can mess up the card's chip over time. I learned that the hard way after getting locked out three times in a week.
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max_brown4d ago
Yeah, saw that phone magnet tip somewhere too. Good call, @shane_clark.
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