Gate

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Revision as of 09:34, 9 July 2013 by Hzeller (talk | contribs) (→‎Maintenance & Repair: Add terminology.)
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This page documents the operation of Noisebridge's front gate, located at 2169 Mission Street.

Documentation

The gate is opened using the intercom pad inside Noisebridge, next to the door to the stairs. The "DOOR" button, illustrated with a picture of a key, opens the gate seems to be broken - you may be able to use the computerised "gate" method instead.

This switch can also be operated remotely, through an arcane and un-neccessarily convoluted system. A cable leads from the keypad through the machine shop, and up to a parallel port pair mounted on a PCB, just next to a hole in the South wall. The cable from the other side of this hole leads along the ceiling to a parallel port attached to the very top of the Wall O Tubes. This is a USB parallel port connected to Minotaur.

This USB parallel port is controlled by a daemon called gateman, which -- like all services on Minotaur -- is started automatically by Upstart. gateman is called by the Noisebridge API. Minotaur also hosts the keycode access system which uses API to open the gate. Other systems including the opengate script on Pony also open the gate this way.

So ... if you are inside the space AND reading this page via noisebridge's internal network, you can JUST CLICK HERE to invoke the above-referenced noisegate script (via the url http://pony.noise/gate ) and open that gate!

Usage

  • To open the gate from outside the space, see getting in.
  • To open the gate from inside the space, use the "DOOR" button on the intercom pad.
  • If you are too lazy to get out of your seat and, use the opengate script on Pony.
  • If you are setting up another system to open the gate, write your application to use the Noisebridge API. The API only works from within the space, so you should probably run your service on Pony. Do not try to run your system on Minotaur unless you've brought it up at a meeting.

Maintenance & Repair

The electric latch release mechanism on the gate (called an 'electric door strike'), shown broken and jammed. To remove and repair this, unscrew the two phillips head screws and slide out the mechanism. There are also two black wires each connected to a twisted pair of cable with a wire nut that need to be disconnected to fully remove the unit.

Gate-Electric-Latch-Jam.jpg

The actual electro-mechanical part of the lock is attached with two rivets to attaching face plate, one of this is highlighted with the red arrow, and is that part that tends to break loose. This can/has been repaired by using a metal punch/drift/vise and sledge hammer.

Latch-Repair.jpg

Dimensions

In case of replacement, it is good to have the dimensions of the electric door strike at hand:

  • the face plate is 3-1/2" x 1-3/8"
  • the screws are 3" apart
  • the bolt of the lock has a diameter of 7/8"