After I started investing in gold instead of stocks and bonds, I realized that my cheap house safe was just not going to do the trick. I wanted to protect the hundreds of thousands of dollars that I had in gold, so I started shopping around for stronger, more durable safes. I was able to find a company that offered incredible locks and safes for reasonable prices, so I reached out to them for help. They were amazing to work with, and they even came out to my house to help me to fit the area for size. This blog is all about shopping for a better safe.
Security access cards have come a long way from just blocking lock tumblers so you you could turn the handle and open the door. In fact, there are numerous options for these types locks and keys now. The following illustrates how these different types of access cards trigger locks to open.
Magnetic
Access cards that operate a magnetic lock have magnetic strips on them. The minute the access key is inserted in the lock the strip attracts the magnets to itself and away from the magnetic tumblers. The key usually has to remain while you turn the door handle or push the door open. Otherwise, the magnetic tumblers re-engage and connect to each other after you draw the access key out of the slot.
UPC or QR
Other locks rely on modern technology. These locks utilize scanner recognition panels to lock and unlock doors. The access keys are individual badges with information that recognizes the carrier of the UPC or QR key. This not only provides safe access to the key carrier, but also logs when and where employees are at different times of the day. This is most helpful if there is ever a need to find out if an employee was in a restricted area, or if another employee attempted to access a restricted area.
Electric Slide
The access keys to electric slide systems have strips or chips that interrupt the flow of electricity in the lock. When the electrical flow is interrupted, the lock unlocks. The keys with strips are similar to credit cards, while the ones with chips have to be inserted and you wait for the signal light on the door lock to to change color.
The Original "Block and Pass Peg"
When access keys first became a "thing," the keys were hard plastic with a series of punched holes in the card. Every room and every space that had this type of lock had different peg tumblers inside it. When you inserted the die-cut plastic card, it blocked some tumblers and allowed other tumblers to slip into the holes in the card. This released the locking mechanism, and you were able to turn the door handle and open the door.
Some really old hotels still use this system as it does not rely on anything high-tech or require electrical power to work. The only downfall is that the access cards can be easily reproduced with thin sheets of craft plastic or a cancelled credit card and a paper punch. However, the locks are easily maintained and inexpensive to repair. For more information, visit websites like http://arapahoesecurity.com.
Share17 October 2017
