Hi folks... I hope this isn't too basic a question, but I just realized my little project has a small snag -- two different voltages involved...
I bought a RFID Access control unit (a keypad-style device where you can swipe an RFID tag near the reader to allow access into the building), and I hoped to run an electric door strike from it. The door strike normally sits in "locked" position, and when juice hits it, it moves a piece of metal out of the way (I assume via magnets) to permit the door's latch to clear the door strike so people can enter.
I think normally the door strikes would be operated directly by a doorbell transformer, getting the electric only when someone inside pushes the button to "buzz" someone in. Since this is for an unattended building, I needed the Access Control unit to decide when to "push the buzzer", when a proper RFID is presented to it.
The Access Control unit runs on 12VDC (operating voltage = 12VDC, current = 1.2A), with a Lock Relay of 12VDC/2A, but the electric door strikes said 16-24V.
What would be the simplest way of allowing the 12V coming out of the access control unit to feed the 16-24V door strike? (I figured maybe a 5-second "buzz" to the strike to allow people time to open the door, if the length of time matters.)
What would the strike do (anything?) if hit with 12V instead of 16-24V? Would I damage the strike by trying that?
And one more question -- if the Access Control unit has a 12V/1.2A Operating Voltage, and its Lock Relay is 12V/2A, would my power supply need to be > 3.2A, rather than just 2A? I assume a larger amp supply would be OK too?
(Now I've really shown my ignorance...)
Thanks for any help or suggestions!
John
I bought a RFID Access control unit (a keypad-style device where you can swipe an RFID tag near the reader to allow access into the building), and I hoped to run an electric door strike from it. The door strike normally sits in "locked" position, and when juice hits it, it moves a piece of metal out of the way (I assume via magnets) to permit the door's latch to clear the door strike so people can enter.
I think normally the door strikes would be operated directly by a doorbell transformer, getting the electric only when someone inside pushes the button to "buzz" someone in. Since this is for an unattended building, I needed the Access Control unit to decide when to "push the buzzer", when a proper RFID is presented to it.
The Access Control unit runs on 12VDC (operating voltage = 12VDC, current = 1.2A), with a Lock Relay of 12VDC/2A, but the electric door strikes said 16-24V.
What would be the simplest way of allowing the 12V coming out of the access control unit to feed the 16-24V door strike? (I figured maybe a 5-second "buzz" to the strike to allow people time to open the door, if the length of time matters.)
What would the strike do (anything?) if hit with 12V instead of 16-24V? Would I damage the strike by trying that?
And one more question -- if the Access Control unit has a 12V/1.2A Operating Voltage, and its Lock Relay is 12V/2A, would my power supply need to be > 3.2A, rather than just 2A? I assume a larger amp supply would be OK too?
(Now I've really shown my ignorance...)
Thanks for any help or suggestions!
John