I'm fairly new to anything electronics related, so forgive me any stupid question I might ask. I'm a system engineer and programmer by day, I'd like to be an electronics enthusiast by night.
The thing I'd like to achieve is the following:
I have 24 pairs of electronic locks, 48 in total. I would like to build a device to control them and read out their status over an ethernet network. The locks require a 12V DC power supply. In standby, the locks use 50mA max, when operating they use 200mA max. This is the wiring diagram for one lock, I think I understand pretty much what it says: http://s8.postimage.org/9ah7ulns5/schema.png
Each lock draws power from the power supply and has two additional wires. One which can hold a switch to lock/unlock it and one that provides a signal to read the status.
To unlock it, I need to supply 5V DC for a minimum of 50ms. To lock it again I need to open the contact or send 0V DC.
To read the status, according to the manual it will be ON when it's open and LOW (GND) when closed.
I would like to use one single power supply and one single "control device". I was thinking of using one Cat 5e cable for each pair and making 24 small splitter boxes to split each cable into 4 wires at the end. The locks would be somewhere between 1 and 18 to 20 meters away from the device.
For the device, I was thinking along the lines of something like an Arduino but with an ethernet port, but I think someone will have a better idea? Basically, as long as it runs something I can program and provides access to status/switch in software I'm sure I'll get it to work.
My questions:
Also, if you think this is too ambitious, don't be afraid to tell me.
The thing I'd like to achieve is the following:
I have 24 pairs of electronic locks, 48 in total. I would like to build a device to control them and read out their status over an ethernet network. The locks require a 12V DC power supply. In standby, the locks use 50mA max, when operating they use 200mA max. This is the wiring diagram for one lock, I think I understand pretty much what it says: http://s8.postimage.org/9ah7ulns5/schema.png
Each lock draws power from the power supply and has two additional wires. One which can hold a switch to lock/unlock it and one that provides a signal to read the status.
To unlock it, I need to supply 5V DC for a minimum of 50ms. To lock it again I need to open the contact or send 0V DC.
To read the status, according to the manual it will be ON when it's open and LOW (GND) when closed.
I would like to use one single power supply and one single "control device". I was thinking of using one Cat 5e cable for each pair and making 24 small splitter boxes to split each cable into 4 wires at the end. The locks would be somewhere between 1 and 18 to 20 meters away from the device.
For the device, I was thinking along the lines of something like an Arduino but with an ethernet port, but I think someone will have a better idea? Basically, as long as it runs something I can program and provides access to status/switch in software I'm sure I'll get it to work.
My questions:
- Am I going to set the building on fire by using Cat 5e?
- Which hardware should I get for the control device?
- How do I wire everything together?
Also, if you think this is too ambitious, don't be afraid to tell me.