Front Door Control System

If you're looking for documentation on the original door unlocking system, you can check out Home Automation. This page documents the more recent door control mechanisms.

History

The Original PowerBolt 1000

The original PowerBolt 1000 worked well for an unexpectedly large number of years. Unfortunately, the keypad started failing a couple years after losing a button and the only replacements in the same vein were a slightly more modern revision that User:Omegix procured that removed the "Open" and "Close" pads making the existing hack non-viable.

Replacement With Schlage Encode

This is a great lock that is very much not amenable to maker hacking/control. There are ways to do it, but it's not great and requires dealing with a closed API that is subject to change.

Revisitation of the Newer PowerBolt 1000

This newer revision of the PowerBolt 1000 is missing the pads we were using with relays to easily control open and close of the deadbolt. Fortunately, it did have a 3 pin header with a jumper to select lock direction and a simple to decode key matrix from which the lock button could be triggered. With two relays, it was possible to reverse the lock direction and lock the door simultaneously affecting an unlock operation. Unfortunately, it has since failed in a weird state such that remote control still operates, but the keypad has become flaky (one button doesn't work causing people to push it harder and rip it off) and the the buzzer has changed pitch. I suspect I should have tossed a resistor inline with the relay for the lock side of the control, but I don't remember seeing any on the keypad flex circuit itself. In any case, this lock has now reached a busted, but still minimally operable status.

Replacement with Something New

Existing Keypad Locks

A selection of the Kwikset SmartCode locks have an expansion port for ZigBee or Z-Wave, especially in the older models. The lower end ones do not have this slot and are heavily stripped down to reduce cost. In addition, the keypads have moved to a 4-wire interface meaning that it is no longer a raw key matrix.

A touch keypad is nearly a must-have due to previous experience with rubber push buttons getting accidentally ripped off.

Hackability of locks:

• Kwikset Smartcode 260: Likely identical to the 270 with a different keypad
• Kwikset SmartCode 270: Stripped down with no headers of any variety, very tiny control board
• Kwikset Aura: Unknown
• Schlage Encode: Not amenable to hacking at all
  • Can technically be remote controlled via undocumented web API, likely to break often and non-local
• Other locks?

A Custom Solution

The appeal of existing keypad locks is that the keypad still functions with power/network being out. This is a critical feature and a hard requirement for any custom solution. More details to come.