Special Project 1

Direct Communications, a professional installation company based in St Ives, Cambridge-shire, has been involved in an unusual and challenging door entry installation in a luxury Fulham residence comprising of 49 houses.

The project required replacing the existing door entry system, which no longer worked, with a new video and audio door entry system, interconnecting the audio and video from the vehicle and pedestrian gate access areas to each of the homes.

In addition, the front door of each house was being fitted with an external door entry system, and inside on the ground floor, a monitor and handset with door release, plus additional handsets on the first and second floors.

At the main entrance, the new system had to be fitted into the existing brass push-button panel.

The requirements of the system were to enable residents to communicate with visitors as they arrived. They needed to see and speak to visitors at the vehicle and pedestrian gates and, using the door release, allow the vehicle and pedestrian gates and individual front doors to be opened automatically.

In preparing the tender for SLB Electrical, the main contractor for the project, Direct Communications needed to specify a two camera video entry system capable of working 1- 49 way and also able to operate over the 1500m distance around the houses.

Explained Robin Harper, Project Manager for Direct Communications: "Only two manufacturers were able to provide the right system for us, and we decided to specify the Farfisa FN4000 digital system from BC Access Control. It was the best product for the job, in that it fulfiled all the required functions and came within our tight budget."

David McGinn, Sales Director at BC Access Control recommended the use of the system. He said an analogue system would have been extremely costly and physically impossible using the existing ducting.

  "When we realised the distance was 1500 metres we recommended the digital system as it would be more cost effective and easier to install than an analogue system. In this situation the greater the distance between each system, the more cable and power is required."

As it was, the cable installation presented quite a few challenges.

To start with, the system that was being replaced was thought to have never worked properly, possibly due to the distance between the houses and cabling problems. Direct Communications intended to use the existing ducting for the new installation, however this was not possible as in some places the ducting did not reach the houses as it should have. Unforeseen excavation work was required, which meant a longer programme for the job.

Harper continues: "We had to excavate outside to take the old cables out and put new cables in. We found that the main ducting leading to the main entrance had collapsed, so we had to excavate there as well. It was an unforeseen complication."

Due to the long runs of cable, Direct Communications had to increase the diameter from 0.5mm standard cable to 2.5mm to allow for the signal loss over the distance. Since they were installing a digital system, they used a multi core12 wire cable, using nine wires over 1500 metres. 2000m of coax cable was also used.

Harper explained: "The 12 wire cable presented its problems because we actually wanted to loop from house to house, but the ducting was too small.

"This was not a straightforward process and what we ended up doing was fitting watertight joints in the manholes and spurring out from there to each house.

"There were five circuits, each circuit serving ten houses and the last serving just nine."

It is unusual for a system like this to connect over such a long distance, and in the beginning Direct Communications experienced some teething problems with the audio connection. Farfisa assisted in finding the solution by creating bespoke software to accommodate the long run. Farfisa added two data modules to boost the signal, which worked successfully. This digital system is off the shelf but the application clearly wasn't, as each house had a front panel as well as a connection to the outer gate.

The project was completed in just two months and the new system went live following a one-month test period, and is running smoothly.

The system being replaced was thought to have never worked properly, possibly due to the distance between houses

Direct Communications will be maintaining the system for SLB Electrical. Direct had used Farfisa door entry products before but not for such a large or unusual project.

Robin Harper concluded: "This wasn't the easiest installation, because of the cabling problems, however we found it easy to install the Farfisa digital system and were delighted at their ability to work with us to find the right solutions and get the system up and running."

Farfisa, from Italy, has been serving the door entry market for more than 50 years. The equipment is supplied in the UK by BC Access Control, specialists in audio and video door entry systems. Tel 01730 893 839.

Pheasants on duty at the castle gates
Impressive steel gate supported by turret-style gate piers are keeping unwanted visitors at bay at a Scottish castle in Perthshire.

Four hand-forged pheasants and a thistle stand on top of the new main gates at Kincardine Castle, which have been fully automated using FAAC's 770 underground operating system.

FAAC installer, Livewire Services Ltd in County Durham won the prestigious contract, having completed automation of a smaller set of gates elsewhere on the estate some months before.

Managing Director Tim Raw was asked to quote for the supply and installation of the proposed pair of gates and pedestrian gate by the architect working on behalf of the Castle's owner, Robert McNeil, a country sports enthusiast.

However, although Livewire do fabricate gates themselves, when Tim saw the architect's drawings he realised a specialist craftsman was needed to recreate the proposed design in non-welded steel.

He had no hesitation in recommending his local metalwork artist, Brian Russell of Newsham Forge, with whom he had worked before.

Livewire specified FAAC's 770 electromechanical automation system for Kincardine.

"The 770 is an attractive package, and ideal for automating ornate gates like these because the operators are fitted underground so they don't detract from the look of the gates," said Tim.

"Also, being solid steel, the gates are extremely heavy, but the 770 handles them effortlessly."

The FAAC 770 underground range offers concealed automation for swing gates of up to 2.50m long per leaf, and has been designed with a load-bearing box for automating gates up to 500 kg per leaf.

The system features a corrosion-proof coating that is highly resistant to atmospheric agents, combined with total waterproofing and IP67 protection of the operator.

Maintenance is reduced and made easier by the ability to access the operator without removing the gate, whilst electricity consumption is minimised by the 770's inherent mechanical efficiency. In addition, safety is assured by an electronic anti-crushing device that adjusts the drive torque directly.