Hoping you gurus will have some ideas / suggestions for this little problem. A friend recently became the property manager for multiple communities located several miles from each other, some of which have multiple gates controlling access to various sub-communities throughout these properties. Each of these gates is controlled via either the residents' individual remote control devices (RF, door opener style) OR by remote telephone access and DTMF tones, with each gate having a unique phone number. No internet access exists at the gates, nor is there confirmation / feedback that a gate is open or closed. There is no video on the gates, either.
My friend must open or close individual gates at various odd, inconvenient and irregular times that may conflict with other duties (i.e., open gate 3 at Property 2 next Tuesday at 9:30 AM to allow a company access to a pump station, then close that gate at noon). My friend may be in a meeting at another property at those times, making this somewhat inconvenient and increasing the likelihood that something will be forgotten during a busy day. The gates must also be opened (all or most) if snow or ice is in the immediate forecast, to allow streets to be cleaned and treated.
All of this just screams for automation, of course, but the boards of these various communities are unlikely to make that investment in the short term. However, with each gate having a unique phone number and DTMF accessibility that already opens or closes gates when my friend calls into them and enters the correct codes, I think a single device (ISY preferred, and/or Elk, or maybe even HomeSeer or Premise if necessary) might be able to control these gates more easily by running a unique gate open or close program when activated or scheduled by my friend (who could schedule future events each day or perhaps once/week). They could even tie these programs into the weather forecast. In other words, the automated system would dial the gate's phone number, enter the correct codes, and then hang up (perhaps dialing another gate in the event of snow or ice).
BUT... I can't figure out a way to give an ISY phone capabilities (I don't think it exists), and I'm not sure the Elk could do it, either, given its limitations. I'm not even sure HomeSeer could do it, although that seems more likely. We could test this using my ISY / Elk, HS, etc., before they commit to a purchase, but I've no idea of how to do it. ANY IDEAS / SUGGESTIONS? Thanks in advance!
My friend must open or close individual gates at various odd, inconvenient and irregular times that may conflict with other duties (i.e., open gate 3 at Property 2 next Tuesday at 9:30 AM to allow a company access to a pump station, then close that gate at noon). My friend may be in a meeting at another property at those times, making this somewhat inconvenient and increasing the likelihood that something will be forgotten during a busy day. The gates must also be opened (all or most) if snow or ice is in the immediate forecast, to allow streets to be cleaned and treated.
All of this just screams for automation, of course, but the boards of these various communities are unlikely to make that investment in the short term. However, with each gate having a unique phone number and DTMF accessibility that already opens or closes gates when my friend calls into them and enters the correct codes, I think a single device (ISY preferred, and/or Elk, or maybe even HomeSeer or Premise if necessary) might be able to control these gates more easily by running a unique gate open or close program when activated or scheduled by my friend (who could schedule future events each day or perhaps once/week). They could even tie these programs into the weather forecast. In other words, the automated system would dial the gate's phone number, enter the correct codes, and then hang up (perhaps dialing another gate in the event of snow or ice).
BUT... I can't figure out a way to give an ISY phone capabilities (I don't think it exists), and I'm not sure the Elk could do it, either, given its limitations. I'm not even sure HomeSeer could do it, although that seems more likely. We could test this using my ISY / Elk, HS, etc., before they commit to a purchase, but I've no idea of how to do it. ANY IDEAS / SUGGESTIONS? Thanks in advance!
