I finished this project up yesterday.....and by this project, I mean this project on a very long and drawn out retro project we have been working on for months. This was just the latest installment. We replaced his DoorKing touch tone keypad with this custom enclosure with a Linear backlit keypad and Control4 video door station.

We used a Mobotix MX 2-wire to get the POE signal to the door station using ~40' CAT5e we ran to the crawlspace, spliced onto the existing 6-pair shielded trunk wire to the phone box near the gate controller, which is probably a 150' run, then spliced another ~20' from there to the pedestal using some existing direct burial CAT3 it looked like. I doubled up a pair for each conductor. I was skeptical, even though we tested it in at the shop using ~150' CAT5e strung around the shop. With the 2 splices and the distance, I was pleasantly surprised when I fired up the video intercom. Worked like a champ! I was more than happy that I did not have to trench or fish any new wiring to this unit. The wifi signal is strong enough out there that we could fall back to that if necessary (crossing fingers we do not have to do that).

We also have the gate control tied into the zigbee keyfob/garage door openers in each vehicle for easy access, and there is also an "Open/Close" and a "Hold Open" button on the intercom screen when someone calls from the gate. Pretty nifty. I think when OS2.7 rolls out, this will even send video calls to iOS/Android devices...even niftier. :) The only thing we may add is an IR flood for night vision for the camera.

If anyone is curious, I will find out the manufacturer of the stainless enclosure. I would love to share it with you because I am not super impressed with the finish quality of it. Lots of sharp edges that need to be fixed, and the spot welds show through to the surface. It is not bad from even 6' away, but when you look closely, you can see all the imperfections.