Key Code Door Lock Won’t Endanger Your Security Deposit

College students have returned in droves to dorms and apartments at campuses everywhere. So this is the time of year we usually start seeing some coded entry hacks. [Charmonkey] recently took on the challenge at his new apartment. There were some caveats though. He needed to ensure the Landlord could still enter using a key, and he didn’t want to alter the door or the jamb in any way. What he came up with is a coded entry system that can turn the deadbolt.

In order to mount some hardware on the door he removed the inner part of the dead bolt assembly and used the pair of threaded tubes on the adjoining lock section as anchor points. This holds the Pokemon tin he’s using as a project box securely in place. The rest of the components all mount to it. These include the stepper motor that actuates the deadbolt, a switch for manual operation, an Arduino, and a motor driver board.

He got really creative with the keypad. The wires connecting it travel through the door’s peephole and into the smaller plastic project box that hosts the rest of the hardware.

[via Reddit]

13 thoughts on “Key Code Door Lock Won’t Endanger Your Security Deposit

  1. There is a kit (someone gave me one) with a motor that gives a half turn and bolts on top of inside of dead bolt. Flat film cable to key pad runs thru hole for DB. Keypad is covered with brass cover below still extant key hole. Neat, secure,, removable, compatible.

  2. You know if he used light sensor looking through the peephole to read a light code (flashlight, cell phone flashing, hand over the peephole) the landlord would have never known the mod had been done.

    1. I don’t think so as all the brains are inside. you would still have to send the right combination of switch closures through the wire you would have hanging out.

      of course as we all know from the movies you just need one of those nifty things that the keypad input plugs into that will try all the codes.

      (HAD project anyone:)

      anyway it would be cool if you added GSM or Google voice or something to this so it would text you if there were 3 or more wrong codes within a few minutes.

      I bet this attracts people to come try it.

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