DIY door lock.
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I've had 2 projects in the burners and working them mentally the whole time, Now i could use a hand in finishing them.
First one is as DIY door lock. At it's inception it was going to be all individual components. But then I bought this from Sparkfun:
It's the Lockitron box without the microcontroller. The assembly includes the mechanisms to physically turn a lock, the motor, the housing, and the means to secure it all to a deadbolt.
My problem getting started is the construction and placement of an nfc sensor on the outside of the door. There is a metal plate around the door that may be used to hide an antenna wire. It may b easiest to do it wirelessly. Not sure of best way to do that, I have some Z wave boards, or could do a direct bluetooth connection. J ust found some rf boards that might work.
One the big question for you giys is whatmaterial to us to place the antenna in to get a good read. It will be in a cold enviroment, It's obviously just the face that i ask about. where the antenna will read codes. any ideas guys?
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@loganfive Material wise, I would always suggest a plastic material such as ABS or polypropylene as these will give you the RF transparency you will require. Anything plated or die cast might look the rugged part but would more than likley affect your antenna range.
If its going to be situated on an external door then look at an IP67 rated enclosure too as it'll give you the waterproofing (you mentioned the cold so moisture won't be your friend!) you require.
Iinitially when I read your post I looked at external rfid enclosures to see if an existing one could be pressed into service. Unfortunately most of them come as pre-assembled units that are epoxy or silicone filled and would be a swine to work with.
A quick search of aliexpress however shows quite a few that look like they would work :
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=rfid+enclosure
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@duncannfcring Looking at RFID enclosures was a good idea. Thanks!
