A gate intercom puts a call panel at the gate and lets you speak to a visitor and release the gate from inside or from a phone. Audio systems cost less to run. Video adds a view of the visitor and a bigger power and connection load. Choose by how it connects at your gate: wired, cellular, Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
A visitor presses a button on the call panel at the gate. The call rings an indoor station or a phone, you talk, and you release the gate. The release is a switch that signals the gate operator to open. The Viking operator manual lists input terminals such as Exit, Fire, Strike and Open for devices like this, and its Open light comes on when one of them is triggered.
The intercom does not replace the operator or its safety sensors. It is a way to ask the gate to open, and the operator still decides whether it is safe to move.
An audio intercom is the simpler choice: a speaker and a microphone at the gate. A video intercom adds a camera so you can see who is there before you open. Vendor guides describe video as the more demanding option, because it needs more power and more bandwidth than voice alone. If the gate is far from the house, or lighting is poor, test the camera at night before you commit.
Cameras and call logs are a privacy matter for neighbors and visitors, so aim the camera at your own entrance and ask the installer what is recorded and who can view it.
Vendor guides describe four common ways, and each suits a different site.
Ask what happens when the internet or the cell signal drops, and whether the system can still call or open the gate.
A ButterflyMX guide for solar gates notes that an intercom often draws from the same battery as the operator, can draw power even when idle, and uses more during calls and video. A keypad light, a reader or network equipment adds to the load. If your gate runs on solar, ask for the intercom's standby and active ratings and have the installer check the battery and panel before you add one.
The Viking manual's UL 325 safety instructions say controls meant for users must be at least six feet away from any moving part of the gate, in a place where users cannot reach over, under, around or through the gate to operate them. Pick a spot where a driver can stop without blocking the road, and where the panel sits outside the gate's swing or slide path.
A call panel opens the gate. It must not be connected to the sensor terminals, which are monitored for safety. Only an installer who knows the operator should connect it.
See gate keypad, remote or intercom not working if you already have a system that misbehaves, and access control for gates for the wider picture.
Emil Garage Doors installs and repairs gate access control in Southern California, including in Lawndale, Cypress and San Marcos. Call (213) 340-4232 or send the estimate form with your operator brand and where the gate sits. See access control and gate repair. We confirm the price after we see the gate.
Pressing the release on the indoor station or phone sends a signal to the gate operator's open input, the same kind of command a remote or keypad sends. The operator still uses its safety sensors.
Not always. Wired systems do not need the internet, cellular units use a SIM and a plan, and Wi-Fi units need a strong signal at the gate.
It can, according to vendor guidance, but video and standby draw add to the load. The panel, battery and charge controller need to be checked first.
Outside the gate's path and far enough from moving parts that a user cannot reach into them. UL 325 instructions give a minimum of six feet for user controls.
We repair and install in these cities. Each page has local notes, prices and reviews.
Call (213) 340-4232 or send your details for the soonest visit.