Hello KinCony team,
I’m building a large steel mechanics’ toolbox for my workshop in Leeds, UK. It has an electric lock, and I’d like one KinCony board to be its controller. I looked at your product selector but I’m not sure which board fits, so here’s what the system needs to do.
What the box does
A small 12 V DC motor (a linear actuator) moves a bar that locks and unlocks all the drawers. It changes direction when you reverse its power (+/−). It has its own end-stop switches, so it stops by itself at each end. It draws less than 1 A.
A wireless key fob unlocks and locks the box. The fob receiver gives a simple relay contact (on/off).
A chain of 7 small switches tells us whether every drawer is fully closed and caught. It gives one contact: closed = all locked.
A green LED on the outside shows “locked”.
There’s also a normal mechanical key, so the electronics never have to be perfect.
What I want the KinCony board to do
Run with Home Assistant (on the board itself, or connected to Home Assistant on my network).
Wi-Fi to connect to my network. The board sits inside a closed steel box, so an external antenna connector matters.
Bluetooth, so the box can tell when my phone is close by (auto-lock when I walk away).
Drive the 12 V motor in both directions (lock and unlock), using relays or a motor driver output.
Read at least 2 inputs: the fob receiver contact and the “all drawers locked” contact.
Run from 12 V DC and use as little power as possible when idle. When mains power is off, the box runs on a Milwaukee M18 battery, so idle power decides how long the battery lasts.
Stay safe at power-up: after a power cut, the board must not unlock the box when power comes back.
Power side (only if you have something suitable)
The box has mains power plus a battery backup. At the moment I plan to use Mean Well parts to switch automatically between the mains 12 V supply and the battery 12 V. If KinCony makes a dual-power / automatic changeover module or a 12 V UPS-type module, please tell me.
Space
The electronics sit in a hidden compartment about 97 mm high. The board can lie flat or go on a DIN rail.
My questions
Which KinCony board do you recommend for this? I’ve looked at the MT4 and the Pi-based boards (Pi5R8, Server-Mini). Are those right, or is there a better fit?
Does that board have Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and an external antenna option?
Can it reverse a 12 V DC motor, or do I need an extra module?
What’s its idle power at 12 V?
What do its relays do at power-up (all off)?
Do you have a dual-power changeover or 12 V backup module?
Price and shipping to the UK, please.
I can share drawings and a 3D model if that helps. Thank you!
I’m building a large steel mechanics’ toolbox for my workshop in Leeds, UK. It has an electric lock, and I’d like one KinCony board to be its controller. I looked at your product selector but I’m not sure which board fits, so here’s what the system needs to do.
What the box does
A small 12 V DC motor (a linear actuator) moves a bar that locks and unlocks all the drawers. It changes direction when you reverse its power (+/−). It has its own end-stop switches, so it stops by itself at each end. It draws less than 1 A.
A wireless key fob unlocks and locks the box. The fob receiver gives a simple relay contact (on/off).
A chain of 7 small switches tells us whether every drawer is fully closed and caught. It gives one contact: closed = all locked.
A green LED on the outside shows “locked”.
There’s also a normal mechanical key, so the electronics never have to be perfect.
What I want the KinCony board to do
Run with Home Assistant (on the board itself, or connected to Home Assistant on my network).
Wi-Fi to connect to my network. The board sits inside a closed steel box, so an external antenna connector matters.
Bluetooth, so the box can tell when my phone is close by (auto-lock when I walk away).
Drive the 12 V motor in both directions (lock and unlock), using relays or a motor driver output.
Read at least 2 inputs: the fob receiver contact and the “all drawers locked” contact.
Run from 12 V DC and use as little power as possible when idle. When mains power is off, the box runs on a Milwaukee M18 battery, so idle power decides how long the battery lasts.
Stay safe at power-up: after a power cut, the board must not unlock the box when power comes back.
Power side (only if you have something suitable)
The box has mains power plus a battery backup. At the moment I plan to use Mean Well parts to switch automatically between the mains 12 V supply and the battery 12 V. If KinCony makes a dual-power / automatic changeover module or a 12 V UPS-type module, please tell me.
Space
The electronics sit in a hidden compartment about 97 mm high. The board can lie flat or go on a DIN rail.
My questions
Which KinCony board do you recommend for this? I’ve looked at the MT4 and the Pi-based boards (Pi5R8, Server-Mini). Are those right, or is there a better fit?
Does that board have Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and an external antenna option?
Can it reverse a 12 V DC motor, or do I need an extra module?
What’s its idle power at 12 V?
What do its relays do at power-up (all off)?
Do you have a dual-power changeover or 12 V backup module?
Price and shipping to the UK, please.
I can share drawings and a 3D model if that helps. Thank you!