BUYING A GATE MOTOR IN SOUTH AFRICA

Author: KOBUS LABUSCHAGNE

There is an old saying that says you get what you pay for. When it comes to your gate motor, make sure you get your value for money.  When it comes to buying a gate motor, take into mind the modern security products and services of the highest quality for South Africa’s growing security needs.  Gate motor is a priority and the ever popular gate motor Centurion D5 is one of our most popular sliding gate motors for home use in South Africa.  This motor is fast opening and accelerates and decelerates smoothly when starting to open or coming to a close.  It has a backup battery means that it can still open and close a gate several times without mains electricity supply, like in the event of a power failure.  It features accurate positioning and an anti-crush feature.  Its clutch can be disengaged, allowing the pinion to freewheel and enabling the operator to operate the gate manually.  The Centurion A10 is an industrial sliding gate opener with a high push force and advanced speed control.  The Centurions also offer several programmable features.  Gemini sliding gate motors are also available. Gate motors vary and there are different gates such as the swing gate. This one has a slightly different motor and its features are low-profile inline design with battery backup and crush protection.  Conventional rotary swinging gate motors are also available; they offer fine position control, battery backup and multiple programmable features.  They are available in single and double gate formats and magnetic locks can be fitted for extra security.

With theft rising in South Africa, the gate motors now have an option of a theft-resistant cages for our motors are improved on a continual basis. This type is fitted with the correct padlock, and is certainly extremely difficult to overcome without destroying the gate motor in the process, which in turn renders the motor virtually useless to a thief. There is also the gate’s infrared safety beams into perimeter security beams when the gate is idle. This comes standard with our new D5-Evo and D10 gate motors. In essence, these beams prevent a would-be thief from approaching the gate undetected by activating a Break-in Alarm. By using this technology, home owners will deprive these thieves the luxury of time when they try stealing their gate motors.

Kobus Labuschagne is the owner of Autogate South Africa and his company offers gate motor services such as the Hansa gate motor, Gemini Gate motor, Centurion gate motor, and many others.

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Choosing a Garage door opener – South Africa

When choosing a garage door opener, things to take into consideration is the type of gate you have and the type of opener, you will require to operate. Remember to take into consideration that it the actual lifting power to open and close a heavy garage door. This comes from the counterbalance springs attached to the door. The springs are under tension to lift the garage door via steel counterbalance cables. The garage motor works in a system of controlling the door opening and closing, as well as the force the garage door exerts. A garage door opener consists of a power unit that contains the electric motor and this is attached to a track. A trolley connected to an arm that attaches to the top of the garage door slides back and forth on the track, thus opening and closing the garage door. The trolley is pulled along the track by a chain, belt, or screw that turns when the motor is operated. A quick-release mechanism is attached to the trolley to allow the garage door to be disconnected from the opener for manual operation during a power failure or in case of emergency. Limit switches on the power unit control the distance the garage door opens and closes once the motor receives a signal from the remote control or wall push button to operate the door. The unit that draws power is hung from the ceiling and is facing towards the rear of the garage. The end of the track on the opposite end of the power unit attaches to a header bracket that is attached to the header wall above the garage door. The power head is usually supported by punched angle bar. There are a lot of locally manufactured electric door openers in South Africa. Visit my website for more info www.autogate.co.za

Remotes

Garage door openers are made simpler to operate and have remote for openers. Before we had our modern times, the door opener remotes were simple and had a transmitter with a receiver which you could control for the opener. Nowadays we have the multicoded opener remotes whereby they are used for places such as complexes etc. Many of garage door opener remote controls use fixed-code encoding which use DIP switches or soldering to do the address pins coding process, and they usually use pt2262/pt2272 or compatible ICs. for these fixed-code garage door opener remote, one can easily clone the existing remote using self-learning remote control duplicator(copy remote) which can make a copy of your remote using face-to-face copying. Coping of garage door remotes is very simple. The key points to take into consideration is the operating frequencies of both Copy Remote and Original Remote must be the same, only fixed-code model can be cloned, rolling-code model which is broadly used on cars is not supported and the code of Copy Remote must be cleared before copying.  

Kobus Labuschagne is the owner of Autogate South Africa and his company sells and installs Garage door openers.

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GATE MOTOR ANTI THEFT BRACKET

AUTHOR: KOBUS LABUSCHAGNE

Gate motors are the target for thieves to make a quick buck off. Should you have a gate opener and they haven’t taken your motor, then consider yourself lucky get yourself a anti theft bracket for your motor. Some people consider a gate motor as a luxury item to have, but considering the amount of crime happening in our homes and work place, a gate motor is the best way to go. Considering the power failure problems often experienced in South Africa, battery back-up units are almost a must. Security is a major worry for most us and knowing that your gate will open even if someone has deliberately turned off the power in the hope of hijacking you, is very re-assuring. To my experience as a gate motor guru, a sliding gate or single-swing gate is probably more secure from vandalism than a double-swing gate. With double swing gates it is difficult to ensure that the two leaves cannot be easily pried apart, allowing someone to squeeze through the gap. This is particularly a problem when the leaf lengths exceed two metres, as the gates tend to be a bit flimsy. In addition, locking mechanisms positioned where the two leaves join are not easy to install and they can introduce other problems.  When it comes to single swing-gates, which are generally fairly long because they need to span the full width of the driveway, a magnetic or a solenoid-strike type electric lock is recommended. Magnetic locks are similar to those used in bank entrance doors, and are very effective but need to be supplied with continuous power to operate. In a battery-operated system this is not normally a problem, but one has to keep in mind that a larger battery and charger may have to be provided depending on the length of the power failure.

Taking care good care of your motor is not costly and installing a gate motor anti theft bracket is an investment and affordable. To make sure your gate is safe and secure , is to check regulary that they are not tampered with, and they will boast far more features, for example, the gate controller could turn on pillar-, or driveway- lights automatically at times programmed by the user, or certain users, such as a gardener, could be inhibited from entering the premises at certain programmable times. During my experience with installation, I have come to learn that automated gate is far more secure than having to get out one’s vehicle and manually open the gate. However, they are vulnerable during the open/close cycle. Automated gates by their very nature can be dangerous or even deadly so various mechanisms have been employed by gate motor manufacturers and installers to reduce the risk of death or injury. These include motor overload cut-outs and infrared beams, but these safety devices create security “holes” which can and have been used very effectively by criminals. For instance, placing a piece of black insulation tape over an infrared beam before the gate is opened, will allow the gate to open, but not close afterwards. An unsuspecting home owner will arrive home, open the automated gate, but then find it will not close, this will allow the thieves to strike with minimal effort. There have also been many instances of hijackers lifting gates off the rails or applying drag on the gate during the time that it is closing. All these methods will prevent the gate from closing. There is, however, very little from a security sense that one can do to prevent this type of attack except to be vigilant during the time that the gate is closing.

Gate motor owners who have sliding gates should ensure that once the gate is closed, that it is not lifted from the rails. Any gate that can be lifted from its rails when it is in its closed position, can be opened. It is surprising how many people live with a false sense of security when it comes to automated gates, and how easy the majority of them can be opened without the remote, mainly due to poor installation. Bottom line, if a gate, automated or otherwise feels flimsy, it is flimsy and offers no protection. Another issue to consider is a trend which has been around for a while, where the thieves are actually after the gate motor itself. Gate motors, especially sliding gate motors should have a substantial anti-theft bracket or be welded in place.

Autogate South Africa sell and supply Anti theft Brackets for Hansa Speedo, Hansa deluxe 11, Centurion, ET gate motors, DTS gate motors and many more. Kobus Labuschagne is the owner of Autogate and his company runs a call centre 7 days a week and offer anti theft brackets for sale throughout the Gauteng region.

www.autogate.co.za

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GATE MOTOR REPAIRS GEMINI

AUTHOR : KOBUS LABUSCHAGNE

Repairs to gate motors are good to have done as soon as they stop working or start to give problems. This is important for security reasons and convenience during rainy days or coming out of the car to open gate manually. All gate motors are different and maintenance is also done differently. Repairs to gate motors should be done by technician who is qualified. Gemini gate motors are also repaired differently as their specs are different. Before buying a gemini gate motor, take note that they come with a guarantee or warranty or some time type therefore make sure you void if the repairing needs to be done by anyone else. A Gemini motor is a close contender and very reliable. When it comes to repairs to your gemini gate motor, make sure you the specs of the motor correctly, such as the gemini system single 220vac electrical motor. This driver drives the rack pinion via the gearbox, so that’s one point to consider when repairing the sliding gate. In regards to the gearbox the electrical motor and associated components are mounted in a rust treated base. Always make sure that the gearbox is oiled regularly and rust free. Taking care of the base box, is not really that bad as the base plate is cemented or can either bolt to a concrete base. During bad conditions, your gemini may face some problems, always check if the weather resistant lids is on at all times. A well qualified gate motor technician should be able to refurnish the motors, upgrade, and supply faulty and new remotes. Battery backs should also be replaced as sometimes the problem may just the battery of your motor. Battery back ups are for the times of power failures and load shedding, so make you have one. Autogate South Africa stocks and sells gemini spare parts and are readily available. Visit their website for more information. www.autogate.co.za. A Gemini gate motor is very popular in South Africa, as it is locally manufactured and the spares are affordable and available. Most companies do not charge an arm and a leg to repair this specific gate motor.

An important factor we take into consideration is that we concentrate on locally manufactured gate motors such as the Hansa and Centurion motors. These motors are locally manufactured for many years in South Africa, are reliable, fast and the spare parts are readily available.  

Continue reading →

BUYING A GATE MOTOR IN SOUTH AFRICA

Author: KOBUS LABUSCHAGNE

There is an old saying that says you get what you pay for. When it comes to your gate motor, make sure you get your value for money.  When it comes to buying a gate motor, take into mind the modern security products and services of the highest quality for South Africa’s growing security needs.  Gate motor is a priority and the ever popular gate motor Centurion D5 is one of our most popular sliding gate motors for home use in South Africa.  This motor is fast opening and accelerates and decelerates smoothly when starting to open or coming to a close.  It has a backup battery means that it can still open and close a gate several times without mains electricity supply, like in the event of a power failure.  It features accurate positioning and an anti-crush feature.  Its clutch can be disengaged, allowing the pinion to freewheel and enabling the operator to operate the gate manually.  The Centurion A10 is an industrial sliding gate opener with a high push force and advanced speed control.  The Centurions also offer several programmable features.  Gemini sliding gate motors are also available. Gate motors vary and there are different gates such as the swing gate. This one has a slightly different motor and its features are low-profile inline design with battery backup and crush protection.  Conventional rotary swinging gate motors are also available; they offer fine position control, battery backup and multiple programmable features.  They are available in single and double gate formats and magnetic locks can be fitted for extra security.

With theft rising in South Africa, the gate motors now have an option of a theft-resistant cages for our motors are improved on a continual basis. This type is fitted with the correct padlock, and is certainly extremely difficult to overcome without destroying the gate motor in the process, which in turn renders the motor virtually useless to a thief. There is also the gate’s infrared safety beams into perimeter security beams when the gate is idle. This comes standard with our new D5-Evo and D10 gate motors. In essence, these beams prevent a would-be thief from approaching the gate undetected by activating a Break-in Alarm. By using this technology, home owners will deprive these thieves the luxury of time when they try stealing their gate motors.

Kobus Labuschagne is the owner of Autogate South Africa and his company offers gate motor services such as the Hansa gate motor, Gemini Gate motor, Centurion gate motor, and many others.

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GATE MOTORS IN SOUTH AFRICA

ARTICLE: KOBUS LABUSCHAGNE

Why do we need a Gate motors to be installed. Gate motors play a major role in our homes and work place. For convenience sake and security, gate motors have become very popular and now they seem to be the fashion of South Africa. They are also good as they keep the burglars out and unwanted visitors. . They are different ranges of gate motors to choose from. There are automatically, or one that works on sensors, so that you never have to worry about the gate closing on your vehicle. Some motors open and close quickly and others close after a certain time. You can also set the width at which the gate opens, to keep it safe from hitting nearby objects such as trees and other parked cars.

Most of the modern gate motors come with battery back up for power failures, and load shedding. These battery operates in different ways.  Locally manufactured gate motors such as the Centurion, Gemini, Dc Blue and many more are advisable to buy and install, as the spares are locally sourced and very affordable.

South African gat motors,  are sold at very reasonable prices and there is a huge market out there, therefore it makes it more cheaper and easy to install. Most of the gate motors, come with user manuals and you surf the web for assistance in installing one yourself. We also offer reliable and affordable technicians, who will talk you through a gate motor installation and train on how to maintain and service your gate motor yourself.

Kobus Labuschagne is the owner of http://www.autogate.co.za. and provides quality gate motors information to consumers in South Africa

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