Cost Effective Access Control for Tennis Courts?

[Deactivated] on 04/08/2021 - 20:23
Last edited 04/08/2021 - 20:24

Hi, I'm doing some research for an Access control system for 2 tennis courts for my local tennis club committee.
We were quoted $15,000+ for 2 courts with a single entry/exit for a Seccloud access control solution only
Furthermore we needed to install a $100/month Wifi/4G Dongle Wifi system for the system which has recurring costs.
We may be eligible for a $6000 grant from Tennis Australia, but this quote way exceeds that for what I feel a hobbyist can make and will be tough to get approved by the commitee, as the coaches get the booking revenue, not the club.
Ideally we want it to integrate to Sportlogic Intennis or Tennisvenues.com.au Booking system or a booking system off the shelf, or coded ourself/existing.

Tennisvenues quoted us $50/month for the booking system and gave us 50% $99/month as we are a small club
Sportlogic is about $1000 but we were unsure if that included the online booking system or just the software package.

However, I'm open to any ideas that could possibly work including any off the shelf smart home security products, even might be willing to code up or use existing booking app library or github code.
We need:
Pin access for the 1 entry way on a keypad
The code to be unique for each registered user (etc. 6383) so we can track who is using the court or each booking to have a different access code each time
Being able to book court as hirer, coach being able to blockout times in 15 minutes increment slots
Notification system for coaches by SMS or email about bookings
Club members being able to request bookings in Club play times for an hour and an email or SMS sent out to the coach to approve outside these times

Is there any smart home products by Amazon, Google etc that could do the job?

Poll Options

  • 1
    Build your own solution: Suggest Below
  • 3
    Use a turnkey Keypad/Home security Solution: Suggest Below
  • 1
    Go with Seccloud and use club funds out of pocket
General Discussion

Comments

  • Caped Baldy on 04/08/2021 - 20:45
    +2

    Have you looked into SCADA systems? Seems like that's exactly what you're after. Not too sure which integrate nicely with booking systems though.

    $100/month is excessive unless it's using a lot of data. Optus and Telstra are charging around $15 per month for a 5gb sim and another $5 for a static IP address if needed.

    • jpl on 04/08/2021 - 22:02

      Telstra does not offer static IP, they only offer public IP, public facing IP that will change. Doubt Optus provide static IP.

      M2M Connectivity does provide static IP for their mobile sim, however this is Private static IP, meaning, the server also need to be connected to M2M's network.

    • [Deactivated] on 04/08/2021 - 22:36

      I'll have a look at Scada thanks

  • wryun on 04/08/2021 - 20:57
    +2

    I have no experience with this stuff, but as a programmer from a brief google if I were trying to cook up my own system for $0 I'd look at extending something like https://bs.hbsys.de/ to issue duration based codes for https://www.igloohome.co/products/padlock/ (TOTP style system, so no internet necessary until you want to grab the logs) and add some notification sending to it.

    • [Deactivated] on 04/08/2021 - 22:36

      Thanks I'll look into it

  • bmerigan on 04/08/2021 - 22:51

    Could save $10,000 and use keys.
    Is this court so incredibly busy that that isn't feasible?

    • [Deactivated] on 04/08/2021 - 22:58

      No right now it uses a keycode that never changes,so hirers keep coming on without paying. We are mainly trying to make use of the grant without going over as it covers court booking and access control. Also someone figured out the code once and changed it the lock had to be cut off.

      • spackbace on 05/08/2021 - 14:48

        so hirers keep coming on without paying.

        Cost of lost money from people using it for free, vs the cost of the new technology to prevent it…

        If courts are empty, then there's no lost revenue for people "helping themselves".

        Why not just change the pin weekly? Loss mitigation, and free to do

  • jpl on 04/08/2021 - 22:57
    +1

    Proposal 1

    The hardware should be less than $500 if you DIY.

    $88 - Gate remote controller Need to find one with Australian 4G frequency
    $55 - 12V Faile Safe Electric Drop Bolt lock
    $14 - Exit Button
    $100 (estimated) various power adapters, and wiring.

    Challenges here are people to do the install, waterproofing and also the AC wiring to the box.

    The software can get open source booking system for free

    MRBS Booking System

    Challenges here are modifications to the php code to send the an activation link to the Gate remote controller.

    Mode of operation

    User book via online system (MRBS). User be given a unique link by email. User approach the gate, click the link and the gate open.

    Pros

    Can be opened remotely incase email link not working

    Cons

    Need to pay monthly mobile bill

    Proposal 2

    The hardware should be less than $500 if you DIY.

    $40 - QR Code scanner
    $18 - Smart Relay Kit
    $55 - 12V Faile Safe Electric Drop Bolt lock
    $14 - Exit Button
    $8 - Real Time clock
    $100 (estimated) various power adapters, and wiring.

    Challenges here are people to do write the code for the ESP8266, install, waterproofing and also the AC wiring to the box.

    The software can get open source booking system for free

    MRBS Booking System

    Challenges here are modifications to the php code to generate an QR code (TOTP) and email to the user.

    Mode of operation

    User book via online system (MRBS). User be given an email with QR code. User approach the gate and scan the QR code

    Pros

    No need to pay monthly mobile bill, because system is time based

    Cons

    Because it is time based, and problem with the realtime clock will require technician to go to the site to repair

    • [Deactivated] on 04/08/2021 - 23:00

      Looks good, thanks for the detailed response legend!

  • suti on 21/08/2021 - 21:00

    Have played a lot at different courts around Sydney and by far the best booking system is the one found at:

    https://www.citycommunitytennis.com.au/locations (not sure who runs the engine in the background)

    As a tennis player, it is easy to book. You can click on any day in the month and then you can see which times are already booked for all the courts in the complex. If you click on an available time, a window pops up asking you whether you how long you want to book for, then you log in and book. Once you get to the court you enter in your own dedicated pin which lets you in the court 10 mins before hand and also 10 mins after wards (just in case you left something behind). The pin also controls the lighting system at night.

    The worst clubs are the ones without any online booking system like Meadowbank and Ryde. It is no wonder the people who currently run it recently lost a tender to continue running the courts. If you want to play you are supposed to call them up and they will get back to you if the courts are available or not. Absolutely no transparency and an absolute pain if you want to do a last minute booking or if it is late at night wanting to play the next morning. These clubs are often opened by lock and key as well, and you are supposed to pay them by putting money in a letterbox.

    Then there are other booking systems. they work but they look like sh1t, ie Cintra Park Concord or Abuklea Rd Eastwood.

    Don't skimp on a booking system. The easier you make it, the more people you will attract to the courts to play which will pay off in the long run.

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