If the intercom key is lost, this becomes a serious problem. To get into the apartment you have to disturb your family or neighbors. And if you live in a private house in which an intercom is installed, then in order to get into the house, the intercom will have to be turned off. Therefore, it is necessary to produce a new key as quickly as possible.
Types of keys for intercoms
There are several families of intercom keys.
1. “Pills.” Officially, the standard is called Touch memory (TM) or iButton; these are contact keys in a MicroCAN housing. Tablets use the 1-Wire protocol, but the formats are different.
In the Russian Federation, these are mainly keys of the Dallas model, with which intercoms Vizit, Eltis, Z-5R, S2000-2, etc., Cyfral (keys DC2000A and Tsifral-KP1, etc.), Metakom work.
Resistive “pills” are quite rare - the resistance is read from them.
2. "Droplets" . RFID tags in a plastic case of round, oval or teardrop shape. Sometimes they are issued in the form of bracelets or cards.
Inside there is an RFID tag, just like in subway cards, beepers on goods in supermarkets and other similar things. Basically, “droplets” can be short-range (Proximity, read at a distance of up to 10-15 cm), since the more “long-range” Vicinity tags, which operate at a distance of up to 1 m, are unsafe in this case.
In the Russian Federation, EM-Marin Proximity keys are most often used, but there are also older HID tags or newer MiFare ones, as in metro maps.
3. Optical . Real dinosaurs. Somewhere in the provinces they still exist. Such a key is a metal plate in which holes are drilled in a certain order.
There is a photocell inside the intercom that detects whether the holes are drilled in the correct order.
Security is below par, forging a key is a piece of cake, and some intercoms with optical keys were successfully opened with a nail file without a trace.
Work organization
Due to the compactness of the equipment and consumables, we can offer several options for organizing the production of intercom keys, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages.
- The first option: a separate stationary room. The service can be organized in shopping centers, in city markets, near bus stops, and in other crowded places. The advantages of a stationary point are that customers already know the address of the service and visit it purposefully. In addition, certain amenities, the availability of free space to place several armchairs or a sofa for waiting visitors, a stand or table with product samples, and so on also play a role. The downside is the need to pay rent, register your activities (you can see how to open an individual entrepreneur at this link), which means, on top of everything else, purchasing a cash register.
- Second option: mobile mobile point. Here, your office will be your own car, on which you can put appropriate advertising (you can read about advertising on a car here). Detour areas are crowded places. After all, as we have already found out, it takes no more than two minutes to make keys for an intercom. Be sure to give each client your business card. It’s good if it’s something unusual, memorable, something that you’d hate to throw away (read the link about creative business cards). You can make a business card, for example, in the form of an intercom key. Original and meaningful. The advantages of this method are still mobility, the disadvantages are the independent search for clients.
- The third option: opening a service for an already existing business. That is, place copying of electronic keys where some services are already provided to the population - photo printing, metal engraving, shoe repair, or something else.
How does the intercom determine whether the key is correct?
At the factory or company that installs intercoms, a special code is written . Then it is saved in the intercom memory.
When you bring the key to the intercom, it reads the code and compares it with the values from its memory. If the key value is there, the door opens.
By the way, you can open several intercoms with one key . You just need to enter the code of this key into all the necessary intercoms. It is clear that intercoms must be compatible with the key.
Moreover, there are special modules that allow you to save all the keys from one intercom and transfer them to another.
This is how they will reinstall the intercom in your entrance, and you won’t have to change the keys. Although, of course, the intercom installer may well try to make money on this.
The only exception is, perhaps, MiFare . They include a rewritable memory area into which the unique intercom code is copied.
When a master “from a stall” clones such a key, he copies only the factory code, but not the intercom code. As a result, the intercom may reject such a key - the anti-clone system will work. Only a service company can copy the factory code.
Methods for using wireless data transmission using the NFC function:
- Bank card emulator via smartphone. The method is very popular today. Companies issue bank cards with a special icon. This means that they can be used to make contactless payments. To do this, you don’t even need to take out the card and place it on the terminal. When using them, you need to enter a PIN code if the purchase amount exceeds 1000 rubles. A modern smartphone allows you not to carry cards with you.
- This method is less popular, but will gain momentum over time. Using NFC, tags are scanned to access the desired data. This method removes barcodes completely.
- Peer-to-peer networking is the exchange of information between two NFC-enabled devices. This allows you to quickly transfer a small amount of necessary information between devices. To do this, they need to be brought closer to each other. The main thing is that there is a label.
How to make a copy of the key?
Usually for this they take a blank - an empty blank without a code . Then the master reads the code from your key and writes it onto a blank.
As a result, you get two identical keys. And since the code of the original key is already saved in the intercom, its clone will also allow you to open the door.
Discs can be rewritable or non-rewritable. If you remember the word “finalization” when burning discs, take a pie from the shelf, then it also applies here.
Technically, you yourself can assemble a key duplicator (programmer) based on Arduino or Raspberry Pi, and then make copies of the key for all occasions. There are plenty of instructions on the Internet, as well as offers to buy a duplicator for a thousand or two rubles.
The main thing is not to miss the type of intercom and key.
So, some keys are designed for a frequency of 125 KHz, others for 13.56 MHz, and so on. In addition, they can be of different types. Be aware of the anti-clone protection that your intercom may support.
Necessary equipment and consumables
To make keys you will need:
- The device itself is a duplicator. There are currently two types of duplicators available on the market. To work with one, MKA-01U, you need a computer and special software. The second is Keymaster, autonomous, powered by a regular battery, an outlet, or from a car cigarette lighter socket. It is precisely because of this “mobility” that he is given greater preference. Both types of devices are produced in series, the price for MKA-01U ranges from two and a half thousand to three and a half thousand rubles, and the Keymaster will cost from a little over a thousand to six thousand rubles.
- Blanks for electronic keys. Blanks and their cost depend on the type of keys. The price varies from nine to one hundred rubles, and the price of the “finished product” depends on this.
As you can see, almost anyone can afford to organize a business, even schoolchildren and retirees (by the way, work for schoolchildren is here).
Can keys become demagnetized?
It happens that you carry a “tablet” or a “drop” in your pocket, and after a while it goes bam! – and stopped working. And such nonsense every month. Something is wrong here. “Probably demagnetized” is the most popular explanation.
In fact, such keys are not demagnetized . They don’t even have a magnet, and ordinary magnets are not harmful to keys.
It's more a matter of a simple lack of contact. The blanks are cheap, they are purchased in China in bulk for a few cents apiece, so the contact may well come off, for example.
Key housings are usually not sealed. So if the key gets wet in your pocket or is often in a humid environment, it won't last long.
Theoretically, keys can be “killed” by electromagnetic radiation or a strong electrical impulse.
For example, if you put the key in the microwave and turn it on at full power or plug it into an outlet, it will stop working. But a powerful neodymium magnet, like those used in a store to remove tags, is unlikely to harm the key.
Static electricity is also not good for keys. If you carry the pill in your back pocket and squat frequently, causing the synthetic fabric to rub against the key, it won't last long either.
Finally, from frequent use, the “tablet” can simply push in the opposite direction and stop contacting the intercom. Just push it back in and it'll go away.
Small calculations
The prerequisites for this business exist almost everywhere - the equipping of entrance doors with intercoms has taken place everywhere, and where they do not yet exist they will be installed in the very near future. If we estimate that each apartment has an average of three residents who change electronic keys at least once a year, one building has one hundred and fifty to two hundred apartments, and the houses cannot be counted at all, then the prospects appear very rosy. Competitors can add their own touches to an “oil painting,” but they exist in any business, so “if you’re afraid of wolves, don’t go into the forest.” Now let's talk about everything in order.
What is a master key and where can I get it?
After installing the intercom, the specialist remains with a special key. It may even say something like: “Master key. Don't give it to anyone."
But this key usually cannot open the door . It is needed to add new keys to memory. In an intercom, the master key code is stored in a special area so that the device can distinguish it and respond accordingly.
It’s clear that mere mortals are not given a master key. Otherwise, the service company would not be able to charge money for adding records of new keys to the intercom.
But it is possible that the master key fits several intercoms. Or when for some intercoms the “tablet” is a master key, and for others it is a regular key that opens the doors.
Here everything depends not on the key, but on what records are in the intercom’s memory.
What happens if the master key is lost ?
Usually, intercoms still have the option to register a new master key. This is, of course, a potential hacking opportunity. But, objectively speaking, it’s easier to get into the entrance by posing as a plumber than to break into something.
It is more interesting to have a universal key, or “all-terrain vehicle”. Its code is registered in all intercoms of the entrances of one house or yard.
“All-terrain vehicles” are made for postmen, utility workers, craftsmen, etc. Agree, this is much more convenient than carrying around a garland of different keys.
Also, some RFID keys of the new format, for example, RF3.1, allow you to record codes for up to 8 intercoms.
Often intercoms also support blocking keys . This is a security feature: after the door is opened with a locking key, the other keys do not work and the door is locked. The lock can be removed either by a master key or a blocking key (it all depends on the intercom settings).
By the way, it happens that a key is set as a blocking key by mistake. So if your neighbors often cannot get into the entrance after you, check if your key is blocking access.
What is the purpose of duplicators?
It is known that the copier uses working electronic chips onto specialized compatible blanks to read and then copy codes. Any number of similar duplicates can be made.
The latest models of copiers provide the opportunity to make magnetic keys for intercoms in the following formats:
- Two-pin (using the TM protocol);
- Contactless cards or key fobs;
- Less common three-pin chips.
They support a fairly wide range of blanks:
- Two-contact blanks;
- Universal;
- Three-pin square;
- Contactless RFID.
Recording of the read code can only be done on specialized blanks, because factory identifiers are not intended for recording new codes.
Basic features of the copier
The following device capabilities can be distinguished:
- Many duplicators offered on the modern market operate from power supplies that come with them or from separate batteries;
- The most advanced models can work with a computer, and if you install the appropriate software, you can maintain the necessary database in which each copy of the key will be described in detail. In addition, the possibility of direct communication with a computer greatly simplifies the process of updating the firmware, thus helping to expand the capabilities of the copier;
- Universal duplicators, which are contact-non-contact, have a specialized platform for reading or writing contact-type chips on their body. You can also make a copy of the contactless key using the corresponding area;
- Some models offered on the modern market provide the ability to visualize the chip copying process using specialized built-in displays;
- Many models have independent memory for a selected number of codes, so you can organize a real database, restoring lost copies even if the original is missing.
The video shows the operation of the key duplicator:
The duplicators offered by the modern market provide every ordinary user with the opportunity to independently copy the key in case of its loss, without being tied to the company that installed the intercom device.
In addition, with the help of these devices you can increase the number of intercom chips used.
Thus, each person can remove the restriction on the maximum number of chips for one user or for all residents of the house.
The market is constantly expanding, so the demand for such devices is increasing, and the cost of duplicating keys is falling, which is very beneficial for ordinary users.
Is it possible to fool an intercom?
Yes, now you can buy an emulator that simulates keys of different types and produces the desired value for each intercom. The emulators even have displays and a keyboard installed, which allows you to select the desired key and display its name.
It's a funny thing, it costs about 10 thousand rubles. But it does not work without problems - it does not bypass all protection, and sometimes it may not work.
won’t hack the intercom itself , it will only pretend to be a copy of the required key. To program it, you will still need the keys themselves, which are already known to the intercom, and a duplicator device.
You can often hear that an intercom can be disabled with a stun gun. Yes, thin electronics really can’t handle a serious charge. A mechanical shock 10-15 cm below the intercom panel has the same consequences. But this is damage to property and an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Theoretically, you can still forcefully pull the door towards you. But to overcome the force with which the magnet holds the second part of the lock, remarkable power will be required.
Some key-key intercoms can be opened using a Krona battery. The method is humane and safe for intercoms, but it rarely works.
Features of the technology
NFC is a method of wireless data transfer over a short distance between two devices. Usually carried out between the smartphone and the receiver. A terminal or intercom can act as a receiver.
The work is carried out absolutely safely. It is carried out using a magnetic field that is generated by the device. In our case, this is a mobile phone. The field influences the passive network of the reader and contact occurs. This is the technology of the future, when everything will happen in this way.
Is it possible to open the intercom with a smartphone?
NFC intercom models are gradually entering the market . More often they are installed in large offices, less often in residential buildings.
If you have this option, your smartphone supports NFC, and the intercom operates at a frequency of 13.56 MHz, you may be able to refuse keys.
But for MiFare, for example, the smartphone must also have a Secure Element chip, and their availability, even within the same smartphone model, often differs from market to market. If there is still a chip and the other conditions are met, everything can work out.
There are also NFC adapters that can turn an old intercom into a new and promising one. You can open the door with both a tablet and a smartphone.
Remember that you may find yourself outside the door in the cold, but charging at home. And yes, the number will not work with an iPhone . Apple has severely limited NFC capabilities in its devices.
What about intercom access codes?
Here, too, everything depends on the intercom. But most models that are installed in the Russian Federation now support entering combinations of characters that allow you to open the door. This often works on Visit intercoms and less often on models from other manufacturers.
We deliberately do not publish combinations, at least because the list for all models will be long. will almost certainly google the master code for your intercom . Unless, of course, the door opening code was changed during installation for your own safety.
These are not at all the numbers that are written to your key. For example, the length of a simple key for DS1990A tablets from the Dallas company is 6 bytes, which is 281474976710656 different combinations. You are unlikely to remember a combination of this length, but you can read it on the keychain itself. A hexadecimal key is usually laser engraved on the surface.
PS Previously, there was a horribly banal life hack: keys with the code 00 00 00 or FF FF FF could open all doors. It was these values that were recorded in the free cells of the intercom and participated in the comparison when checking the key. But this hole has long been closed.
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