By Tom R., Technical Service Representative

Since the American Disabilities Act was enacted, sales of power operators have grown dramatically.

Every new publicly accessible building and nearly every renovation of a publicly accessible building these days includes at least one power operator. In response to demand, the variety of power operators for various applications has greatly expanded. Today we are quoting jobs where the customer needs power operators on garbage rooms, lavatories and apartments as well as public entrances. Their operation is simple – either “push-and-go” or activated by push button. 

“Beware the eventuality that plagues all remote wireless systems: the dead battery.”

The push buttons used to activate a power operator are called “actuators.” When they incorporate a wireless transmitter, they are called “wireless actuators.” The actuators must be the same brand and frequency as the receiver. Most power operators have designated wiring terminals and space reserved for a wireless receiver inside the cover. See the power operator manufacturer wiring instructions for details or contact your favorite Technical Service Representative at Security Lock Distributors for more information. Actuators are available in a wide variety to accommodate many applications, ranging in shape from 6-inch diameter (see BEA 10PBR1) to 1-1/2 x 4-3/4 (see BEA 10PBJ1) inch to fit on a narrow mullion. 

Use wireless actuators whenever the application makes a wire run difficult or impossible.

Wireless actuators are popular, for example, when the actuator must reside in a freestanding bollard, and otherwise a trench would need to be dug to bury the wire. Hand held wireless actuators are popular when the power operator is installed on an apartment entrance or executive office. 

Wireless actuators are available in various radio frequencies as regulated by the FCC. Radio frequency is measured in megahertz (MHz). Popular frequencies include 300, 433 and 900 MHz.  Choice of frequency depends on environment. While wireless transmitters and receivers are designed to coexist with wi-fi and Bluetooth, in practice one finds that range and reliability can be affected by other devices in the environment. 

Beware the eventuality that plagues all remote wireless systems: the dead battery. When selling a wireless remote system, you may want to mention to your customer that they will eventually need to replace a battery, and this will require disassembly and reassembly of the actuator.