Safes : Electronic Key Pad Locks

["DoubleAction"]

I received my first introductory lesson on how to properly operate the Electronic Key Pad Lock, on one of my safes today, from a locksmith. This lesson came with my repair package ;D

First thing, whether they need it or not, replace the battery every six months. A low battery can reduce the functional life of the locking relay.

Next; Before keying in the combination code, make sure the locking lever is in the full locked position. This will insure the internal cam can engage the unlocking mechanism, without being blocked by the locking lever.

When locking the safe; make sure the lever is turned all the way to it furthest locking point.

These are the things I've been told and things I've found to make my locking mechanisms work without error.

These Electronic Key Pad Combinations are not cheap to work on , the most common problems are found with the relays going out after a few years. They are said to be the most secure locks, but expensive to have repaired.

I checked the warranty on Liberty Safes and they offer only one to two year warranty coverage on their locks.

The lesson I was really trying to get was the one where I order my own part and fix it myself. I was lucky to get the safe open before the locksmith showed up, after trying for two hours.

[MLB]

My keypad lock has a physical key backup. I thought that was a good feature.

["DoubleAction"]

Jun 27, 2008 23:22:35 GMT -5 MLB said:

My keypad lock has a physical key backup. I thought that was a good feature.

ML; That is an excellent feature to have on the key pad. I played hell trying to get my safe open before the Locksmith arrived; I finally got it open about five minutes before he drove up.

No telling how much he would have charged and what he would have done to the safe to open it.

[TMan]

When I was in the service we had a "special" safe that housed some electronic crypto equipment. You would dial the combination and then holding the knob, turn a center key and then rotate the works to zero to open the safe. One day at a SAC base here in the states the knob fell off. We called a locksmith. He shook his head, put the knob back on and opened the safe. His comment: "Do you have any idea how lucky I was to put the knob back on in exactly the right place?" I think it was something like 1 chance in 100.

The safe was special because of the metal it was made out of. It would conduct heat very rapidly. So if you tried to cut into it with a torch, it would be very difficult and by the time you got the whole thing hot enough, it would have destroyed the contents of the safe.

We had 3 of them in Vietnam, and I often wondered what happened to them after the fall. I remember when I received mine from the states, it was accompanied by a Captain. He asked me what the heck was in the crate that was so important that he couldn't let it out of his sight, and I told him that I couldn't tell him. "But I have a Top Secret clearance". Not high enough. It used to bug the base commander that he couldn't see what was in the safe. I had curtains in the command post that I would pull around it when I had to open it.

Yes, I did have thermite bombs in case we were in danger of being over-run by the VC. I was there early - 64 & 65 before there was any danger from the North Vietnamese Army. Thread-drift!!!!!

["DoubleAction"]

Wow TMan; One heck of a good story. You were indeed there early. There were phases throughout the Vietnam War which made each one's tour somewhat significant from the others. I consider myself very fortunate to have completed the ultimate phase of returning home and humble myself with honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

I worked in Ordinance when I was in Korea, which was five years after my Vietnam Tour, and it involved setting charges during training alerts; it also required having National Agency Clearances , although not near the level of your's.

[TMan]

Since we've already drifted this thread, another story:

I was in Washington DC taking a cross-training course on a different operating system along with about 20 other people. It was a special class that was set up for us because we already knew the internals of one system and we were being taught the differences in the larger system. The instructor was not a professional instructor, but was brought in to teach the class from the regional office in Boston.

The very first week he was telling us that when he was in the service he was stationed in Washington and had to wear civilian clothes to work. He later mentioned, as he was erasing the board, that he used to have to travel to Lackland, AFB in San Antonio. There were 3 things taught at Lackland: basic training, AP school, and Crypto school. Taking his age into consideration I figured about the time he was there what the primary machine was. I then said: "So, you must know what a KO6 is." He froze.

The operating system had 3 digit abend (abnormal termination)codes. He turned around and said: "An abend code?". I knew, he knew I knew, I just smiled. That was on Friday.

Wouldn't you know it, I got back to the hotel and there was a message for me that Chicago Pneumatic Tools's system was down, nobody could figure out what was wrong. When their computer system was down, so was their production line. I had to go get on a plane. I left word at the school that I'd be in late on Monday.

It was a very subdued instructor on Monday afternoon when I arrived. In fact it was several weeks before he warmed up at all.

At the end of the course he had a one-on-one and he said: "You son-of-a-beech what did I say that caused you to mention the KO6." I told him and he just shook his head. He went on to say that he couldn't sleep for days. He couldn't imagine why the government would go to such lengths to set up a class, get him to teach it and then put a plant in his class. When I didn't show up for class on Monday morning, he was even more convinced that I was a government plant in his class.

Needless to say, unlike most of the classes I attended, I didn't get an "Outstanding Student Award" for that class. (The awards were just a sheet of paper, no money, but you would always get a letter from your regional manager later congradulating you. Never hurts to have your regional manager see you name in a good context. Getting thrown out of Pratt & Whitney once wasn't a good context.) "Learn to think before you speak. Learn to think before you speak. Learn to think before you speak..."

["DoubleAction"]

I had the safe with the Electronic Key Pad changed out to a Mechanical Dial Lock today after having more trouble with the other. To make sure my locksmith was standing by his word on deducting what I had already spent, I looked up the new lock and dial on Sargent and Greenleaf's website. His was good to his word, and found a permanent place with my future business.

Sargent and Greenleaf has some very nice locks and dials; one can even replace their lockset with one which operates by finger or thumb print. I'm through with Electronic Locks, myself.

S&G also has video instructions on how to install new lock sets yourself. Very nice website, with a full catalog and price list. TMan; Notice how I centered the link ? ;D

www.sargentandgreenleaf.com/global-video.php

[TMan]

Toad !!!

Notice your first post and how difficult it is to read because of the centering. If a sentence is too long to fit on one line, your eyes go from left to right reading and then you come to the end of the line. Your eyes naturally then go to the start of the next line to see the rest of the sentence. Whoops - it isn't there. You have to keep scanning until the middle of the page.

Annoying!!!

Speaking of annoying and toads, I got 3 of them last night. Two were males and were making a lot of noise. The 3rd may have been a female and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. One toad was under one of the stone bridges to the first island. I got on my knees, leaned over, and as soon as the flashlight hit the toad, he shut up. I then moved the pistol in with the right hand and positioned the flashlight behind the rear sight so I could see the two sights and the toad. Squeezed the trigger and %$#&^@... turned off the safety... repositioned everything and whap launched one toad.

["DoubleAction"]

TMan; You just need a smaller screen ,like I have, and you won't have to pan your neck so far to the left for each line.

I'll be getting a larger 17" flat screen tomorrow, so I'll see more of what you're talking about.

Have you thought of getting some toad traps ?

[MLB]

So, what's TMan's firearm of choice for hunting toads?

I had a Crosman 760 Powermaster (or was it a pumpmaster? I don't recall) that I used for many years when I was little. I foolishly sold it for $25. When I went to buy a new one for my kids, the quality wasn't the same.

["DoubleAction"]

This is probably the only internet forum that can go from Safe Locks to Toad Hunting at the twitch of an eye. ;D