Sunday, August 19, 2012

50's era Non electronic card readers put Socail Clubs and there members at risk

I have an all social  club membership access card  it works  in up to 70% of the  social clubs in Pa. and many other states such as American Legion, VFW, Eagles , Elks ,Moose,Fireman's   etc I just walk up slide my all access card in the reader and in I go. It cost me nothing in fact it was free its my Wholesale Club  membership card  Yes thats right for this type of reader it is not a reader at all it has no electronics involved all it does is open a door when you slide any type of card the right size and thickness into it and it closes an electrical switch. typically they are all silver toned metal rectangle  about 4 inches in size with a slot and you have a laminated paper membership card which serves as your entry card some units where flushed into walls or like in picture where surface mounted. I have repaired several of these readers at clubs  when the switches have gone bad in them.

 Most clubs installed them in early 50's  as a way to keep the public out as required by Pa. Liquor Control Board or LCB as we call it ,and they have worked well for years but with the vulnerability of any one from the public or criminal knowing the trick behind them being able to bypass them that can be a problem.

I have several social clubs I provide services to and when I enter I ring a door bell and they let me in this is the way it is suppose to be . Non Members  can not just walk in. For the most part it works well but the fact these card units can not distinguish who or what any member of any club can just walk in and use there card and members who have not paid there dues are a common problem and know this and sneak in and drink till there discovered and made to pay there dues or are booted out the door.  Some clubs can have more than 1500 members thats a lot of members to keep track of. This also does not allow clubs to keep out banned or trouble making members as well and with many clubs staffed only by women by them selves some days this can be a dangerous situation and several clubs have been robbed in broad day light and attendants injured and know one knows because its behind a supposed locked door. Liked happened in Freeport Pa. Eagles Club where attendants where robbed and attacked.

Now you would think The clubs them selves or LCB would make them upgrade to a modern system to keep out non paying members and trouble makers . But no it is not going to happen. Modern card access systems can run into several thousand dollars for these clubs and many just do not have it in there budget to upgrade , but in same breath the money they would make if they enforced dues payments and kept dead beats and trouble makers out  would more than offset the cost.
But with these systems some one has to maintain the data base etc . which is also more than most clubs can handle and yes managed card access is available for these situations but again its the monthly fee that scares the clubs away.
So you have a bunch of old social membership clubs with old outdated door entry systems out there just waiting for the day a determined bad guy decides to target them. Dam shame but clubs do it to them selves all the time and are there own worst enemy some times when it comes to doing whats right.

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