DoorKing built dependable gate hardware, and telephone entry systems like the 1802 and 1812 served faithfully for decades. But they belong to the landline era: they answer through phone calls rather than an app, their video is a fraction of what a modern camera delivers, programming changes are a chore, and as copper phone lines disappear many now survive on cellular adapters with monthly fees just to keep ringing. Meanwhile the rest of the house has moved on. The important distinction: your DoorKing gate operator, the motor that actually swings or slides the gate, is often perfectly healthy and can stay. It is the intercom and entry side that ages out, and that is the part we replace.
Security and surveillance systemsWe start with a site survey: the entry pedestal or wall, the gate operator and its relay interface, what wiring and conduit already run to the street, and how far the network reaches. Existing conduit and wiring paths can often be reused for the new station's connection, the new intercom's relay takes over the open command to the operator you already own, and where the gate sits far from the house we engineer the network run to reach it reliably. The old telephone entry panel comes out, the new IP video station goes in at the right height and angle, and every function is tested: call, video, night vision, gate open, keypad codes, and app answering from off the property. One visit, one team, and the monthly cellular adapter fee disappears.
Smart home installation and electriciansUbiquiti's third-generation UniFi intercom and reader hardware pairs a touchscreen video station with Touch Pass, which puts your gate key in Apple Wallet: family and staff unlock with a tap of an iPhone or Apple Watch, Express Mode means no unlocking the phone first, the credential keeps working for hours on power reserve after the phone battery dies, and the badge is never stored on Apple's or Ubiquiti's servers. Calls answer through the app, UniFi Talk phones, or a wall-mounted viewer; hubs carry dedicated gate terminals for the operator interface; and it all lives in the same UniFi ecosystem as the cameras and network we install, with no per-camera licensing. For homes already running UniFi networking, this is the natural gate.
Ubiquiti dealer and installationDoorBird, engineered in Germany and part of the Assa Abloy group, builds IP video door stations that have become the design standard for high-end entries: HD video through a 180 degree hemispheric lens, infrared night vision, RFID entry, keypad modules, and weatherproof stainless housings offered in a wide range of finishes to match the architecture. The app answers from anywhere in the world, geofencing can open the gate as you arrive home, two built-in relays control two doors or gates from one station, and visitor history is stored free with no monthly fees. DoorBird's retrofit-oriented models are purpose-suited to replacing legacy telephone entry panels, which is exactly the work this page describes.
Ask about DoorBird models and finishes2N rounds out the lineup with premium IP intercom stations whose design and build quality suit architecturally demanding entries, the option we reach for when the entry station itself is meant to be a statement piece. The honest guidance between the three: UniFi wins when the home runs a UniFi network and Apple Wallet keys matter; DoorBird wins as the standalone specialist with the richest finish options and no-fee visitor history; 2N wins on architectural presence. All three end the landline dependency, all three answer on your phone from anywhere, and none of them is the wrong choice, which is why we carry all three and match the station to the property rather than pushing one box.
Compare systems at our showroomA gate intercom should not be an island. We integrate the new station with the estate's platforms so the gate call rings on Savant, Control4, and Crestron touchpanels alongside the phone, the entry camera records with the Verkada, Deep Sentinel, or UniFi surveillance system covering the rest of the property, keypad and credential access is managed alongside pedestrian doors, and gate events log where the household can see them. For staffed properties we set up separate credentials and schedules for housekeepers, gardeners, and deliveries, so the gate knows the difference between family and the Tuesday landscaper.
Smart home automation systemsGated properties are where we live: the estates of Atherton, Woodside, and Hillsborough where a DoorKing pedestal at the street has answered the same way since the nineties; San Francisco homes in Pacific Heights, Sea Cliff, Presidio Heights, Noe Valley, and Russian Hill with garage and pedestrian entries to modernize; Wine Country properties in Napa and Sonoma with long driveways and ranch gates; and coastal homes in Carmel and Pebble Beach. We serve San Francisco, the Peninsula, the North Bay, South Bay, and East Bay, Wine Country, and the Carmel and Monterey area. Contact us to survey your gate, or see the entry systems working at our San Carlos showroom.
Schedule a gate entry survey
Usually yes, and it is the most common conversion we do. The gate operator, the motor that moves the gate, is separate from the telephone entry system, and a healthy operator stays. The new IP intercom's relay takes over the open command, so you get modern video, app answering, and Apple Wallet keys without touching the mechanical side.
Often the existing conduit and wiring paths can be reused for the new station's connection, which is exactly what the site survey determines. Where the run is long or the wiring is not suitable, we engineer the network path to the gate properly rather than hoping, as a C7 low voltage licensed contractor.
With UniFi's Touch Pass, the gate credential lives in Apple Wallet: tap an iPhone or Apple Watch on the reader and the gate opens, with no app to launch and no need to unlock the phone. The credential keeps working for hours on power reserve after the phone battery dies, and it is never stored on Apple's or Ubiquiti's servers.
Yes, that is the point of the conversion. Modern IP intercoms run on the property's network rather than a phone line, so calls ring on smartphones, touchpanels, and viewers over the internet, from anywhere in the world, with no landline and no monthly cellular adapter fee.
Yes. We integrate the new entry station with Savant, Control4, and Crestron so the gate call appears on the home's touchpanels and apps alongside the phone, and the entry camera records with the property's surveillance system.
The security, access, and automation systems the new gate entry ties into, each covered in depth.
Regent5 now provides personalized smart home consultations, designed to kick-start your project swiftly and efficiently. Simply provide us with your contact information and a brief outline of your interests, and we will pair you with the right specialist for your project.
1300 Industrial Rd, Ste #12
San Carlos, CA 94070
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