Hardware List for Gatehouse Installations

ITEM 

DESCRIPTION 

REQUIREMENTS 

GATEHOUSE PC 

This is a Windows PC which can be purchased through FRONTSTEPS or from a third-party. 

MINIMUM SPECIFICATIONS 

• Processor - 10ᵗʰ Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10105T 

• Operating System - Windows 10 

• Graphics - Intel® Integrated Graphics 

• Memory - 8 GB, DDR4 

• Storage - 256 GB SSD 

• Stable Power 

• Stable Internet (minimum 30 Mbps download speed,) 

Note: other devices on the same connection will require more bandwidth 

DESKTOP PASS PRINTER 

This is a printer capable of Thermal Transfer or Direct Thermal printing that can use 4” x 5.85” passes. It connects to the Gatehouse PC via USB connection. An example is the Zebra ZD421t Thermal Transfer paper. 

• Needs to directly connect to the PC (USB hubs or docks can cause data issues 

• A separate power supply is needed. 

• The correct Pass Paper (some printers can do both types of printing; some can only use one type of paper) 

DIRECT THERMAL PASS PAPER 

Direct Thermal paper does not need any ink ribbon to produce the printout. The image or text is burned onto the paper directly. Standard FRONTSTEPS pass size is 4 x 5.875 

• Needs to be the correct size for the FRONTSTEPS Dwelling Pass Template 

• Printing will fade in sunlight and heat. 

• This is the same printing used commonly for receipts (Will not last for a long time in the same condition) 

• Does not need an ink ribbon. 

THERMAL TRANSFER PASS PAPER 

Thermal Transfer paper needs an ink ribbon to get the printout to stay on the media. The image or text is heated onto the ribbon while transferring the ribbon wax/ resin onto the paper. Standard FRONTSTEPS pass size is 4 x 5.875”. 

• Needs to be the correct size for the FRONTSTEPS Dwelling Pass Template 

• Lasts longer and doesn’t fade (good for long term passes) 

• Needs an ink ribbon 

HANDHELD PASS SCANNERS 

The supported hand scanners are the Zebra DS8100 series of handheld scanners. These can scan pass barcode, ePass QR codes and can be configured to scan the barcodes on the back of driver’s licenses to enter them into the FRONTSTEPS Dwelling System; this only saves information in the barcode, not a photo. 

• Scanner needs to be directly connected to the Gatehouse PC via USB 

• The wireless emitter “gun” needs to be charged 8 hours before first use. 

• No drivers are needed for pass scanning. 

• Power supply is needed. 

• Only setup required is when driver’s licenses will be scanned, Technical Support needs to provide a PDF file with programming steps to enable this functionality. 

DRIVER’S LICENSE SCANNER 

The Acuant Snapshell R2 is the supported “flatbed” scanner for Driver’s Licenses. Unlike using the handheld scanner, this device scans the front of the document and saves the photo and any relevant information in FRONTSTEPS Dwelling. The gatehouse application will expand the guest creation form if it detects one of these scanners installed on the system. 

• Scanner needs to be directly connected to the Gatehouse PC via USB 

• Power supply is needed. 

• SDK software needs to be installed; Support has the latest version available. 

• Once installed, the gatehouse application needs to be re-activated (a new activation gets generated) to detect the hardware. 

USB GATE RELAY 

The Denkovi USB 4 relay board (based on the MCP 2200 chip) is used as a gate relay. Only channel one is used, the other channels are not used by any FRONTSTEPS Dwelling software. 

• This device needs to be directly connected to the Gatehouse PC via USB. 

• No software installation necessary. 

• No power supply needed (powered by USB) 

• There are visitor management settings that affect when the relay on channel 1 will be fired. 

• Is meant to function as a switch in a gate circuit to open a gate on specified pass behavior (see settings)