Wiring Best Practices for Third-Party Wireless Locks

Best practices for wiring Verkada’s third-party wireless lock integrations over RS485

This guide offers best practices for convenience, but RS-485 devices should ultimately be installed according to the TIA/EIA-485-A standard.

Before you begin

Verkada’s third-party wireless lock integrations that involve wiring hubs or locks to an access control panel via RS-485, covered in this article, include:

• PIM400-485 hubs for AD400 locks

• AD300 locks

• GWE hubs for Engage Online locks

• AH30 hubs for Aperio locks

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Best practices

1

Terminate the shield drain at the panel side only, and connect it to earth ground.

2

Use RS-485 approved cabling; Belden 9841, 9842, or equivalents are recommended.

3

Connect the RS-485 signal ground to the negative terminal of the power supply.

4

Keep unshielded wiring at the panel or device to less than two inches in length.

5

Run power and data in separate cable jackets if they follow the same path.

6

Verify that each lock or hub is receiving adequate power per its specifications.

• Typically, one Verkada reader port powers one device.

• For additional devices, use separate reader ports or an external power supply.

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Wire multiple RS-485 devices to a panel

1

Daisy-chain data between devices in a linear bus topology. Avoid star topologies.

Note: Do not use T-taps on data lines.

2

Connect shield drain wires between cables, but terminate the drain only at the panel.

3

Ensure each device receives adequate power, accounting for the total load on the power supply.

Note: Do not daisy-chain power from a Verkada panel door port.

4

Maintain a continuous signal ground across all devices, connected to each power supply’s negative terminal.

Need more help? Contact Verkada Support.