Free on-site gate assessment - hinges, posts, and your LiftMaster or Nice gate operator checked before anything is quoted
The assessment is free and the quote is the invoice.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterLinear Access Control Installation: The North Hollywood Owner’s Guide
Linear access control installation in North Hollywood typically runs $475 to $1,400 installed, depending on whether you need a single keypad, a complete telephone entry system, or a card reader tied into an existing gate operator. We stock Linear-compatible parts on our trucks and can usually complete the installation in one visit, often the same day you call.
Most North Hollywood homeowners discover their Linear access control has failed the hard way: a keypad that won’t accept the code, a card reader that beeps but won’t release the gate, or a telephone entry box that rings through to a dead line. Sometimes it’s the keypad membrane that’s finally given out after a decade of sun. Sometimes it’s the controller board that took a hit from a power surge during a Santa Ana wind event. Either way, the gate stays shut, and you’re standing on the wrong side of it.
Which Linear Models This Applies To
We work on the full Linear access control line: the AE-500, AE-1000, and AE-2000 telephone entry systems, the AK-11 and AK-21 digital keypads, the AM-KP keypad, and the IEI 212i and 232i keypads that Linear has distributed for years. If you’ve got a Linear APeX series controller or an older Linear access controller from the 2000s, we handle those too.
Here’s the compatibility gotcha most North Hollywood owners run into: a Linear keypad from 2010 will not always talk to a gate board installed in 2020. Linear changed their Wiegand output protocol on several models around 2016, and the older 26-bit keypads need a converter or a matching-era controller. We identify your exact model from the label inside the housing before quoting anything, because guessing gets expensive.
On the OEM versus aftermarket decision: for Linear keypads and card readers, we generally recommend OEM or Linear-licensed equivalents. The aftermarket membranes tend to fail in the first Valley summer. For controller boards and power supplies, quality aftermarket parts with matching voltage and relay ratings are usually fine and can save you $80 to $200. We’ll tell you which is which before we order or install anything.
We are an independent gate access control company, not affiliated with Linear. That independence is why we can recommend the right part instead of the brand-newest one.
Signs Your Linear Access Control Installation Is Failing
- Keypad beeps but the gate doesn’t move. The keypad is sending a signal, but the controller relay is not closing. Usually a failed relay on the board or a broken wire between the keypad and the operator. This is the most common failure we see in North Hollywood, especially on gates that face west into the afternoon sun.
- Some numbers don’t register when you press them. The keypad membrane has worn through or the carbon contacts have oxidized. If it’s the membrane, replacing the keypad is faster and cheaper than nursing it along.
- Telephone entry box rings, but no one picks up or the line goes dead. The phone line interface on the AE series has failed, or the unit lost its programming after a power blip. These units are sensitive to the voltage drops that happen all over the Valley during heat waves.
- Gate opens on its own or won’t stay closed. A stuck relay or a shorted wire is sending a constant open signal. This one’s a security problem, not just an inconvenience, and it needs attention the same day.
- Card reader flashes red and rejects every card, including yours. The reader’s memory dumped, or the Wiegand wiring to the controller came loose. Either way, it’s a quick diagnosis with a meter, and usually a quick fix.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
Here’s what Linear access control installation costs in North Hollywood, installed with parts:
| What You Need | Typical Installed Price | What’s Included |
|---|---|---|
| Single keypad (AK-11, IEI 212i) | $475 - $650 | Keypad, wiring to controller, programming up to 10 codes |
| Keypad plus controller replacement | $700 - $950 | New controller, keypad, full bench wiring, all codes programmed |
| Telephone entry system (AE-500 or AE-1000) | $1,100 - $1,400 | Unit, phone line interface, directory programming, testing |
| Card reader with 2 fobs/cards | $550 - $750 | Reader, controller wiring, 2 credentials programmed |
The range depends on what’s still good: if your existing wiring is solid and the controller is healthy, you’re paying for the part and the hour it takes to mount and program it. If we’re chasing corroded wires under a 20-year-old driveway or replacing a fried board, the number climbs. Every job is quoted before we start, in writing, and that’s the number on the invoice. Not a dollar more without a phone call to you first.
This is where the 90-Day Done Right Promise matters: if anything we install fails in the first 90 days, we come back and make it right. No paperwork, no arguing. It’s been that way for over 42 years, and it applies to every Linear access control installation we do in North Hollywood.
DIY or Call Us?
Access control wiring runs at low voltage, usually 12 to 24 volts DC, so there’s no electrical shock risk like you’d have with a garage door opener or a panel. But there is a real risk of frying a $400 controller board with a crossed wire, and that’s the expensive lesson we see over and over.
What a homeowner can safely check: whether the keypad has power, whether the breaker for the gate operator is on, whether any wires look chewed or pulled loose at the keypad or the operator box. That’s a reasonable Saturday inspection. What we don’t recommend is opening the controller housing and guessing at the relay wiring, or trying to flash a new board yourself. Linear systems are straightforward when you know the pinouts, and unforgiving when you don’t.
If you’re on the fence, call us at (925) 693-7978 and describe what the system is doing. We’ll tell you straight whether it’s a $12 fix you can handle or a job for a tech with a meter and the right board on the truck.
FAQs
In our experience, a Linear keypad membrane lasts 5 to 8 years in the North Hollywood sun before the numbers start going soft, and a controller board typically runs 10 to 15 years unless a power surge takes it early. Units on the west-facing side of a gate, or mounted without a shade cover, age faster. We carry replacement keypads and controllers on the truck, and we can usually match what you have same-day. Call (925) 693-7978 and we’ll tell you what you’re looking at before we even come out.
Some things are repairable: loose wiring, a corroded terminal, a power supply that’s putting out 11 volts instead of 12. But a failed membrane or a fried controller board is almost never worth repairing. The parts aren’t made to be opened up and serviced on a bench, any more than a light bulb is. We’ll save you the part when we can, and replace it when we can’t. That honesty is the whole reason Victor Salinas built this company the way he did.
Most single-keypad or card-reader installations take 60 to 90 minutes, start to finish. A telephone entry system with directory programming runs closer to two hours. When you call, we’ll give you a two-hour arrival window and a live person answers the phone 24/7, so you’re not dealing with a voicemail tree at 7 a.m. on a Monday. Free estimates, upfront price, done in one visit, usually on the day you call.
We stock common Linear keypads, card readers, power supplies, and AE-series replacement components on our trucks. Oddball configurations or the exact match for a 2003-era Linear controller might take 2 to 3 days from our parts suppliers. Our trucks carry Linear-compatible parts alongside LiftMaster, Mighty Mule, and Ghost Controls stock, so if you’ve got a mixed system, we’ve got it covered without a second trip.
Written by Victor Salinas, Owner, Ironworks Gate Co. at Ironworks Gate Co., serving North Hollywood and nearby areas.