EPC-MAG1 Door Counter:
The EPC-MAG1 Door Counter is an all-in-one unit, measuring approximately 3.3″x2.2″x1.4″. Don’t be fooled by the low cost of the EPC-MAG1 Door Counter. Like all of our door counters, it is a state-of-the-art microprocessor-controlled door counter. The EPC-MAG1 senses and counts how many times one door or two doors open. It also has a number of useful features.
Overview:
The system can be connected to one or two doors, which means that one EPC-MAG1 Door Counter accommodates the standard side-by-side double-swinging doors that are common in retail establishments and public buildings. Additionally, there is a buzzer that emits a beep when the door is opened. This buzzer can be enabled or disabled. The EPC-MAG1 is powered via a standard 9V battery. It has no on/off switch so that the door counter cannot be tampered with.
The term, “wireless” typically refers to wireless communication. However, it’s been our experience that when people typically refer to “wireless people counter” or “wireless door counters,” they don’t necessarily want a system that transmits data to a PC, the Cloud/Web, or a network. Instead, what they are really referring to is a door counter that does not have to be plugged into an A/C outlet or have any other wires that connect to a third-party device; hence, the term, “wireless.”
To that end, the EPC-MAG1 can be considered to be a wireless door counter because it is an autonomous system that does not connect to any third-party devices. The only wire is the one that is used to connect the magnetic door sensor to the EPC-MAG1. Therefore, if you’re looking for a wireless door counter, in that it runs autonomously (by itself with no external help from other devices or networks), then the EPC-MAG1 may suit your needs.
Method of Sensing:
The EPC-MAG1 Door Counter is different than all of our other door counters in one significant way. All of our other door counters use infrared beams to sense people as they pass through the entrance. The EPC-MAG1 uses magnetic sensors to sense and count how many times the door physically swings or slides open.
Selectable Delay:
There is also a user-selectable delay of zero, two, 10, or 30 seconds. If this delay is being used, the system will not count any additional door swings until this delay has expired.
The two-second delay is primarily used with doors that swing back and forth or ‘bounce’ before coming to rest. This allows the door counter to ignore these ‘false triggers’ in order to improve accuracy.
The 10- and 30-second delay is typically used to help count ‘buying parties.’ For example, if a husband and wife or a family enter an establishment, they will usually hold the door open for each other. Therefore, the count is only incremented by a factor of one if everyone enters on the same door swing. However, in the event that one of the individuals in the family comes into the establishment a few seconds later than the others, the system will not count this person if he or she enters within the delay period.
Alternatives to the EPC-MAG1:
Further, the EPC-MAG1 Door Counter keeps a single running traffic total. It does not connect to a PC. If you feel as though you can benefit from advanced options such as analyzing the traffic by hour, day, or another time interval, or transmitting to a PC (and therefore to a network, if needed) then our RTC-P3 Electronic People Counter would best suit your needs. If you like the idea of keeping one single running traffic total, but need to count individual people, and not door swings, then the EPC-IRD1 People Counter (and possibly the optional EPC-IRD1e Infrared Emitter) may best suit your needs.
When the EPC-MAG1 Door Counter might suit your needs:
If your establishment doesn’t have many unrelated parties entering on the same door swing, then this device may suit your needs. For example, the EPC-MAG1 Door Counter would work well in a small gift shop. Further, the device may work well in environments such as furniture stores. Many times furniture stores do not typically have many unrelated customers entering on the same door swing. A husband and wife or an entire family are known in the retail industry as a ‘buying party.’ Most of the time, a manager or owner will want to count a buying party once, and not count each member of the buying party. Since a husband and wife or a family will usually enter on the same door swing, then the EPC-MAG1 might suit your needs.
This is why the EPC-MAG1 can be very useful in environments interested in counting buying parties, and not interested in counting individual people. Further, if the buying party enters on two-door swings, then the user-defined delay described above will allow the EPC-MAG1 to still only count the buying party once if you choose to enable this user-defined delay.
When the EPC-MAG1 Door Counter might not best suit your needs:
Because the EPC-MAG1 counts the number of times that the door(s) swings open, this device is only suited for certain types of establishments. If you have an establishment that needs to count every person that passes through the entrance (such as nightclubs and bars for occupancy totals for fire codes), then the EPC-MAG1 may not best suit your needs. This is due to the fact that multiple individuals can enter on a single door swing. Another example where the EPC-MAG1 may not best suit your needs is if it is common for more than one unrelated person to enter while the door is opened (for example, one individual holding the door open for another). An example of this may be a convenience store during a busy time. If any of these scenarios apply, then one of our infrared door counters might better suit your needs.
IMPORTANT NOTE – When the EPC-MAG1 Door Counter will absolutely not suit your needs:
The EPC-MAG1 Magnetic Door Counter will only work with entrances that have doors that swing/slide open and closed. Therefore, if you have an entrance that has no door, such as those found in mall environments, then the EPC-MAG1 will not suit your needs. Further, if you have an entrance where a door is propped open all day, then the EPC-MAG1 will not suit your needs. In these situations, it is best to use one of our electronic door counters with infrared beams.
Documentation:
Please review the links above in the ‘Related Links’ section for more information.
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