Photo: Flash to Open
A once popular household gadget, Flash2Pass is back in business thanks to a Charlottesville, VA company. Flash to Open LLC acquired the rights to the Flash2Pass name, as well as the manufacturing rights and is now returning this product to the markets.
If you're too young to remember seeing the old Flash2Pass in action, we'll explain to you the simple and convenient philosophy that stands behind it. Flash2Pass introduces a different interaction method between the rider or driver and the automated garage door.
Instead of using a remote control to open or close the door, a small sensor will receive high beam light signals from the headlights of the vehicle and trigger the door mechanism. The Flash2Pass sensor eliminates the hassle of having to look for the remote in your bag or pockets.
Likewise, in case you forgot your remote at home, Flash2Pass makes sure you can still open the garage door. It may sound like not that much fuss, but picturing yourself in your driveway and having first to go inside the house to find the remote, then grabbing an umbrella and only then being able to park the car in the garage should clear things out.
Flash to Open upgraded the entire system, making it more reliable, with better connectors and increasing its range, company sources inform us. The new Flash2Pass generation still works with most of the automated garage door systems manufactured since 1982 and is easy to install using common household tools. No special electric, electronic or mechanical training is needed, Flash to Open ensures the customers.
While the whole thing is of course, nice and comfortable to use, we cannot help thinking about security. If we were to launch this product, we'd take it to the next step, adding a small microchip that can store basic flash patterns.
If you wish, like a fraction of the Morse code that would be memorized and that would have to be reproduced by house owners to be granted access. The system could also include, say, three tolerance levels and could also memorize a master code, in case elder users would have a hard time reproducing the pattern of their choice.
Such features would clearly increase the security and also introduce a dash of 007-like thrill to owning the Flash2Pass system. Now that we gave you such a killer idea, we'd gladly accept a crate of good English beer as a token of gratitude after you patent it.
Flash2Pass will set you back with $130, and works with all cars and bikes, regardless of whether you ride a Harley-Davidson or a Ducati 1299 Panigale.
UPDATE: It looks like we misunderstood how the Flash2Pass garage door opener works. A company managing partner, Mr. Kirk A. Rush, contacted us and explained the fact that their system is as secure as any other remote garage door openers out there, maybe even better.
Thinking that the door receiver is activated by the driver flashing the car’s headlights (i.e. actual light activating a trigger in the receiver), we were concerned this might be a security flaw, with anybody else being able to open your garage door by flashing their lights at it.
Well, this is not the case, as the Flash2Pass system uses its own unique, proprietary signal match from the transmitter to the receiver. It also changes every time you use the transmitter so it can’t be copied. The system works like any other remote garage door opener, the advantage being the fact that it’s hotwired to your flash button so you don’t need an additional remote control.
Instead of using a remote control to open or close the door, a small sensor will receive high beam light signals from the headlights of the vehicle and trigger the door mechanism. The Flash2Pass sensor eliminates the hassle of having to look for the remote in your bag or pockets.
Likewise, in case you forgot your remote at home, Flash2Pass makes sure you can still open the garage door. It may sound like not that much fuss, but picturing yourself in your driveway and having first to go inside the house to find the remote, then grabbing an umbrella and only then being able to park the car in the garage should clear things out.
Flash to Open upgraded the entire system, making it more reliable, with better connectors and increasing its range, company sources inform us. The new Flash2Pass generation still works with most of the automated garage door systems manufactured since 1982 and is easy to install using common household tools. No special electric, electronic or mechanical training is needed, Flash to Open ensures the customers.
While the whole thing is of course, nice and comfortable to use, we cannot help thinking about security. If we were to launch this product, we'd take it to the next step, adding a small microchip that can store basic flash patterns.
If you wish, like a fraction of the Morse code that would be memorized and that would have to be reproduced by house owners to be granted access. The system could also include, say, three tolerance levels and could also memorize a master code, in case elder users would have a hard time reproducing the pattern of their choice.
Such features would clearly increase the security and also introduce a dash of 007-like thrill to owning the Flash2Pass system. Now that we gave you such a killer idea, we'd gladly accept a crate of good English beer as a token of gratitude after you patent it.
Flash2Pass will set you back with $130, and works with all cars and bikes, regardless of whether you ride a Harley-Davidson or a Ducati 1299 Panigale.
UPDATE: It looks like we misunderstood how the Flash2Pass garage door opener works. A company managing partner, Mr. Kirk A. Rush, contacted us and explained the fact that their system is as secure as any other remote garage door openers out there, maybe even better.
Thinking that the door receiver is activated by the driver flashing the car’s headlights (i.e. actual light activating a trigger in the receiver), we were concerned this might be a security flaw, with anybody else being able to open your garage door by flashing their lights at it.
Well, this is not the case, as the Flash2Pass system uses its own unique, proprietary signal match from the transmitter to the receiver. It also changes every time you use the transmitter so it can’t be copied. The system works like any other remote garage door opener, the advantage being the fact that it’s hotwired to your flash button so you don’t need an additional remote control.
Google News