For a long time I’ve wanted to make a secret room under our stairs. There is a perfect spot for a “built-in” bookcase that I’d like to be able to swing open into the space under the stairs. I’ve never been able to decide on a locking/unlocking mechanism that would be appropriate for a secret door until the other night when I saw a show on HGTV on just this subject (secret rooms). Besides the fancy fingerprint sensors and remote controls there were some devices that used magnetic reed switches to unlock the doors. So, I came up with this simple schematic and wanted to know if this could be done with off the shelf items and by a non-electrical type of guy.
The way I see it working is a decoration with a magnet embedded in it would be set in the proper location to turn on the 9V circuit which would turn on the 120V circuit via the relay or contactor (which ever would be appropriate in this situation). This circuit would power the solenoid which would unlock the door (not sure of the latching mechanism, but I’m thinking just a simple gate latch).
Would it be this simple? Or are there safety concerns? Or does it need more sophisticated control? Or is there something I can buy that already does all this with all the safety concerns accounted for?
Thanks for any advice you can offer.