CDVI RTE-EX Green Dome Press to Exit Button, IP65 Weatherproof

Please note: this is a non-returnable item (excluding faulty goods)

The CDVI RTE-EX is a surface-mounted green dome request-to-exit button for access control doors. It has an ABS back box and a high-impact zinc alloy dome, and is rated IP65 and IK10 for outdoor and heavy-duty use.

A request-to-exit button is the device that lets somebody leave a controlled door without presenting a credential, and on an external door it has to survive weather, grit and the occasional kick. CDVI publishes the RTE-EX as its hard-wearing outdoor answer to that job. It has a square back box that takes a standard surface fixing, a high-impact zinc alloy dome that stands 20 mm proud of the plate, and a switch block tested to a million operations.

Because the switch is SPDT with two relays, one press can drive two circuits at once. The same button can release the lock and switch on a light, or release the lock and signal an alarm panel that the door was opened legitimately. It runs from the same 12 to 24 volt DC supply that feeds most access control locks and controllers, so it does not need a power source of its own.

Key features

• Ingress and impact rating: CDVI rates the RTE-EX at IP65 and IK10, so it is published for outdoor installation and for sites where the button is likely to be knocked or abused.
• Green dome actuator: The activation button is a high-impact green dome made of zinc alloy, sitting proud of the plate so it can be found and pressed without looking for it.
• Two-circuit switching: The switch is SPDT with two relays and two signal output contacts, one COM/NO and one COM/NC, so a single press can trigger two different devices at the same time.
• Supply and contact rating: Power input is 12 to 24 V DC and the contacts are rated 2 A at 24 V DC, which suits the DC access control supplies already on site.
• Cycle tested: CDVI states the RTE-EX is tested to 1,000,000 operations, which is the figure that matters on a busy external door rather than an indoor office door.
• Materials: The back box is ABS and the button is zinc alloy, a combination CDVI describes as ideal for use in harsh environments.
• Operating temperature: CDVI publishes an operating range of -20 °C to 55 °C, which covers a British winter on an unheated external wall and a plant room in summer.
• Size and weight: The back box measures 72 mm high by 72 mm wide by 50 mm deep, and the dome projects a further 20 mm beyond it, so allow 70 mm overall. It weighs 189 g.
• Surface mounting: Mounting is surface, using the square back box supplied, which CDVI states is there to make installations quick and easy.
• Warranty and compliance: CDVI gives the RTE-EX a two-year warranty, and the unit carries WEEE (DEEE) marking.

Use cases

The RTE-EX earns its place on doors that live outside. Typical positions are a rear yard gate on a trade counter, a compound pedestrian gate, a bin store, or a fire escape released from the inside face of an external lobby. It also suits a loading bay door where the button gets hit with a gloved hand all day.

It is equally at home indoors anywhere the environment is unkind — a car park stairwell, a kitchen, a wash-down area, a school corridor where a flush plate would not last a term. Wire it back to the access controller or maglock supply on 12 to 24 V DC, and take the normally open contact to the controller's exit input. If you want a second action from the same press, use the normally closed contact for a courtesy light, a door position indicator or a shunt input on the intruder panel.

On a compliance-led installation, a request-to-exit button is not a substitute for a mechanical means of escape where one is required. Specify it alongside the door hardware your fire strategy calls for, not instead of it.