FAQ's

Q: How does an UpGate compare against putting in a cattlegrid?

Cattlegrid's can be a good option for some scenarios and can last a long time in the right circumstances. However for most scenarios you will find they don't quite tick all the boxes. Cattle grids only automate for vehicles, not for cattle. If ever you want cattle to pass through you can put a manually opened gate off the side of the cattle grid but again there is often not room for this. Cattle grids pose a high risk of injury to cattle, a single cow breaking a leg in a cattle grid can make you question its viability. Cattle grids need relatively level ground for installation and require specialist installation. To get a wide gateway you usually need to put 2 to 3 cattle grids next to each other which can take the total cost over $20,000 after installation.

UpGate's can let both cattle and vehicles through, and have a quick and easy DIY installation. They pose little to no risk of injury to cattle, and can be installed in almost any scenario. Installing two UpGate's(one at each end) you could have a 15 metre wide automated gateway that can handle large vehicles and cattle for only $5800Exc. 

Q: How many UpGate's™ can you control with a single handheld remote control?

A: Each handheld remote control can activate an unlimited amount of UpGate's™. And each UpGate™ can have up to 32 handheld remote's programmed into it.
Each remote control has 8 buttons labelled 1 to 8. The UpGates™ are labelled with a large visible number of your choice from 1 to 8. You program each UpGate™ so pressing a remote control button labelled 1 activates an UpGate™ labelled 1 and so on. The remote controls have a range up to 100 metres, so providing you do not have more than 8 UpGates™ installed within 100 metres of each other(which is unlikely) then you can program a single button on a remote control to activate more than one UpGate™ without having two gates activated at the same time. 

Q: How will it cope getting covered in mud? Won't it jam up?

A: We have put a lot of effort into the design to mitigate this very problem. The runner wheels are tucked inside the track and not easily muddied, and have good clearance around them to allow for buildup without jamming. The motor also has a lot of torque when the bungy cords are down low and driving along a dirty track doesn't seem to bother it. We've had some running on a dairy farm for over 12 months with over 2000 operations and we haven't had them jam up yet. Part of the reason why we are still in the trial phase is we are putting it through its paces in different scenarios/types of mud/weather. We think that in a worst case scenario it could be easily cleaned once in a while with a handheld pump up pressure sprayer using water, and a brush. But we are expecting that it will surprise you with what it can take.

Q: How does the UpGate™ work?

A: The system operates with a DC electric motor and a timing belt that is more or less in one big loop. It is powered by a solar panel and battery and it is activated with a handheld remote control. It connects to your existing electric fence system which electrify the bungy cords in the closed position. 

Q: Can you activate it without the remote control?

A: Yes, there is an external button on the UpGate™ that you can operate the gate incase you do not have a remote control with you.

Q: What happens if a vehicle is too tall to fit under?

A: Simply manually open the bungy gates by hand as you normally would with a bungy cord gate using the handle to unhook it.