First, I would like to thank all of you who have responded about my concern. Glad to hear there should be no problem opening the gates with the window closed.

My car door has electrical equipment such as power windows and door locks. The less these devices are exposed to rain water, the better off they are......I truly believe. There have been times when I hold off getting out of the car and wait for the deluge of rain to subside. I can't do that with cars behind me waiting to get through the gates. The rain can be intense here in the summer.

That’s a great idea! Why not gorilla glue it.

Well, that makes a lot of sense. The gate at Morse Blvd and 441 is one of those gates that I open the car window. Seems I can't get close enough and it is always busy and I don't want to hold up traffic to even try opening the gate with the window closed.

When it's raining I go to the MANNED gate. He or she opens it for me .

Most gates don't have that option.

So even more justification to make entry gates work the same as exit gates eliminating costs of the cards, readers and manned gates.

Phase it in starting with the new areas.

No.

Not a good idea. I was new once here, too.

Robbie. I just read back on your posts. What a nice person you are and smart too. I am so glad you joined us here in The Villages.

The reason for the pause at the gates is for the safety of the golf cart drivers. You would have figured that out and I was impatient with my answer above.

Again I say....proud to call YOU a villager!!

OK, nevermind.

My car has all that too. Most cars come with power windows, power door locks, power side-mirror controls, etc. etc. I haven't ever heard of anyone with any power-powered vehicle bringing their vehicle in for trouble and be given the diagnosis "broken on account of rain." Ever.

I really don't think it's an issue. The worst thing that will happen, is it will get around 2 teaspoons of water dumped on the equipment, and the water will fall because of gravity down and out of the car through the holes in the bottom of the door that exist precisely for that purpose.

I have to agree. About a month ago, I waited in the car with the windows rolled down while my husband went into Lowes for a "few minutes". He took the only key fob and it began to rain and both sides got drenched before he returned. I mean DRENCHED. We have a late model Pacifica that does everything but do the dishes. No harm came to it.

DRENCHED. Steering wheel, front panel...A big old rain, blowing rain.

Does anyone know where to get a new gate card...lost mine

District Admin Office, 984 Old Mill Run, 352-751-3939. It is on the second floor across the street from Panera Bread and next to Starbucks near the LSL square. I think you need to bring all of your cards because they are paired with the same code, and they need to deactivate the lost card. They charge about 15 dollars per card.

Yep! If you still have one bring it with you. :ho: In the breeze way next Starbucks go thru the double doors and take the elevator to second floor. As you get off there is an info. desk.

Thanks, understood and it is clear the gates are one of the "charms" of The Villages not to be challenged.

Plus, I found a solution that works for me ;-)

Absolutely true. The center of the sensor at our entrance gate is 54 inches above the road. Other nearby readers are 51", 47", and 46" above the road. It's not clear how taping the gate card to the door 37" above the ground as suggested elsewhere in this thread would work on all gates.

The other dimension that varies is setback from the curb. Of the four readers mentioned here, the front surface of some looks to be set back from the curb only about an inch, if at all, while some are set back up to about 8 inches. It would seem to have made more sense if they had all been installed "X" inches above the road, +/- a very little bit, and set back from the curb "Y" inches, +/- a very little bit.

As to the entrance gates opening automatically, I can't imagine how it would be any more dangerous for golf carts passing behind the gate if every vehicle stopped in front of the gate for a short time delay, 2 or 3 seconds, before the gate went up automatically. There are already times when the gates are left open intentionally. Before a hurricane in case of a power outage. The visitor gate when the attendant is using the restroom. And unintentionally when they get knocked off.

Depends entirely on the card reader, some are more sensitive and will work with window up, some won't. We routinely drive from Fenney through DeSoto, McClure or Marsh Bend, one works, another doesn't.