Garage Door Automation

[cryptelli]

Due to our garage remotes always running out of battery or draining to the point where the range is useless I am looking at a way to solve the problem which may also be my first foray into some good ol' home automation.

But! I'm not sure where I should start though I have done my research and have narrowed down a bunch of ideas and would appreciate some direction on what avenue I should invest my time into.

1. Reading though @nayr's home automation thread he has oped to use BeagleBone Blacks which are connected to a bunch of stuff including the garage door. I understand his system ties closely into Domoticz.

Link:nayr's home automation build out...

2. There is a suggestion in the below thread of using an alarm output from the NVR to the garage door utilising iDMSS to trigger the alarm output. Not sure if an external relay would be required but interesting if some more information could be provided on how it would work.

Link: Opening Garage Door?

3. GarageMate suggested by @Kawboy12R looks like a neat solution but being only Bluetooth limits the range of control.

Link: Garage door opener interference from cameras

4. Stumbled across GarageIO which seems quite popular and the ability to control up-to three doors is nice, my requirement would be two.

5. A z-wave compliant device made by Aeon LabsGarage Door Controllerwhich only supports a single door, requiring the purchase of two and at $169AUD not sure it's worth it compared to the alternatives.

6. OpenGaragewas my last find and is what I am leaning towards. Didn't realise until I looked into it a bit further but it's made by Ray's Hobbies the same company who produce the OpenSprinkler than @nayr uses in his setup and at ~$65AUD/ea seems pretty reasonable.

Link: nayr's home automation build out...

I don't have any other home automation elements at this stage and since it's a garage door i'm simply after something which can open and close via my phone, tying it into some type of geofence with tasker might be something interesting as-well.

This thread could also serve as a central talking point for how people have already implemented their garage door automation so it may help someone else.

I'm all ears.

 

[hmjgriffon]

I use geofencing to arm and disarm my system but I dunno if I'd want to open doors with it, prefer not to have it open while I'm still a few blocks away. Setting up a full on automation system like domoticz would be good though because you can control the garage door from your phone manually and with automation, and then you've already got a system in place for when you want to do more stuff, and you will want to do more stuff, as for what exact product to open the door with, I'd just make sure it's something that is either zwave or will work with wired dry contacts if possible. Then you'd have great flexibility even if you change automation systems.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[aristobrat]

For folks with Chamberlain/LIftMaster openers:

When I had my LiftMaster garage door opener installed last year, I purchased the MyQ Internet Gateway with it for an extra US$50. That lets you control/monitor it from any Android/iOS device.

Since then, someone wrote a HomeBridge plugin that controls the doors via the Internet Gateway, so in addition to being able to the MyQ smartphone app, I can also use HomeKit to control/monitor it. I like that because I can just talk to the iOS device, no need to open an app, which is handy when my hands are full of groceries, etc... HomeKit will let you do some basic automation with it.

Any app can control the door through the Internet Gateway (by using MyQ web API calls), so I wouldn't be surprised if other HA systems already have their own plugins for these openers...

Chamberlain/LiftMaster is coming out with a new Internet Gateway that will be directly HomeKit compatible (in addition to continuing to work with their regular Android/iOS smartphone app). No more running HomeBridge...

 

[cryptelli]

I use geofencing to arm and disarm my system but I dunno if I'd want to open doors with it, prefer not to have it open while I'm still a few blocks away.

Yeah, not a fan of that either. Forget that was even mentioned.

Setting up a full on automation system like domoticz would be good though because you can control the garage door from your phone manually and with automation, and then you've already got a system in place for when you want to do more stuff, and you will want to do more stuff,

I know it's quite powerful but requires a fair amount of scripting..

 

[cryptelli]

For folks withChamberlain/LIftMaster openers:

When I had my LIftMaster garage door opener installed last year, I purchased the MyQ Internet Gateway with it for an extra US$50. That lets you control/monitor it from any Android/iOS device.

I did see the MyQ suggestion getting thrown around a bit, i'm looking to retrofit. If I were to upgrade the motors it would come with all the fancy stuff built in but since there're still working i'm not looking change just improve.

 

[hmjgriffon]

For folks with Chamberlain/LIftMaster openers:

When I had my LiftMaster garage door opener installed last year, I purchased the MyQ Internet Gateway with it for an extra US$50. That lets you control/monitor it from any Android/iOS device.

Since then, someone wrote a HomeBridge plugin that controls the doors via the Internet Gateway, so in addition to being able to the MyQ smartphone app, I can also use HomeKit to control/monitor it. I like that because I can just talk to the iOS device, no need to open an app, which is handy when my hands are full of groceries, etc... HomeKit will let you do some basic automation with it.

Any app can control the door through the Internet Gateway (by using MyQ web API calls), so I wouldn't be surprised if other HA systems already have their own plugins for these openers...

Chamberlain/LiftMaster is coming out with a new Internet Gateway that will be directly HomeKit compatible (in addition to continuing to work with their regular Android/iOS smartphone app). No more running HomeBridge...

if it's got HTTP API calls a lot of things should be able to use it, I'd be weary of the security of this internet gateway device though.

Yeah, not a fan of that either. Forget that was even mentioned.



I know it's quite powerful but requires a fair amount of scripting..

the common stuff you'd want to do with lua at least is pretty easy, I mean literally it's like, if this sensor is on/off, open/closed whatever, do this, or this or if this this and this is in these states then do that, I'm no programmer by any stretch of the imagination haha.

 

[aristobrat]

I did see the MyQ suggestion getting thrown around a bit, i'm looking to retrofit. If I were to upgrade the motors it would come with all the fancy stuff built in but since there're still working i'm not looking change just improve.

I know this doesn't directly help you, but for anyone reading with an older Chamberlain/LiftMaster:

The LiftMaster model I installed was an older model that didn't have any fancy features built-in. It was the model that mounts on the wall next to the door, and attaches directly to the door -- no belts/chains. Uses zero ceiling space, which was a big plus for how my garage is setup.

Turns out they make a separate Internet Gateway for older models. It's a little plastic box that goes in your house and connects to your network via Ethernet. When it goes to control the garage door, it sends the same wireless signal that the remote in your car does when you press the open/close button.

I thought that was cool because I think most folks are like you -- they're NOT going to install an entirely new garage door system just to get some network connectivity to it. Good on them for coming up with a solution for older models! Seems like most other companies don't even bother...

 

[wantafastz28]

I'm still grasping domoticz and lua... if the learning curve doesnt frustrate me too much, this would be my next project to jump on. Not enough time in the day!

 

[tangent]

Due to our garage remotes always running out of battery or draining to the point where the range is useless I am looking at a way to solve the problem which may also be my first foray into some good ol' home automation.

nayr has mentioned this before, but if your phone supports NFC an easy way to automate things is to setup tasker to send a command to open the garage door when you tap your phone to an NFC sticker in your car. This type of setup is dependent on your phone having a cellular internet connection or being connected to your wifi. A keypad from the opener company is a good backup.

In addition to the things you've already found, GoControl makes a zwave garage control module that goes on sale from time to time.

I've mentioned this before in other threads, but some newer garage door openers have switched to a serial protocol and and you can no longer activate them with a simple doorbell button or relay. How old is your opener and what brand is it (idk what brands are common in au)?

 

[tangent]

6. OpenGaragewas my last find and is what I am leaning towards. Didn't realise until I looked into it a bit further but it's made by Ray's Hobbies the same company who produce the OpenSprinkler that nayr uses in his setup and at ~$65AUD/ea seems pretty reasonable.

Open garage looks like a very good option. They've got an adapter that takes care of the issue I mentioned on newer chamberlain/liftmaster/craftsman openers and the ultrasonic sensor is a nice touch.

 

[brad2388]

Following along! I too would like this


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cryptelli]

the common stuff you'd want to do with lua at least is pretty easy, I mean literally it's like, if this sensor is on/off, open/closed whatever, do this, or this or if this this and this is in these states then do that, I'm no programmer by any stretch of the imagination haha.

Doesn't sound too bad, might play around with it.

I know this doesn't directly help you, but for anyone reading with an older Chamberlain/LiftMaster:

100%. All feedback and input is valued mate.

Turns out they make a separate Internet Gateway for older models. It's a little plastic box that goes in your house and connects to your network via Ethernet. When it goes to control the garage door, it sends the same wireless signal that the remote in your car does when you press the open/close button.

I thought that was cool because I think most folks are like you -- they're NOT going to install an entirely new garage door system just to get some network connectivity to it. Good on them for coming up with a solution for older models! Seems like most other companies don't even bother...

Not sure if this is the product you mentioned but it's meant to be compatible with "Chamberlain garage door openers after 1998". A company who understands some people just want to improve what they have, neat indeed!

nayr has mentioned this before, but if your phone supports NFC an easy way to automate things is to setup tasker to send a command to open the garage door when you tap your phone to an NFC sticker in your car. This type of setup is dependent on your phone having a cellular internet connection or being connected to your wifi.

I've been looking at more useful things to do with a bunch of NFC stuff I bought awhile ago, this might be it since I can tick all of the prerequisites you list. I was going to use NFC more but realised a lot of the things I wanted to do were possible with Tasker and hooking into Bluetooth connection/disconnection events so they've been sitting around doing nothing.

In addition to the things you've already found, GoControl makes a zwave garage control module that goes on sale from time to time.

Doesn't look like this is available in Australia.

I've mentioned this before in other threads, but some newer garage door openers have switched to a serial protocol and and you can no longer activate them with a simple doorbell button or relay. How old is your opener and what brand is it (idk what brands are common in au)?

Don't think that will be a problem since they would have to be at least 20+ years old. The brand is Merlin which I believe could be a re-branded Chamberlain?

Open garage looks like a very good option. They've got an adapter that takes care of the issue I mentioned on newer chamberlain/liftmaster/craftsman openers and the ultrasonic sensor is a nice touch.

Yeah, thanks for taking a look. I believe this would be the easiest plug and play solution and I believe it will also integrate with Domoticz if I decide to go down that rabbit hole.

 

[tangent]

They've got an adapter that takes care of the issue I mentioned on newer chamberlain/liftmaster/craftsman openers

adapter is a stretch it's just a garage remote with wires soldered to the switch, but useful for somebody who's never soldered before.

It would be nice if it could turn the opener light on or trigger the lock button

 

[cryptelli]

adapter is a stretch it's just a garage remote with wires soldered to the switch, but useful for somebody who's never soldered before.

Yeah. I wondered what you were referring to. I do like his solution because it makes it compatibility with just about every garage door opener. Thankfully I won't have to worry because even my ancient garage door opener had the forethought to include accessory terminals which I can wire directly into.

It would be nice if it could turn the opener light on or trigger the lock button

No biggies for me, but yes always room for improvement. Our opener light covers were broken from previous owners and we also don't have a lock button to worry about .

 

[hmjgriffon]

Garage Door Control

 

[cryptelli]

Garage Door Control

Thanks. Ended up going with OpenGarage for several reasons.

1. Ultrasonic sensors built in, no need mount anything external.
2. API using simple HTTP post/get commands.
3. Able to be intergrated with Domoticz.

Think I am going to remove my antenna as @nayr suggested in this thread. Won't have to cut mine since I can just unplug the single pin plug on the motor unit.

 

[tangent]

Think I am going to remove my antenna

You can simply unlearn all the remotes no need to cut or remove the antenna.

 

[cryptelli]

You can simply unlearn all the remotes no need to cut or remove the antenna.

Logic behind that was making the garage door less of a weak point. Hasn't been a problem and doubt it ever would but as the opener doesn't use a rolling security code makes breaking into it that much easier.

 

[tangent]

Logic behind that was making the garage door less of a weak point. Hasn't been a problem and doubt it ever would but as the opener doesn't use a rolling security code makes breaking into it that much easier.

Depends on just how old it is, if there are dip switches on the opener there's probably no way to disable it other than snipping the antenna. If there are only dip switches in the remotes and the opener has a learn button there's usually a way to make it forget all transmitters.

 

[cryptelli]

Depends on just how old it it, if there are dip switches on the opener there's probably no way to disable it other than snipping the antenna. If there are only dip switches in the remotes and the opener has a learn button there's usually a way to make it forget all transmitters.

Yeah, dip switches in both the opener and remote. Probably being too paranoid but when it's as simple as just unplugging one cable from the openers main board, why not?