Garage Door Opener Range.
On Fri, 09 May 2014 14:11:43 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote: On Fri, 09 May 2014 13:49:47 -0700, Jim Thompson wrote: Genie Model 2024 Can you simply buy a 433MHz receiver that has a relay output? ...Jim Thompson They're all over eBay in many different configurations. www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=wireless+remote+switch The problem will be getting one that is compatible with your cars Homelink remote. That means you'll need to buy both the receiver and transmitter because the transmitter is needed to program the Homelink thing. However, if you're not going to use Homelink, then it's not an issue. Also, methinks we might be wrong about the frequency. The Genie 2024 runs on 390 MHz or possibly 315 MHz frequency. Genie got into problems in areas where the military was using 390 MHz for something. I'm not sure as I couldn't find any specific references. I could lookup what it does by the FCC ID number, or you could just hang a frequency counter near the trasmitter and see what frequency the remote belches. Looks like this will do it... http://tinyurl.com/ll3dunj or this one is cheaper... http://tinyurl.com/mj7dcg9 ...Jim Thompson -- | James E.Thompson | mens | | Analog Innovations | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | San Tan Valley, AZ 85142 Skype: Contacts Only | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 | I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food. |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On 10/05/14 04:21, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Fri, 09 May 2014 20:41:15 +0300, wrote: Do you believe the numbers it is giving you? 5.19 dB for a 1/4 wave ground plane antenna? Also, gain is in dB, not dBm. Just a little nit. It is not that far away, assuming perfect ground, which explains the lower lobe to reflected upwards, which would explain 3 dB of gain. The remaining 2.19 dB sounds much like the dipole gain over an isotropic radiator. So actually, we should talk about 5.19 dBi gain or actually _directivity_. Good explanation and you're correct about the directivity. Having gain in the wrong direction isn't very useful. In the case of the shortened monopole, the peak gain is in roughly the correct direction needed to be useful, so it's not an issue. However, other antenna configurations can cause problems. For example, here's an animated GIF of a common discone antenna. Where? Up to about 400 MHz, the major lobe (i.e. maximum gain) is roughly horizontal, making the antenna quite useable. However, between 400 and 1000 MHz, most of the RF goes straight up. There's little RF left at the horizon, where it's needed. Such an antenna might be good for listening to airplanes, but not terrestrial stations. For electrically small antennas, the efficiency can be much less than 100 %, thus the _gain_ would be less. The radiation efficiency and internal losses are included in the gain calculation. For example, if I made the antenna from lossy material, it would show up as a loss in gain. However, for a fairly close to ideal antenna, the radiation efficiency barely changes. wavelengths gain Efficiency Radiation (db) Efficiency 0.250 5.19 100% 99.93% 0.125 4.85 100% 99.66% 0.050 4.75 100% 99.09% Again, the problem is matching the impedance of the shortened antenna. The losses are not in the antenna. They're in the matching circuit. wavelengths gain(db) VSWR (50ohms) 0.250 5.19 1.74:1 0.125 4.85 158:1 0.050 4.75 5954:1 I'm curious how you calculate these values? The 0.050 wavelength monopole shows a feed impedance of 1.52-j707 which is going to be verrrrrry difficult to match efficiently to 50 ohms. Got a 500:1 transformer handy? |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On 10/05/14 08:03, amdx wrote:
On 5/9/2014 3:49 PM, Jim Thompson wrote: On Fri, 09 May 2014 15:38:43 -0500, amdx wrote: On 5/9/2014 1:25 PM, Jim Thompson wrote: Suppose I simply made a dipole half inside and half outside? Would that improve my reception? What is the model # of your opener, Let's find out what the output circuit looks like. Here's a few, http://tinyurl.com/mwcbr2o Genie Model 2024 Can you simply buy a 433MHz receiver that has a relay output? Looks like about 9 wires to move the control circuit board, includes the receiver, outside. Does that leave two wires a crook could short to open the door? Important not to forget the "other" reason for a door opener... http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/yhst-...ion-manual.pdf Looks pretty simple to remove, pull it out and inspect, maybe draw a schematic. I got that pdf from here http://www.northshorecommercialdoor....adoop37co.html I didn't find a schematic. --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On 09/05/2014 17:10, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Fri, 09 May 2014 12:02:50 +0100, Mike Perkins wrote: http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/Monopole/index.html What is the software model you've used here? 4NEC2: http://www.qsl.net/4nec2/ 4NEC2 does not have an easy way to produce presentable web pages, so I screen grabbed the JPG's using Irfanview and assembled the web page with jAlbum. I also use EZNEC: http://www.eznec.com Many thanks for the info. -- Mike Perkins Video Solutions Ltd www.videosolutions.ltd.uk |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On Sat, 10 May 2014 09:44:44 +1000, Clifford Heath
wrote: On 10/05/14 04:21, Jeff Liebermann wrote: Good explanation and you're correct about the directivity. Having gain in the wrong direction isn't very useful. In the case of the shortened monopole, the peak gain is in roughly the correct direction needed to be useful, so it's not an issue. However, other antenna configurations can cause problems. For example, here's an animated GIF of a common discone antenna. Where? Sorry. Here's the missing link: http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/Discone/slides/discone-animated.html http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/Discone/index.html Up to about 400 MHz, the major lobe (i.e. maximum gain) is roughly horizontal, making the antenna quite useable. However, between 400 and 1000 MHz, most of the RF goes straight up. There's little RF left at the horizon, where it's needed. Such an antenna might be good for listening to airplanes, but not terrestrial stations. wavelengths gain Efficiency Radiation (db) Efficiency 0.250 5.19 100% 99.93% 0.125 4.85 100% 99.66% 0.050 4.75 100% 99.09% Again, the problem is matching the impedance of the shortened antenna. The losses are not in the antenna. They're in the matching circuit. wavelengths gain(db) VSWR (50ohms) 0.250 5.19 1.74:1 0.125 4.85 158:1 0.050 4.75 5954:1 I'm curious how you calculate these values? 4NEC2 does the number crunching for me. I would hate to do the calculations by hand or with a calculator. I'm not even sure that I could do them. The VSWR and Efficiencies are show in the "Main" page. More on radiation and power efficiency: http://www.antennex.com/w4rnl/col0504/amod75.html 0.250 wavelength: http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/Monopole/monopole_0_250/index.html http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas...ole_0_250.html 0.125 wavelength http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/Monopole/monopole_0_125/index.html http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas...ole_0_125.html 0.050 wavelength http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/Monopole/monopole_0_050/index.html http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/Monopole/monopole_0_050/slides/monopole_0_050.html Mo http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/Monopole/index.html -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On Fri, 9 May 2014 16:29:53 -0400, "Tom Miller"
wrote: wrote in message .. . On Fri, 09 May 2014 11:21:13 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote: On Fri, 09 May 2014 20:41:15 +0300, wrote: Do you believe the numbers it is giving you? 5.19 dB for a 1/4 wave ground plane antenna? Also, gain is in dB, not dBm. Just a little nit. It is not that far away, assuming perfect ground, which explains the lower lobe to reflected upwards, which would explain 3 dB of gain. The remaining 2.19 dB sounds much like the dipole gain over an isotropic radiator. So actually, we should talk about 5.19 dBi gain or actually _directivity_. Good explanation and you're correct about the directivity. Having gain in the wrong direction isn't very useful. In the case of the shortened monopole, the peak gain is in roughly the correct direction needed to be useful, so it's not an issue. However, other antenna configurations can cause problems. For example, here's an animated GIF of a common discone antenna. Up to about 400 MHz, the major lobe (i.e. maximum gain) is roughly horizontal, making the antenna quite useable. However, between 400 and 1000 MHz, most of the RF goes straight up. There's little RF left at the horizon, where it's needed. Such an antenna might be good for listening to airplanes, but not terrestrial stations. For electrically small antennas, the efficiency can be much less than 100 %, thus the _gain_ would be less. The radiation efficiency and internal losses are included in the gain calculation. For example, if I made the antenna from lossy material, it would show up as a loss in gain. However, for a fairly close to ideal antenna, the radiation efficiency barely changes. wavelengths gain Efficiency Radiation (db) Efficiency 0.250 5.19 100% 99.93% 0.125 4.85 100% 99.66% 0.050 4.75 100% 99.09% Again, the problem is matching the impedance of the shortened antenna. The losses are not in the antenna. They're in the matching circuit. wavelengths gain(db) VSWR (50ohms) 0.250 5.19 1.74:1 0.125 4.85 158:1 0.050 4.75 5954:1 Most of this VSWR is due to the fact that the small antenna has a high (capacitive) reactance. Tuning it out with a loading coil, you only have a smallish resistance mismatch and hence much lower VSWR. The 0.050 wavelength monopole shows a feed impedance of 1.52-j707 which is going to be verrrrrry difficult to match efficiently to 50 ohms. Got a 500:1 transformer handy? You tune out the capacitive -j707 ohms with a loading coil +j707 ohms and you only have to worry about the resistive 1.52 ohms. To match this to a 50 ohm input, the impedance ratio would be 1.52:50 or 1:33 or less than 1:6 turns ratio. A few cm long "rubber duck" (normal mode helix) is a reasonably efficient antenna for 433 MHz. But only for certain values of "reasonably" :). Depending of your size constraints, even -10 dB or -20 dB antennas might be acceptable. Of course, no such constraints should exist for a fixed, big (garage door) antenna. |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On 2014-05-09, Jim Thompson wrote:
On Fri, 09 May 2014 15:38:43 -0500, amdx wrote: Genie Model 2024 Can you simply buy a 433MHz receiver that has a relay output? I got one for my dad's gate, his Door remote was branded Dominator, so, probably uses a different code sequence to Genie. I can't spot the receiver modiule on-line (I got mine over the counter from the Dominator agent). OTOH you could just get a 433MHz receiver module and a transmitter replace the transmitter antenna with something worse than what it comes with abd wire them together far enough apart that the receiver can't see the transmitter, -- umop apisdn --- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: --- |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On 2014-05-09, Jim Thompson wrote:
First, try a simple experiment. Open the garage door wide and test the range of your unspecified model garage door opener radio. If you get normal ranges (200ft or more), then the problem is the garage door shielding. However, if the range is the same, the tuning on either the transmitter or receiver is off frequency. Dramatic range improvement. that confirms it's a "antenna in a metal box" problem How about this... Drill hole in door, fit water-tight thru-hole BNC connector, attach rubber ducky antennas to each side. Would that be enough of a "window"? I'm thinking that be the eqivalent of about a 4" window in your door. It'd work better if the indoor antenna was closer to the receiver. I'd be considering putting the indoor antenna in the near field of the receiver antenna. (but only after rejecting a direct connection to the receiver circuit) You've got inverse square law losses between you and the outdoor antenna and again between the indooor antenna and the receiver. Moving the indoor end of your passive repeater to where it does most good has got to be good for a 30db reduction in loss. -- umop apisdn |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On Fri, 09 May 2014 16:07:54 -0700, Jim Thompson
wrote: or this one is cheaper... http://tinyurl.com/mj7dcg9 I like that one (for no obvious reason because there are no specs). Is the metal part of the garage door insulated from the metal support frame? Usually, that requires rubber or plastic wheels in the door track. If so, you might be able to simply connect the antenna connection to the overhead track arm, which is connected to the door. The idea is to turn the metal door into an antenna. It won't be efficient, matched, kosher, elegant, or otherwise according to the textbook, but it will put the RF on the outside of the garage, which methinks is the basic problem. Try it with a clip lead and hope that the receiver tuning is sufficiently isolated from the antenna to not become detuned (or oscillatory). My only worry is that if someone dumps a static discharge into the door, it might blow up the receiver front end. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On Fri, 09 May 2014 22:52:54 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote: On Fri, 09 May 2014 16:07:54 -0700, Jim Thompson wrote: or this one is cheaper... http://tinyurl.com/mj7dcg9 I like that one (for no obvious reason because there are no specs). Oh-oh. Kinda looks like BFT no longer sells a BFT-1. Nothing on their web pile: http://www.bft-usa.com/jsp/en/scheda/accessories-receivers_-_id_79.jsp No manuals or any reference to a BFT-1 on their site. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On Fri, 09 May 2014 22:52:54 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote: On Fri, 09 May 2014 16:07:54 -0700, Jim Thompson wrote: or this one is cheaper... http://tinyurl.com/mj7dcg9 I like that one (for no obvious reason because there are no specs). Is the metal part of the garage door insulated from the metal support frame? Usually, that requires rubber or plastic wheels in the door track. If so, you might be able to simply connect the antenna connection to the overhead track arm, which is connected to the door. The idea is to turn the metal door into an antenna. It won't be efficient, matched, kosher, elegant, or otherwise according to the textbook, but it will put the RF on the outside of the garage, which methinks is the basic problem. Try it with a clip lead and hope that the receiver tuning is sufficiently isolated from the antenna to not become detuned (or oscillatory). My only worry is that if someone dumps a static discharge into the door, it might blow up the receiver front end. Interesting thought. A schematic of the controller board would be most helpful. ...Jim Thompson -- | James E.Thompson | mens | | Analog Innovations | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | San Tan Valley, AZ 85142 Skype: Contacts Only | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 | I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food. |
Garage Door Opener Range.
WangoTango wrote: In article , says... amdx wrote: On 5/8/2014 1:25 PM, WangoTango wrote: In article , To-Email-Use- says... This new, very well-insulated, foil-backed, house has one drawback... the garage door opener range with the garage door closed is only about 20' Any ideas on how I could extend that range? ...Jim Thompson An external antenna would be the easiest thing. I'm with you, antenna is the solution. I'd try cutting a director and reflector to proper lengths and just hung then in place for a test. Two pieces of wire could solve his problem. That will detune the front end since it wasn't designed for a complex, 50 ohm antenna. Some of the single board controllers have an etched trace for the antenna. Also, any physical modification voids the FCC acceptance. Some of these are super regen, and a better antenna will radiate crap that will cause interference. That's a lot of speculation and maybes. How about he look at what he has and goes from there. I'll bet it is one of the single chip code hopping solutions from any one of a bunch of manufacturers and I doubt that it will be a super- regen anything. And, he didn't say that he cared if the FCC might not like the mod. How many have you worked on? -- Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to have a DD214, and a honorable discharge. --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com |
Garage Door Opener Range.
Jim Thompson wrote: Interesting thought. A schematic of the controller board would be most helpful. You might find a schematic on the FCC database. Some items include one in the OEM's filing. -- Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to have a DD214, and a honorable discharge. --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On 5/10/2014 9:30 AM, Jim Thompson wrote:
On Fri, 09 May 2014 22:52:54 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote: On Fri, 09 May 2014 16:07:54 -0700, Jim Thompson wrote: or this one is cheaper... http://tinyurl.com/mj7dcg9 I like that one (for no obvious reason because there are no specs). Is the metal part of the garage door insulated from the metal support frame? Usually, that requires rubber or plastic wheels in the door track. If so, you might be able to simply connect the antenna connection to the overhead track arm, which is connected to the door. The idea is to turn the metal door into an antenna. It won't be efficient, matched, kosher, elegant, or otherwise according to the textbook, but it will put the RF on the outside of the garage, which methinks is the basic problem. Try it with a clip lead and hope that the receiver tuning is sufficiently isolated from the antenna to not become detuned (or oscillatory). My only worry is that if someone dumps a static discharge into the door, it might blow up the receiver front end. Interesting thought. A schematic of the controller board would be most helpful. ...Jim Thompson If you looked at the PDF I posted, it shows how to remove the controller/transmitter pcb. Take it out and see how complex it is. You know how to draw schematic, I can't read them, but you know how :-) Mikek Mikek --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com |
Garage Door Opener Range¸
"John Larkin" wrote in message ... On Wed, 07 May 2014 16:40:39 -0700, Jim Thompson wrote: On Wed, 07 May 2014 16:30:35 -0700, John Larkin wrote: On Wed, 07 May 2014 13:27:29 -0700, Jim Thompson wrote: This new, very well-insulated, foil-backed, house has one drawback... the garage door opener range with the garage door closed is only about 20' Any ideas on how I could extend that range? ...Jim Thompson You need an engineer! Always have to go out of your way to be a turd, don't you... sad specimen you are. ...Jim Thompson Geez, you have an antenna inside a metal box, and you need advice? Heh heh heh. |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On 10/05/14 11:21, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 10 May 2014 09:44:44 +1000, Clifford Heath Again, the problem is matching the impedance of the shortened antenna. The losses are not in the antenna. They're in the matching circuit. wavelengths gain(db) VSWR (50ohms) 0.250 5.19 1.74:1 0.125 4.85 158:1 0.050 4.75 5954:1 I'm curious how you calculate these values? 4NEC2 does the number crunching for me. I would hate to do the calculations by hand or with a calculator. I'm not even sure that I could do them. Thanks. I'll have to get a version that works for me (on Mac). I was curious that the VSWR seems to go roughly as the inverse third power of length, which made it seem like a simple formula could approximate it. Clifford Heath. |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On Tue, 13 May 2014 11:44:57 +1000, Clifford Heath
wrote: On 10/05/14 11:21, Jeff Liebermann wrote: On Sat, 10 May 2014 09:44:44 +1000, Clifford Heath Again, the problem is matching the impedance of the shortened antenna. The losses are not in the antenna. They're in the matching circuit. wavelengths gain(db) VSWR (50ohms) 0.250 5.19 1.74:1 0.125 4.85 158:1 0.050 4.75 5954:1 I'm curious how you calculate these values? 4NEC2 does the number crunching for me. I would hate to do the calculations by hand or with a calculator. I'm not even sure that I could do them. Thanks. I'll have to get a version that works for me (on Mac). I was curious that the VSWR seems to go roughly as the inverse third power of length, which made it seem like a simple formula could approximate it. Clifford Heath. First of all, you need to kill the reactive impedance, for a short antenna with a suitable inductance. Secondly, you need to match the antenna impedance (in a small antenna usually a few ohms) with the receiver/transmitter 50 ohms resistive impedance. A pi (series L with C to ground) or a T (series C and L to ground) will do the trick for a narrow band application. |
Garage Door Opener Range.
In article ,
says... WangoTango wrote: In article , says... amdx wrote: On 5/8/2014 1:25 PM, WangoTango wrote: In article , To-Email-Use- says... This new, very well-insulated, foil-backed, house has one drawback... the garage door opener range with the garage door closed is only about 20' Any ideas on how I could extend that range? ...Jim Thompson An external antenna would be the easiest thing. I'm with you, antenna is the solution. I'd try cutting a director and reflector to proper lengths and just hung then in place for a test. Two pieces of wire could solve his problem. That will detune the front end since it wasn't designed for a complex, 50 ohm antenna. Some of the single board controllers have an etched trace for the antenna. Also, any physical modification voids the FCC acceptance. Some of these are super regen, and a better antenna will radiate crap that will cause interference. That's a lot of speculation and maybes. How about he look at what he has and goes from there. I'll bet it is one of the single chip code hopping solutions from any one of a bunch of manufacturers and I doubt that it will be a super- regen anything. And, he didn't say that he cared if the FCC might not like the mod. How many have you worked on? One more than you have. |
Garage Door Opener Range.
WangoTango wrote: In article , says... WangoTango wrote: In article , says... amdx wrote: On 5/8/2014 1:25 PM, WangoTango wrote: In article , To-Email-Use- says... This new, very well-insulated, foil-backed, house has one drawback... the garage door opener range with the garage door closed is only about 20' Any ideas on how I could extend that range? ...Jim Thompson An external antenna would be the easiest thing. I'm with you, antenna is the solution. I'd try cutting a director and reflector to proper lengths and just hung then in place for a test. Two pieces of wire could solve his problem. That will detune the front end since it wasn't designed for a complex, 50 ohm antenna. Some of the single board controllers have an etched trace for the antenna. Also, any physical modification voids the FCC acceptance. Some of these are super regen, and a better antenna will radiate crap that will cause interference. That's a lot of speculation and maybes. How about he look at what he has and goes from there. I'll bet it is one of the single chip code hopping solutions from any one of a bunch of manufacturers and I doubt that it will be a super- regen anything. And, he didn't say that he cared if the FCC might not like the mod. How many have you worked on? One more than you have. If that were true, you would know how sensitive the front end is to detuning. The additional capacitance of coax would take it out of band without reducing the inductance in the tuned circuit. BTW, I repaired hundreds of the damned things for a garage door company that was owned by a friend. I repaired stuff from early tube designs, up to rolling code. From single function, to specials models that controlled eight doors for firehouses. -- Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to have a DD214, and a honorable discharge. --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On Fri, 16 May 2014 11:01:42 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote: If that were true, you would know how sensitive the front end is to detuning. The additional capacitance of coax would take it out of band without reducing the inductance in the tuned circuit. That was certainly true of previous generations of remote control receivers. I fixed a few of those (mostly by retuning). Most of the few garage door and gate opener repairs I've done have been mechanical, not electronic. Times have changes. For keyless entry receivers, I'm seeing SAW filters, superhets, one-chip receivers, etc. For example: http://www.maximintegrated.com/datasheet/index.mvp/id/3104 http://www.maximintegrated.com/datasheet/index.mvp/id/5513 etc... Whether Genie uses technology that's become standard for automobile door openers and alarms is unknown. Schematics seem difficult to find. Most of the receiver pictures of the boards I've found are obviously TRF (tuned RF) receivers, which will have the detuning problems you mentioned. The more modern opener that Jim bought seems to have a more sophisticated receiver: http://galleryplus.ebayimg.com/ws/web/301060926645_1_0_1/1000x1000.jpg The black wire on the left is the antenna. Most of the receiver is covered but I can see the leads of an SOT device nearby and no adjustable coils near the antenna lead. That suggests a more modern design, probably using one of the aforementioned integrated receivers, which will not have antenna detuning issues. BTW, I repaired hundreds of the damned things for a garage door company that was owned by a friend. I repaired stuff from early tube designs, up to rolling code. From single function, to specials models that controlled eight doors for firehouses. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
Garage Door Opener Range.
On Fri, 16 May 2014 08:59:04 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote: On Fri, 16 May 2014 11:01:42 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell" wrote: If that were true, you would know how sensitive the front end is to detuning. The additional capacitance of coax would take it out of band without reducing the inductance in the tuned circuit. That was certainly true of previous generations of remote control receivers. I fixed a few of those (mostly by retuning). Most of the few garage door and gate opener repairs I've done have been mechanical, not electronic. Times have changes. For keyless entry receivers, I'm seeing SAW filters, superhets, one-chip receivers, etc. For example: http://www.maximintegrated.com/datasheet/index.mvp/id/3104 http://www.maximintegrated.com/datasheet/index.mvp/id/5513 etc... Whether Genie uses technology that's become standard for automobile door openers and alarms is unknown. Schematics seem difficult to find. Most of the receiver pictures of the boards I've found are obviously TRF (tuned RF) receivers, which will have the detuning problems you mentioned. The more modern opener that Jim bought seems to have a more sophisticated receiver: http://galleryplus.ebayimg.com/ws/web/301060926645_1_0_1/1000x1000.jpg The black wire on the left is the antenna. Most of the receiver is covered but I can see the leads of an SOT device nearby and no adjustable coils near the antenna lead. That suggests a more modern design, probably using one of the aforementioned integrated receivers, which will not have antenna detuning issues. BTW, I repaired hundreds of the damned things for a garage door company that was owned by a friend. I repaired stuff from early tube designs, up to rolling code. From single function, to specials models that controlled eight doors for firehouses. The problem is further reduced. Finally got the programming to take on the HomeLink transmitter in my Q45 (using the programming technique Jeff found)... the range is substantially increased. So, either batteries in Genie fobs are weak, or transmitter design is weenie. (Q45 is 9 years old... who knows what emasculation has been done to transmitters by the FCC since then.) ...Jim Thompson -- | James E.Thompson | mens | | Analog Innovations | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | San Tan Valley, AZ 85142 Skype: Contacts Only | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 | I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food. |
Garage Door Opener Range.
In article ,
says... WangoTango wrote: In article , says... WangoTango wrote: In article , says... amdx wrote: On 5/8/2014 1:25 PM, WangoTango wrote: In article , To-Email-Use- says... This new, very well-insulated, foil-backed, house has one drawback... the garage door opener range with the garage door closed is only about 20' Any ideas on how I could extend that range? ...Jim Thompson An external antenna would be the easiest thing. I'm with you, antenna is the solution. I'd try cutting a director and reflector to proper lengths and just hung then in place for a test. Two pieces of wire could solve his problem. That will detune the front end since it wasn't designed for a complex, 50 ohm antenna. Some of the single board controllers have an etched trace for the antenna. Also, any physical modification voids the FCC acceptance. Some of these are super regen, and a better antenna will radiate crap that will cause interference. That's a lot of speculation and maybes. How about he look at what he has and goes from there. I'll bet it is one of the single chip code hopping solutions from any one of a bunch of manufacturers and I doubt that it will be a super- regen anything. And, he didn't say that he cared if the FCC might not like the mod. How many have you worked on? One more than you have. If that were true, you would know how sensitive the front end is to detuning. The additional capacitance of coax would take it out of band without reducing the inductance in the tuned circuit. BTW, I repaired hundreds of the damned things for a garage door company that was owned by a friend. I repaired stuff from early tube designs, up to rolling code. From single function, to specials models that controlled eight doors for firehouses. That's awesome, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the problem at hand, and that is Jim's SPECIFIC unit. Which is most likely NOT some regenerative design. |
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I love cooking and really want to do it in my garage but I'm afraid I'l cause an accident like it's made of wood and I'm scared I'l do myself and the garage some harm. Is it really likely?? |
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