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Sommer Synoris 550 garage door opener -- a report
Our Wayne-Dalton iDrive quit -- although the motor was supposed to have
a lifetime warranty, they are no longer made and no parts available. I read the reviews of the German-made* Sommer Synoris 550 opener and decided to buy one. Lowe's and HD both sell them for the same price ($228), but only on line: not in the stores. Adding the wireless keypad gets the total price into the free-shipping category. (Amazon also sells them, but there is no free shipping option.) The design is very simple: a 24V DC motor with a sprocket travels along a fixed chain inside a metal C-channel. A metal arm connects the door to a carriage containing that motor. It is very quiet but significantly slower than the iDrive (which was claimed to be much faster than other drives). Cons: a) the wall station is not wireless as the iDrive's was, so there is additional wiring to run; b) the iDrive had a delayed-closing feature, so that I could press the button and walk out through the still-open door, which would then close behind me; c) no staples were included, so I had to make a special trip to the store to buy some to staple the wiring in place. *It really does seem to have been made in Germany, not in China with a German company's name on it. Those poor German workers! Fancy being paid even less than Chinese workers so that they can keep their jobs! Perce |
Sommer Synoris 550 garage door opener -- a report
In article ,
"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote: the iDrive had a delayed-closing feature, so that I could press the button and walk out through the still-open door some openers will let you walk out first, then reach only an arm in to push the close button. |
Sommer Synoris 550 garage door opener -- a report
Our light module seemed to act up a few times over the past few months,
but I think it was really just a poor contact with the center contact on the bulb. Have you tried cleaning the contact on the bulb socket? Have you tried retraining the light to the opener? Do you know which kind of opener/light module combination you have? Our original one had an infra-red link between the opener and the light module, but this gave a lot of trouble and W-D sent a replacement circuit board and light module which used a radio-frequency link. When that all went kaput a couple of years ago W-D sent a complete new unit -- the one that has recently quit and cannot be repaired. This has the radio-frequency link also. How to tell the difference? The only way I know is that the original one had a hole near the red button on the opener, with the IR diode peeking through that hole. I can no longer find the original light module (maybe we got rid of it), but ISTR that it had a sensor next to the red button. BTW, ours is the iDrive for Torsion Springs, not the iDrive TorqueMaster. I can only *guess* that the light modules are the same. If our light module is what you need, I'm sure we can come to some arrangement. "Perce" On 04/04/11 02:58 pm, Rob wrote: Hi, I was sorry to hear about the iDrives going under. Both of our garage doors have the Wayne Dalton door iDrive combination. I really like them compared to the conventional openers. I just started having trouble with one of the light modules. I think it is the sensor. I have not had a chance to take it off and see what I can take apart and look at. After reading your post, I wonder if maybe you still had your light module and was willing to part with it? Rob "Percival P. wrote in message ... Our Wayne-Dalton iDrive quit -- although the motor was supposed to have a lifetime warranty, they are no longer made and no parts available. I read the reviews of the German-made* Sommer Synoris 550 opener and decided to buy one. Lowe's and HD both sell them for the same price ($228), but only on line: not in the stores. Adding the wireless keypad gets the total price into the free-shipping category. (Amazon also sells them, but there is no free shipping option.) The design is very simple: a 24V DC motor with a sprocket travels along a fixed chain inside a metal C-channel. A metal arm connects the door to a carriage containing that motor. It is very quiet but significantly slower than the iDrive (which was claimed to be much faster than other drives). Cons: a) the wall station is not wireless as the iDrive's was, so there is additional wiring to run; b) the iDrive had a delayed-closing feature, so that I could press the button and walk out through the still-open door, which would then close behind me; c) no staples were included, so I had to make a special trip to the store to buy some to staple the wiring in place. *It really does seem to have been made in Germany, not in China with a German company's name on it. Those poor German workers! Fancy being paid even less than Chinese workers so that they can keep their jobs! Perce |
Sommer Synoris 550 garage door opener -- a report
You made me do a little research. We have the iDrive TorqueMaster. It
looks like there was more problems with the Torsion Spring model. We have had minimal problems so far and the few problems we had were quickly fixed with a call to customer service. I believe we have the infra-red lights. There is a little diode at the opener and a sensor at the light. When I googled I found radio controlled replacements but no infra-red. When you say W-D sent you a replacement circuit board, do you mean for in the opener? Which probably means the radio controlled will not work for me. So it looks like if I can't find a simple solution, I'm out of luck. Thanks for the help. Rob "Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message ... Our light module seemed to act up a few times over the past few months, but I think it was really just a poor contact with the center contact on the bulb. Have you tried cleaning the contact on the bulb socket? Have you tried retraining the light to the opener? Do you know which kind of opener/light module combination you have? Our original one had an infra-red link between the opener and the light module, but this gave a lot of trouble and W-D sent a replacement circuit board and light module which used a radio-frequency link. When that all went kaput a couple of years ago W-D sent a complete new unit -- the one that has recently quit and cannot be repaired. This has the radio-frequency link also. How to tell the difference? The only way I know is that the original one had a hole near the red button on the opener, with the IR diode peeking through that hole. I can no longer find the original light module (maybe we got rid of it), but ISTR that it had a sensor next to the red button. BTW, ours is the iDrive for Torsion Springs, not the iDrive TorqueMaster. I can only *guess* that the light modules are the same. If our light module is what you need, I'm sure we can come to some arrangement. "Perce" On 04/04/11 02:58 pm, Rob wrote: Hi, I was sorry to hear about the iDrives going under. Both of our garage doors have the Wayne Dalton door iDrive combination. I really like them compared to the conventional openers. I just started having trouble with one of the light modules. I think it is the sensor. I have not had a chance to take it off and see what I can take apart and look at. After reading your post, I wonder if maybe you still had your light module and was willing to part with it? Rob "Percival P. wrote in message ... Our Wayne-Dalton iDrive quit -- although the motor was supposed to have a lifetime warranty, they are no longer made and no parts available. I read the reviews of the German-made* Sommer Synoris 550 opener and decided to buy one. Lowe's and HD both sell them for the same price ($228), but only on line: not in the stores. Adding the wireless keypad gets the total price into the free-shipping category. (Amazon also sells them, but there is no free shipping option.) The design is very simple: a 24V DC motor with a sprocket travels along a fixed chain inside a metal C-channel. A metal arm connects the door to a carriage containing that motor. It is very quiet but significantly slower than the iDrive (which was claimed to be much faster than other drives). Cons: a) the wall station is not wireless as the iDrive's was, so there is additional wiring to run; b) the iDrive had a delayed-closing feature, so that I could press the button and walk out through the still-open door, which would then close behind me; c) no staples were included, so I had to make a special trip to the store to buy some to staple the wiring in place. *It really does seem to have been made in Germany, not in China with a German company's name on it. Those poor German workers! Fancy being paid even less than Chinese workers so that they can keep their jobs! Perce |
Sommer Synoris 550 garage door opener -- a report
The replacement circuit board was for the opener, but along with that
they sent a whole new light unit. Perce On 04/05/11 12:22 am, Rob wrote: You made me do a little research. We have the iDrive TorqueMaster. It looks like there was more problems with the Torsion Spring model. We have had minimal problems so far and the few problems we had were quickly fixed with a call to customer service. I believe we have the infra-red lights. There is a little diode at the opener and a sensor at the light. When I googled I found radio controlled replacements but no infra-red. When you say W-D sent you a replacement circuit board, do you mean for in the opener? Which probably means the radio controlled will not work for me. So it looks like if I can't find a simple solution, I'm out of luck. Thanks for the help. Rob "Percival P. wrote in message ... Our light module seemed to act up a few times over the past few months, but I think it was really just a poor contact with the center contact on the bulb. Have you tried cleaning the contact on the bulb socket? Have you tried retraining the light to the opener? Do you know which kind of opener/light module combination you have? Our original one had an infra-red link between the opener and the light module, but this gave a lot of trouble and W-D sent a replacement circuit board and light module which used a radio-frequency link. When that all went kaput a couple of years ago W-D sent a complete new unit -- the one that has recently quit and cannot be repaired. This has the radio-frequency link also. How to tell the difference? The only way I know is that the original one had a hole near the red button on the opener, with the IR diode peeking through that hole. I can no longer find the original light module (maybe we got rid of it), but ISTR that it had a sensor next to the red button. BTW, ours is the iDrive for Torsion Springs, not the iDrive TorqueMaster. I can only *guess* that the light modules are the same. If our light module is what you need, I'm sure we can come to some arrangement. "Perce" On 04/04/11 02:58 pm, Rob wrote: Hi, I was sorry to hear about the iDrives going under. Both of our garage doors have the Wayne Dalton door iDrive combination. I really like them compared to the conventional openers. I just started having trouble with one of the light modules. I think it is the sensor. I have not had a chance to take it off and see what I can take apart and look at. After reading your post, I wonder if maybe you still had your light module and was willing to part with it? Rob "Percival P. wrote in message ... Our Wayne-Dalton iDrive quit -- although the motor was supposed to have a lifetime warranty, they are no longer made and no parts available. I read the reviews of the German-made* Sommer Synoris 550 opener and decided to buy one. Lowe's and HD both sell them for the same price ($228), but only on line: not in the stores. Adding the wireless keypad gets the total price into the free-shipping category. (Amazon also sells them, but there is no free shipping option.) The design is very simple: a 24V DC motor with a sprocket travels along a fixed chain inside a metal C-channel. A metal arm connects the door to a carriage containing that motor. It is very quiet but significantly slower than the iDrive (which was claimed to be much faster than other drives). Cons: a) the wall station is not wireless as the iDrive's was, so there is additional wiring to run; b) the iDrive had a delayed-closing feature, so that I could press the button and walk out through the still-open door, which would then close behind me; c) no staples were included, so I had to make a special trip to the store to buy some to staple the wiring in place. *It really does seem to have been made in Germany, not in China with a German company's name on it. Those poor German workers! Fancy being paid even less than Chinese workers so that they can keep their jobs! Perce |
Sommer Synoris 550 garage door opener -- a report
The Sommer Opener that Lowe's and Home Depot carry is not the Synoris 550. It is the retail grade model so they can fit it all in one box. The Synoris 550 is the dealer model that comes in 2 separate boxes, one for the rail and one for the motor head and accessories. The biggest difference is that the retail direct drive is a 3 piece rail that is not as strong as the actual Synoris model which is a 2 piece rail. You can purchase the dealer Synoris 550 at www.diy-garage-door-parts.com
On Friday, April 1, 2011 3:46:07 PM UTC-4, Percival P. Cassidy wrote: Our Wayne-Dalton iDrive quit -- although the motor was supposed to have a lifetime warranty, they are no longer made and no parts available. I read the reviews of the German-made* Sommer Synoris 550 opener and decided to buy one. Lowe's and HD both sell them for the same price ($228), but only on line: not in the stores. Adding the wireless keypad gets the total price into the free-shipping category. (Amazon also sells them, but there is no free shipping option.) The design is very simple: a 24V DC motor with a sprocket travels along a fixed chain inside a metal C-channel. A metal arm connects the door to a carriage containing that motor. It is very quiet but significantly slower than the iDrive (which was claimed to be much faster than other drives). Cons: a) the wall station is not wireless as the iDrive's was, so there is additional wiring to run; b) the iDrive had a delayed-closing feature, so that I could press the button and walk out through the still-open door, which would then close behind me; c) no staples were included, so I had to make a special trip to the store to buy some to staple the wiring in place. *It really does seem to have been made in Germany, not in China with a German company's name on it. Those poor German workers! Fancy being paid even less than Chinese workers so that they can keep their jobs! Perce |
Sommer Synoris 550 garage door opener -- a report
On Saturday, May 24, 2014 8:27:53 AM UTC-4, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
You are responding to a message I posted a little over three years ago! I am almost certain that it came in two boxes, and if I wrote that it is a Synoris 550, then that is how it was described. But it is quite possible, of course, that the Synoris garage door opener that Lowe's and HD sell *now* is not the Synoris 550 but a lesser model. But, since you brought up the subject of this garage door opener, let me add a couple of points to my additional report. First, it is working fine, but on one occasion it seemed to get confused and I had to reprogram its settings. Second, the remotes that came with ours are apparently not the "rolling code" variety. That's interesting. I would have thought that all garage remote controls sold in the last 10+ years have been the rolling code variety. How does it work then? The only other security system I know of is where you set the code by dip switches, in which case it's short and never changes. That's not very good, but then maybe it's good enough. I've heard of a lot of burglaries, but haven't heard one where they entered by breaking a garage door code, to get into a house. There are easier ways to get in, eg, use the remote someone left in their unlocked car, punch out a garage door window, etc. |
Sommer Synoris 550 garage door opener -- a report
On 05/24/14 08:44 am, trader_4 wrote:
You are responding to a message I posted a little over three years ago! I am almost certain that it came in two boxes, and if I wrote that it is a Synoris 550, then that is how it was described. But it is quite possible, of course, that the Synoris garage door opener that Lowe's and HD sell *now* is not the Synoris 550 but a lesser model. But, since you brought up the subject of this garage door opener, let me add a couple of points to my additional report. First, it is working fine, but on one occasion it seemed to get confused and I had to reprogram its settings. Second, the remotes that came with ours are apparently not the "rolling code" variety. That's interesting. I would have thought that all garage remote controls sold in the last 10+ years have been the rolling code variety. How does it work then? The only other security system I know of is where you set the code by dip switches, in which case it's short and never changes. That's not very good, but then maybe it's good enough. I've heard of a lot of burglaries, but haven't heard one where they entered by breaking a garage door code, to get into a house. There are easier ways to get in, eg, use the remote someone left in their unlocked car, punch out a garage door window, etc. No DIP switches. We had to "train" the remotes and the opener unit to recognize each other, then use one of the remotes to train the HomeLink function in our car. But the code is fixed: it does not change each time. A "rolling code" version of the Sommer remote is available, and perhaps it is standard by now. Perce |
Sommer Synoris 550 garage door opener -- a report
wrote:
The Sommer Opener that Lowe's and Home Depot carry is not the Synoris 550. It is the retail grade model so they can fit it all in one box. The Synoris 550 is the dealer model that comes in 2 separate boxes, one for the rail and one for the motor head and accessories. The biggest difference is that the retail direct drive is a 3 piece rail that is not as strong as the actual Synoris model which is a 2 piece rail. You can purchase the dealer Synoris 550 at www.diy-garage-door-parts.com On Friday, April 1, 2011 3:46:07 PM UTC-4, Percival P. Cassidy wrote: Our Wayne-Dalton iDrive quit -- although the motor was supposed to have a lifetime warranty, they are no longer made and no parts available. I read the reviews of the German-made* Sommer Synoris 550 opener and decided to buy one. Lowe's and HD both sell them for the same price ($228), but only on line: not in the stores. Adding the wireless keypad gets the total price into the free-shipping category. (Amazon also sells them, but there is no free shipping option.) The design is very simple: a 24V DC motor with a sprocket travels along a fixed chain inside a metal C-channel. A metal arm connects the door to a carriage containing that motor. It is very quiet but significantly slower than the iDrive (which was claimed to be much faster than other drives). Cons: a) the wall station is not wireless as the iDrive's was, so there is additional wiring to run; b) the iDrive had a delayed-closing feature, so that I could press the button and walk out through the still-open door, which would then close behind me; c) no staples were included, so I had to make a special trip to the store to buy some to staple the wiring in place. *It really does seem to have been made in Germany, not in China with a German company's name on it. Those poor German workers! Fancy being paid even less than Chinese workers so that they can keep their jobs! Perce Hi, When Genie Blue Max went South after 20 yeears good service, I looked at Sommer Stnoris but I did not buy one. It is slow compared to other openers. I went back to another Genie. This time Power Max 1500. Installed myself in less than half a day, been working fince since. Very quiet, pretty fast open/close speed(adjustable). |
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