decent garage door remote

There's a garage door on the side of the packing shed that is open/closed every time a tractor load of fruit comes in. Three tractors most days.

If one remote dies, you have to retrain all three, otherwise the other two won't work. this is getting to be a terrible pain. Plus, most of the time the remote won't work till you're right in front of the shed.

So does anybody make a decent higher power remote? We're going to buy three new ones.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend
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I think you can get longer range with a different antenna setup or placement on the receiver side.

You might want to consult with a commercial garage door company in your area, perhaps they have a more industrial grade model.

Reply to
Roger Shoaf

Your new remotes would have to be compatible with your existing receiver unless you change the receiver out also.

FCC part 15 regs limit the power that a UHF (typically 300 to 400 MHz) remote can use. However, if your shed is metal you could probably enhance the range significantly by running a wire from the receiver antenna to outside of the metal shed with about 10" of wire outside of the shed and held a couple of inches away from the metal skin. You should be able to get at least 25 feet of range, more from a transmitter on an open tractor vs inside of a car or truck cab.

Chamberlain makes the vast majority of residential openers. They buy their radios from vendors but Chamberlain is where to get them in small quantity.

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They also have 'em at Sears and Home Depot.

You might explore why your remotes are dying. I probably operate my door at least two or three times a day most days, and my three Chamberlain remotes have been working for at least 15 years. Maybe they need to be ruggedized somehow for the service they see on tractors, or something. The weakest part of the remotes is the plastic-flap-actuated circuit-board contacts. Bypassing those with weatherproof and gorilla-proof pushbutton switches might enhance remote lifetime considerably. Renewing batteries once a year wouldn't hurt either, though I don't recall when I last renewed the battery in any of my remotes.

If you are willing to change out the receiver, then I'd look for stuff that works in the 915 MHz spread-spectrum band. That can be much more powerful and won't screw up your 2.4GHz or 5.8 GHz wireless LAN.

Reply to
Don Foreman

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Thanks for the advice. I'm sure the biggest problem is tossing the units in the tool box (dirty). I'd tried taping to the steering wheel but range became terrible and then they get rained on. I've already installed an outside antennae for the opener - very little help.

I did a Google search on range for these things. there were several hits showing using your body as an antennae for the remote. Touch the remote to your chin or forehead to turn it on, I'll try it.

I guess I'm back to the big box store to buy more of the same crappy units.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

I'd be buying more than three as well.....maybe a couple of spares?

Reply to
Stephen Robinson

Do a Google for "industrial remote control".

Lot's of stuff out there. I did one last year to activate the rewind on a nursery sprayer hose reel. Had a solid 200 ft range, waterproof. You get what you pay for, the

2 channel receiver and 2 remotes killed $500 IIRC.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Marrs

If you lose all three transmitters when you program one, they are not being programmed correctly, probably because the directions are confusing. (Some Chamberlain directions say to push & hold the smart button & then push the transmitter button) If you do it this way you will probably erase the codes. There is a LED light beside the smart button. If you push & hold the smart button (approx 10-15 sec) until the LED goes out you have erased all of the codes. To program the transmitter push the smart button momentarily (LED lights solid), let go of smart button, push the button on the transmitter within 30 seconds before the LED goes out, (LED will blink once). Transmitter is coded & you haven't affected any of the other ones.

DoorDoc www.Acti> There's agaragedooron the side of the packing shed that is open/closed

Reply to
doordoc

Another possibility is that you have a noise source that is desensitizing the receiver. If possible, it might help to relocate the receiver and run relay wires from it to the opener mechanism -- rather than have the receiver co-located with the mechanism and run antenna wire.

Reply to
Don Foreman

Get a plastic screw-top project box and rig a waterproofed way to push the transmit button, then mount it on the dash or OSHA roll-cage of the tractor where it's out of the way and works.

Use Velcro to mount the remote in the box and the box to the tractor and add some degree of shock absorption - though you might have to screw the Velcro down to make sure the adhesive doesn't let go and drop the remote in the middle of the Back Forty. Or backup the adhesive with some 1/8" rope and make a little "safety leash" so it can't go far.

The raw remote unit is made for a cushy passenger car visor and isn't going to like being bounced around in a tractor toolbox, and it really won't like the hammer being dropped on it multiple times...

And avoid the "Rolling Code" remotes in the future, in an industrial setting you aren't really worried about someone snagging the code. First they have to get into the front gates, and past the "puppies". (The Rottweiler mix ones with the bad attitude toward strangers.)

The good old fashioned Stanley Multi-Code 300/310 MHZ units work just fine, and you can program 500 remotes to one receiver with the same code - done all the time at condo complex vehicle gates.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

Good points here. Milady came home with three new units today. I'm going to have her get some kind of liner and cover so the units stay unbounced and clean inside the tool box. I found out this old hard German skull is good for something - it makes one hell of an antennae. If you put the remote on your forehead to engage the button; range is more than double.

I've rebuilt this sears opener twice now. it has plastic gears that don't hold up. next time I'll get an all new opener with the receiver units you recommend.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. milady was able to program three units today and not lose the program on the old working one. a copy of this is printed and attached to the opener

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

Mount a plastic box on the dashboard of the tractor to house the remote and rewire the switch to a heavy duty switch.

If rewiring the switch on the remote is a pain, then just remote the battery and keep the remote switch pressed down all the time adding a heavy duty push button to make or break contact with the in the wire running between the battery and the transmitter.

Doing this will prevent any trauma to the transmitter other than bouncing but that ought to be within the design of the transmitter.

Reply to
Roger Shoaf

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