Garage door opener?

[nudedaytona]

I was wondering how bikers use their garage door opener. Mine is really bulky, so I don't really like putting it in my jacket pocket. But if there was an easy way of using it I would, because its easier than opening door then opening garage from inside.

Can you get small openers, of a similar size to car alarm buttons, and program them to my garage door?

[vifferman]

I push the little black button on the right switchblock.
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=56241&d=1173914192

[nudedaytona]

Is that the original opener that you got when you got the garage? How did you get it on your bike?

[chester]

what happens when you sell your bike? Do they get the garage too?:gob:

[99TLS]

I push the little black button on the right switchblock.

thats a good idea there

[jimbo600]

I sit outside on my bike and rev fuck out of it until the missus opens the door.

[Cajun]

previous house had a big button which use to sit in jacket pocket. never had an issue unless i went with leathers rather hard to fit wallet, cellphone, garage door opener all in one small pocket, so sometimes stored it under the rear cowl

new house,has those small key chain buttons, which is on my normal house keys which just sitsin jacket pocket with wallet/cellphone

[Slingshot]

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=17984&highlight=garge+door+opener

[boomer]

I was wondering how bikers use their garage door opener. Mine is really bulky, so I don't really like putting it in my jacket pocket. But if there was an easy way of using it I would, because its easier than opening door then opening garage from inside.

Can you get small openers, of a similar size to car alarm buttons, and program them to my garage door?



a.. why cant you do a search

+garage +opener

secondly why don't you get on that bike of yours and go look in mitre 10 or bunnings or anywhere else that sells house/garage/garden stuff....


far out.. u LAZY foookah !

[Toaster]

Surely any garage door company could sell you a single small remote and go program it for your frequency.

I have a few with mine, mich smaller than the big remote and fits nicely in the pocket or keyring.

[Bullitt]

Surely any garage door company could sell you a single small remote and go program it for your frequency.


Depends on your brand of opener. I remember looking into it a few years ago and even though the opener was almost new no keychain opener was available

[bmz2]

Shit, i wounder if i could sort this out . . no1 each auto door opener eg merlin , dominator, ata, windsor , parker, the remote will only operate the same brand , no2 any machine that is 10 year old, the remotes are no longer made , except tiltamatic ahi. , heres the easy way out key ring remote , buy a merlin upgrade kit ,and fit it to any autodoor opener, who's got them, ME


So what i am saying, do not loose your remote if it is an old type, you will not be able to replace it

[nudedaytona]

a.. why cant you do a search

+garage +opener

secondly why don't you get on that bike of yours and go look in mitre 10 or bunnings or anywhere else that sells house/garage/garden stuff....


far out.. u LAZY foookah !

I know I could but then I wouldn't be promoting and interesting and stimulating discussion :woohoo:

[Toaster]

Shit, i wounder if i could sort this out . . no1 each auto door opener eg merlin , dominator, ata, windsor , parker, the remote will only operate the same brand , no2 any machine that is 10 year old, the remotes are no longer made , except tiltamatic ahi. , heres the easy way out key ring remote , buy a merlin upgrade kit ,and fit it to any autodoor opener, who's got them, ME


So what i am saying, do not loose your remote if it is an old type, you will not be able to replace it

Sell him a new motor... bwahahahahaha!! :cool:

[bmz2]

Sell him a new motor... bwahahahahaha!! :cool:

correct , end of year run out , merlin 5580 $540.00 Installed:eek:

[boomer]

I know I could but then I wouldn't be promoting and interesting and stimulating discussion :woohoo:

in other words your an attention seeking whore..?? i see most of your posts are duplicates. You should be banished.

[nudedaytona]

in other words your an attention seeking whore..?? i see most of your posts are duplicates. You should be banished.

The pasted earlier in this thread shows that the last garage door discussion was in 2005. Its about time for an update don't you think.

[HungusMaximist]

I've got it attached on my belt, it sits in a neoprene cell fone holder with a belt loop. It's rather risky that it could fall off if I go hard on the bike, but it actually sits quite securely in it.

I reckon if you can do somesort of a sizing mod on the opener which turns it into a small thing like the size of a alarm remote that would be better, and then attach it to your key rings.

But I agree, it's a friggin hassle them being bulkly.

[imdying]

I've got a merlin one... it's modified with a small relay inside it (like a tiny tiny little one), and has a 2 pin plug with a screw retainer (cheap as chips for both from DSE or wherever). 12v on those pins makes the 'button push'... so you can hook it up to anything... headlight flasher, horn, another button, anything you like :)

[nudedaytona]

I've got a merlin one... it's modified with a small relay inside it (like a tiny tiny little one), and has a 2 pin plug with a screw retainer (cheap as chips for both from DSE or wherever). 12v on those pins makes the 'button push'... so you can hook it up to anything... headlight flasher, horn, another button, anything you like :)

I like the idea of hooking up to the horn - then it would be like "Everyone! - I'm HOME!!"

[imdying]

Heh... now here's a trip...

You can put another relay into your starter line... tripped from the alternator current. When the motor is running, the starter works the garage door opener, when the motor isn't running, it works the starter.

Not that practical imho, but can use the standard button I guess.

I was going to use the flasher light, but there's no way to (reliably) separate that from the high beam, as they're actually joined by a piece of sheet metal. The only way to do it would be to take that piece of metal out, and replace it with diodes that can handle about 15A (so 3 5A zener diodes would be fine). That'd let the current flow from the button to the high beam circuit, but not back the other way (in other words, high beam wouldn't make the door opener run all the time :D)

Just more thoughts.

[Ocean1]

I was going to use the flasher light, but there's no way to (reliably) separate that from the high beam,


How would an indicator work? (the one you use to turn into your driveway?)

What's the range of those Merlin remotes? I've never really tested mine.

[vifferman]

Is that the original opener that you got when you got the garage? How did you get it on your bike?
We have three (3) openers for the gargre - one for each car, and one for the bike, plus two other alarm remotes that are hooked into the gargre door motor via a relay on the alarm and the manual switch for the motor.
The Merlin remote for the bike is velcroed under the front of the fairing, and uses a cheap switch wired across the terminals for the remote's button. The switch is mounted in what was a blanking plate in the switch block for a headlight park/on/off switch used for that switchblock in some markets on some bikes.
I'm thinking I'll go back to my original (complicated) idea though and hook the switch into the headlight flasher, which is easier to use than the thumb-operated switch on the right switchblock (too many other things to do with my right hand, like cornering, braking, throttle control, rude gestures at pedestrians, waving to the neighbours, etc.)


I was going to use the flasher light, but there's no way to (reliably) separate that from the high beam, as they're actually joined by a piece of sheet metal. The only way to do it would be to take that piece of metal out, and replace it with diodes that can handle about 15A (so 3 5A zener diodes would be fine). That'd let the current flow from the button to the high beam circuit, but not back the other way (in other words, high beam wouldn't make the door opener run all the time :D)
I was going to do that, or else run a small timer circuit I've got that allows for one timed event per ignition on cycle, so it will allow the headlight flasher to trip say a 2-second pulse of the door opener.



What's the range of those Merlin remotes? I've never really tested mine.
In the car (with special heat-reducing glass), about 5m (has to be parked right in front of the gargre to work (which is tricky, because there's a pedestrian island outside our house, and our driveway is all of maybe 3m long). On the bike, I've got it to work from about 60m away, which is enough that the door (sectional tilt) is about halfway up by the time I get to it. I've only whacked my helmet on the bottom of it once, but the whiplash soon learned me...

[imdying]

How would an indicator work? (the one you use to turn into your driveway?)

What's the range of those Merlin remotes? I've never really tested mine.Indicator could work, but you'd need a small logic circuit. I lied, my remote is an APD. Old one must've been Merlin... doesn't matter though, functionally they're all similar.


I was going to do that, or else run a small timer circuit I've got that allows for one timed event per ignition on cycle, so it will allow the headlight flasher to trip say a 2-second pulse of the door opener.Yeah, could do... with complication comes reduced reliability would be the only comment I'd make. For the amount of times that the flasher circuit has to pass current, it would probably be fine to cut it and add diodes. Then again, not everything is like the Suzuki switch gear, many probably just have a wire to snip... Diodes are cheap as chips, and auto electrician will have grunty ones.



For others less leccy inclined, to pick which diodes you want (they've all got a current rating):

Wattage of bulbs on high beam / voltage of bike (use 11v to be safe, as current draw goes up when voltage goes down)

So for me that's (65W x 2 bulbs) / 11V = 11.8A

So your flasher circuit is probably never going to pass more than 12A of current, so lets say 15A to be safe.

You can then either use 3 5A diodes in parallel, or two 10A, or 1 10 and a 5, or whatever. Cut the wire that connects the output from the flasher switch to the output of the hi/lo switches hi portion, and reconnect it using the diodes (stripe at the hi/lo switch end). Then take a feed from the flasher switch side, to one of the coil pins on your relay, and earth the other coil pin out. Connect the switch side of the relay across the remote, and you're done!

Here's a pic :)

[vifferman]

... with complication comes reduced reliability

That's why I went with the switch, for the "K.I.S.S." principle. (Of course, the "remote in the pocket" thang is the simplest, and was used for several years. However, it suffers from accidental operation (bend over to check the tyre pressures and the door goes up/down) and from sometimes being a bit "fumbly" if the wrong way round. It also has a very low Kewlness Factor.

So I still have a hankering to make the headlight flasher work as a trigger, as I like the 'stealth' factor (and Kewlness Factor) and because a switch operated by my left forefinger is much more user-friendly than a right thumb operated one.

[imdying]

So I still have a hankering to make the headlight flasher work as a trigger, as I like the 'stealth' factor (and Kewlness Factor) and because a switch operated by my left forefinger is much more user-friendly than a right thumb operated one.Do iiit! I just wired in a 2 pin plug so that I can move it between bikes :)

[vifferman]

Do iiit! I just wired in a 2 pin plug so that I can move it between bikes :)
Yeah, I got one of those.
But not the second bike. :pinch:

[imdying]

Me either yet :whistle:

[imdying]

That diagram is actually incorrect, the relay on the right isn't actually required. Not sure why I put that there... must've been thinking about the starter switch mod.

[swbarnett]

Mine is the standard Merlin size (about the size of a large cell phone). It sits in the side pocket of my jacket in such a way that I can activate it just by hitting the pocket with a gloved hand.

[Ocean1]

Mine is the standard Merlin size (about the size of a large cell phone). It sits in the side pocket of my jacket in such a way that I can activate it just by hitting the pocket with a gloved hand.

Ah, a technophobe...

[imdying]

Ah, a technophobe...No no, a technophobe would get off the bike to open the door :lol:

[vifferman]

No no, a technophobe would get off the bike to open the door :lol:
No no, a technophobe would ride his donkey into the barn.

[swbarnett]

No no, a technophobe would ride his donkey into the barn.
Of course barn doors in the days of donkeys as primary transport didn't have electric openers so the point becomes mute.

[vifferman]

Of course barn doors in the days of donkeys as primary transport didn't have electric openers so the point becomes mute.
Or the point becomes a mule.:shutup:

[Ocean1]

Of course barn doors in the days of donkeys as primary transport didn't have electric openers so the point becomes mute.

You're missing the point entirely.

The world is a toy box full of sub-optimised and feature-poor toys.

And if the ones we do have ain't broke, it's 'cause they don't have enough features yet.

[swbarnett]

You're missing the point entirely.

The world is a toy box full of sub-optimised and feature-poor toys.

And if the ones we do have ain't broke, it's 'cause they don't have enough features yet.
My garage door opener must be more feature-rich than I thought. Fingers crossed it's been fine for a while now but it used to play up big time in wet weather. Exactly when you need it most! (not so much of an issue on the bike but when in the cage one can get pretty wet in the 3m to the front door).

[vifferman]

The world is a toy box full of sub-optimised and feature-poor toys.

And if the ones we do have ain't broke, it's 'cause they don't have enough features yet.
:laugh:

Don't tell my wife that! It'll start another bleatfest about me "fiddling" with the bike formerly known as "our bike" (before I fiddled with it).

Features Inventory:
Satantune high-mount, with shorter 'spud' & Heated grips with 'heatroller' & Ventura headlight guard & 60/55W headlight bulbs & Fiamm AM80 Super horns & Unifilter & Modded seat cowl & Ventura pack-rack & CF tank guard & Stainless steel peg feelers & Blue Sea 5025 fusebox & Custom stoplight flasher & R/R fan & 16T front sprocket & Kitset Speedo Corrector & PCII & O2 sensor eliminators & Garage door opener switch on right switchblock & Mismatched front disks (WTF?!? That's not a farkle!!) & Factory Pro Evo Star shifter kit & Dragon sticker above headlights & Blocked-off PAIR valve thingos & Flush-mount front confirminators with rivcyko CF plates & Elka 2-way shock & Sonic 0.95 springs with Motorex 10w fork erl & Ariete valvestems & chromed Honda Civic wheel nuts.

[erix]

I sit outside on my bike and rev fuck out of it until the missus opens the door.

LOL, same here, not very economical and environmental tho...:lol: