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How to control & monitor the state of a sliding gate?

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    How to control & monitor the state of a sliding gate?

    HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548| Plug-Ins Enabled: Sonos 3.1.0.57, RFXCOM 30.0.0.45, X10 3.0.0.62, IPThermostat 3.4.5.0, Pushover 3P 0.0.0.54, Blue-Iris 3.1.3.33206, Z-Wave 3.0.10.0, BLML2HS 2.0.28.0, mcsMQTT 6.12.4.0, Insteon 3.0.7.19​​ | Win 7 32-bit | Intel Atom D2550 @ 1.86GHz 4GB RAM

    #2
    I think the Chime module is a good choice. You can modify the display on the status page by placing a message in the device string. As long as the device string is not null, the string contents will be displayed. For instance, if you assign 'Momentary' to it, then the Status page will always display it's status as Momentary.
    How does your gate controller know when to cut the power when the gate is fully open or closed? There may be a way to tap into that circuit for status info. My gate controller provides that info on an I\O strip, so it makes it easy to monitor. You might also consider DS10 wireless sensors and ACRF2 plug-in. In any case, you will be able to tell if the gate is closed or open by which sensor is tripped, so displaying the right button will be straightforward. If neither is tripped, you could display the 'Stop' key, but once the gate is stopped in the open position, all bets are off. Can you monitor the motor to know if it is running?

    FWIW, operating the gate when you cannot see it will be risky. (Do you have a way to use a cheap video camera to view the gate?)
    Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
    HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

    HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

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      #3
      My gates 2 have micro switches one for open and the other for closed. I placed a switch to the bracket that actuates the open switch, then I placed a ds10a to the switch I installed and that lets me know that the gate is open.
      Hector
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        #4
        Mike & Hector,

        about the chime module, it really depends "what" you want to represent with the device, if it is the gate itself, or only the "remote" that controls it. I would like the device to be the gate, and so in the device string I would always like to have the status of the gate. That in turn brings on the issue with HS not automatically displaying the status changes when they are done this way - one would need to refresh the page manually - a bit of a nuisance especially if you want to just trigger the gate to only open a little and then stop it... by the time you refresh the status page, the gate has already gone 3/4 of the way at least!

        About the full open and full closed for the gate, that is the easy part, and as you both suggest I can wire DS10's in parallel to the switches that control the gate motor stop at full open and full close, and that way I can know if the gate is full open or full closed...

        The last bit, monitoring the motor to know if it's running, is what I find a bit more challenging... and I wanted to avoid getting into soldering and electronics bits and pieces, like coils to measure induced current, etc...

        And, Mike, good point on the cam, it's something I will definitely look into, I don't trust X10 hardly enough to leave it in charge of my front gate by itself :-)
        HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548| Plug-Ins Enabled: Sonos 3.1.0.57, RFXCOM 30.0.0.45, X10 3.0.0.62, IPThermostat 3.4.5.0, Pushover 3P 0.0.0.54, Blue-Iris 3.1.3.33206, Z-Wave 3.0.10.0, BLML2HS 2.0.28.0, mcsMQTT 6.12.4.0, Insteon 3.0.7.19​​ | Win 7 32-bit | Intel Atom D2550 @ 1.86GHz 4GB RAM

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          #5
          Originally posted by pyspilf View Post
          ...on the cam, it's something I will definitely look into, I don't trust X10 hardly enough to leave it in charge of my front gate by itself :-)
          If you do decide to use a cam, it may be possible to display a small live image of the real gate as your indicator. At least it's worth thinking about.

          Fortunately, I can see my gate from the house, so there is no ambiguity about its status. I also nearly always let it fully open, so I haven't given much thought to trying to capture intermediate open states. I do have a virtual device that ties to a switch that is open if the gate is closed. If the switch is open, the device status is Closed. If the switch is closed, then the device status is Open. You could certainly do something similar, but it wouldn't tell you how far the gate opened before it stopped.
          Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
          HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

          HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

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            #6
            What brand opener is it? If it is a Mighty mule, it should have a set of dry contacts that close while the gate is in motion. I wired a DS10a across those dry contacts to let me know the gate is running. I then have a DS10A and a garage floor magnet cabletied to the gate to indicate open closed status. Gate openers are not the sharpest knives in the drawer.

            Jack
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