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    How exactly do I Control a garage door?

    I'm switching over from Smartthings. I'm literally <24 hours into using Homeseer.
    1st question. With ST I was able to change a GE Z Wave receptacle from ON/OFF to a momentary switch. Can I do the same thing with Homeseer?

    Second I had the idea to create an event that turns on the receptacle for one second and then turns it off. I've gotten as far as creating this event but I can't figure out how to activate it for testing. How do I activate an event?

    Can anyone point me where I can find detailed instructions for setting up Homeseer to control garage door opener? I found this http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=153372 but it only seems to talk about the required hardware. I'm really at a loss for how to use the software. The forums seem to have a lot of information but for now I'm trying to get a basic understanding on how to use HS3.

    What I'd really like to do is have one device that displays the garage door status and momentarily activates the receptacle.

    Thanks for the help.

    #2
    Welcome

    Yes you can definitely do this. I have a Z-wave relay wired in parallel to the garage opener (like in the thread you found)

    I also have a Z-wave tilt sensor on the door, but you can also use standard Z-wave door/window sensors.

    - Create a virtual device by hitting the green and white plus button on the device management page. Name it Garage Door Control or similar. It will default to On/Off values in the Status Graphics tab. Change those to Closed for the zero value and Open for the 255 value. Browse for the garage door graphics in the path shown below. Set the Control Use drop downs like here and set the Both/Control/Status buttons to Both. This is the device that you will use to both control and see the current status of the door



    Now to create some events to control it and keep it in sync with other control methods e.g. traditional button and car openers

    Firstly, create an event to control the door with the one second On/Off on the relay as you suggested:



    Then, add another event to test for the virtual device changing state and (in my case) testing for the state of the tilt sensor. You can combine testing for the virtual device opening and closing in a single event and then set the action to run another event, which will be the one you created above that actually controls the relay



    Then I have two cleanup events to set the status of the virtual device if it's controlled by other opening methods. I use the changing state of the tilt sensor to detect for this.





    You may find this somewhat high level as you are in your first day on HomeSeer, but please feel free to ask other questions.

    Cheers
    James
    Last edited by cheeryfool; May 22, 2016, 06:47 AM.
    cheeryfool

    Comment


      #3
      There are now dedicated z wave garage door units. The link you point to is way it was done before, these z wave units.
      http://store.homeseer.com/store/Line...ler-P1862.aspx


      Sent from my iPhone
      Tom
      baby steps...starting again with HS3
      HS3Pro: Z-NET & 80 Z wave Devices,
      HSTouch: 4 Joggler (Android Kitkat), 2 iPhone, 3 iPads
      Whole House Audio: 5 SqueezePlay Jogglers w Bose Speakers
      In The Works: 10 Cameras Geovision, new Adecmo/Envisalink Alarm, Arduinos
      System: XP on Fanless Mini-ITX w/ SSD

      Comment


        #4
        Thanks James!!!

        This works perfectly!

        I made a few errors in the way I was thinking about the virtual devices. Also, I think I understand why the Events section is setup the way it is, it sure makes things easier to organize.

        Sweet.

        Comment


          #5
          Ok, so after setting this up (Thanks again James) and using it for a while. I've come across an issue that is kind of a big deal.
          1. The Garage Door device works as expected.
          2. If the door gets opened or closed via other means (RF garage door opener or button on the wall) the icon on the Garage Door gets updated as one would expect.


          The problem is when I activate the Garage Door device the status of the door gets instantly updated to the action that I just initiated. This is alright when going from closed to open but when going from open to closed it is possible to have conflicting door statuses. Like this:

          Right now the door is partially open which should show on the Garage Door device as open but it doesn't.


          How do I prevent the "Garage door" icon from changing until the "Status of Garage Door Open/Closed" shows the door is actually closed?
          This is how I've got the Garage door device setup:


          These are the events to control/update status:

          P.S. The update to open is just the opposite of the last event.


          I've tried:
          1. Changing Status-Control to status. No change in behavior. Instead of having open/close the control buttons are now On/OFF. With the Status-Control set this way is there a way to change the button to Open Close?
          2. Changing Status-control to both or control. No change in behavior. Control buttons are Open/Close as I want.


          Thanks for any help.
          Last edited by Ironzey; May 27, 2016, 09:03 PM. Reason: To subscribe.

          Comment


            #6
            That sounded hard. I plugged in the Insteon Garage Door Control Kit. It pretty much set everything up. Edit: I should probably say Sandler's Insteon plugin set everything up.

            Getting the sensor installed was a hassle. There wasn't anywhere convenient that didn't sweep close to something in the motion. I had to build a big shim and put it on the top of the door. I also added this old X10 chime I had laying around. It chimes then there is a 6 second delay before the door moves. So no one gets squished.

            Comment


              #7
              Genie Garage door opener... does not work with GD00Z

              so I though I was going to do a quick thing and add one of the Linear GD00Z devices to my garage door. Purchase one, hooked it up and nothing happened. I read the brochure and found that the Genie PowerMax 1500 is on their list on known openers that do not work. I assume it is because of Intellicode technology they use. that explains why I cant use a generic push button controller with this opener.
              the way I see it, I would have to replace my Garage door opener to get to a z-wave control.
              Does anyone have any suggestions on what openers are know to work with the Linear GD00Z, or have any other way to bypass Genies proprietary controllers?
              either way, I figure it's gonna cost me money... to get this working.

              thanks.
              Paul

              Comment


                #8
                I have a PowerMax 1200 which works great with the GD00Z. Strange, the 1200 and 1500 appear to be virtually identical except for the 1500 having a more powerful motor. Perhaps Genie changed the design? - I've had mine since 2013.

                When you say nothing happens - when the Linear is actived it beeps and flashes, then it activates the opener. Does yours do the beep and flashing thing?

                One suggestion, you might try swapping the polarity of the control wires from the GD00Z to the opener.

                Comment


                  #9
                  So when I control the device through Homeseer, it does flash and beep. Then Homeseer shows a status of "stopped". I figure since the sensor did not tilt as the door did not move.
                  So the gd00z gets the command. But it does not make the garage door opener move. At on point I tried to add a "non genie" wall control, and had the same results. I forgot about this, but was quickly reminded when I tried to use the linear device. My guess is the genie controller sends something to the wires other than a make/break connection. Just a guess. Maybe that is the intellicode part that genie offers. Interesting that yours works. I'll look up the specs on both of them and make a comparison.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    zwolfpack, so I thought you had it for me with the polarity. but that wasn't the fix. it tried polarity both ways. still not working
                    So on my opener, there are 6 connections:
                    pins 1 and 2 (STB) - connected to the sensors for the bottom of the door.
                    pins 2 and 3 (BWC) - connected to my genie control, and the Linear device
                    pins 5 and 6 (IWC) - nothing. the manual says unused.

                    I have put a meter on the end of the wires from the GD00z and activated it several times. I get no change at the wires. No AC or DC voltage change, and OL with an ohm meter.
                    interesting... I would expect it to do something.
                    so I hear the beeps, see the flashing light, and get no change at the end of the wires.
                    Maybe I have a defective GD00Z unit?
                    Does anyone know what the wires should change to for open or close?
                    is this just a make/break, or a voltage change?

                    thanks.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      If you apply a short across the opener control terminals, does the door operate? Thats the traditional way that garage controls work, a make/break, like a doorbell button. Genie sells a "universal wall button", which looks to be just that:
                      http://www.geniecompany.com/garage-d...aspx#universal

                      I just tested that mine does work this way, just a screwdriver shorting across the two terminals of the wall control causes the door to open/close.

                      Were your ohmmeter measurments made with the Linear connected to the opener, or isolated? If the latter, it may be that the lack of change is because the solid-state relay needs an external voltage to operate. However if your opener works per my 1st question, I'd have to suspect a defective GD00Z unit.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Well it's not making sense... I disconnected all the wires from any controller. then jumpered the pins 3 and 4 with a short wire. nothing...

                        I looked at the link you sent. yes Genie does offer a generic button.
                        my guess is it wont work with my unit (intellicode).
                        by the way, there is no way to jump the pins with a screwdriver (traditional way) because there are no terminals like on the older units. I had to cut a short piece of wire and stick it in the two holes 3 and 4. you can see a picture in the attachment.
                        Maybe my unit looks totally different that your unit.

                        by the was, thanks for your help.
                        Attached Files

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by pacampora View Post
                          Well it's not making sense... I disconnected all the wires from any controller. then jumpered the pins 3 and 4 with a short wire. nothing...

                          I looked at the link you sent. yes Genie does offer a generic button.
                          my guess is it wont work with my unit (intellicode).
                          by the way, there is no way to jump the pins with a screwdriver (traditional way) because there are no terminals like on the older units. I had to cut a short piece of wire and stick it in the two holes 3 and 4. you can see a picture in the attachment.
                          Maybe my unit looks totally different that your unit.

                          by the was, thanks for your help.
                          My Craftsman (same as Liftmaster) communicates between the wall button and the opener with data, so you cannot short pins at the opener. I went to the pushbutton in the wall unit and short across the buttons pins to operate the door. I use a pushbutton inside the house (we don't have a door between the house and garage) and an Arduino controlled relay to operate it via HomeSeer.

                          Your Genie is probably the same.
                          HS4 Pro, 4.2.19.0 Windows 10 pro, Supermicro LP Xeon

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Interesting thought. so you shorted your control button.
                            so mine is intelligent. but if I short whatever the button itself does... I'll take it apart and look at the insides. so maybe the Arduino or ever the Linear device can short it ahead of the brains in the controller. I'll let you know what I find.
                            thanks

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by pacampora View Post
                              Interesting thought. so you shorted your control button.
                              so mine is intelligent. but if I short whatever the button itself does... I'll take it apart and look at the insides. so maybe the Arduino or ever the Linear device can short it ahead of the brains in the controller. I'll let you know what I find.
                              thanks
                              Any dry contact device will work.
                              HS4 Pro, 4.2.19.0 Windows 10 pro, Supermicro LP Xeon

                              Comment

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