Raspberry Pi Garage door opener - for 4 doors and about $100 in parts

Hi All, I just finished packaging up a simple solution for controlling your garage doors using a raspberry pi. Works with any model… I have it running on an original RPi 1. It comes with all the code, parts list, wiring diagram and instructions. Will work with any MQTT setup, including openHAB. Just download the python script and follow the instructions.

It will control up to 4 garage doors with the current config, but can be expanded to more. The only limitation is the number of available GPIO ports. If you have any issues you can leave us feedback and we’ll help you get it sorted. enjoy!

-seeLive

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Any idea how to use that setup if you are missing WIFI in your garage? :thinking::sweat_smile:

Maybe someone knows a solution to upgrade the raspy with an LTE stick and establish an VPN connection to your home network? :thinking:
Or maybe even a solution without a VPN connection? :thinking:

EDIT: Big thx for all the helpful advice - but I never intended to take over this posting :sweat_smile:
So let’s skip additional advice for me and give some feedback for op :thinking:

Hi Felix, Can you not use a wifi repeater? There are some pretty cheap ones around these days. I’m guessing ethernet is also of the table?

I did fnd this https://magpi.raspberrypi.org/articles/raspberry-pi-cellular… I haven’t actually tried it… Also, you can use this for vpn… https://www.pivpn.io/… This works pretty well from my experience…

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Sounds interesting :thinking::grin:

Can you not use a wifi repeater?

Nope, the garage is on the other side of an shared garden area → neighbors might not look kindly on me trying to usurp one of the streetlamps to get a power source for a WiFi repeater :joy:

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Hmmm… you could bury some coduit with ethernet. But what about using something like cantenna? https://jacobsalmela.com/2013/09/07/wi-fi-cantenna-2-4ghz-how-to-make-a-long-range-wi-fi-antenna/ There are also high gain outdoor antennas pretty cheap… https://amzn.to/3fj59yA

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It’s a rented apartment, so everything related to opening walls (to get a cable from the apartment into the open) or worse, burying a cable below the shared garden and asphalt areas is completely out of question.

But I could take a look at high gain / directed WIFI antennas :thinking:
Will be interesting to see if the trees in between apartment building and garage will interfere with an directed signal :thinking:

Gotcha. Yeah, it will tend to need a fairly unobstructed view between the antennas. Generally, you would need to find the just right spot.

What is the distance between your wifi router and the possible location for an antenna on/in the garage?

Perhaps 50m, including the buildings outer wall, same threes and the garages metal door.
Sometimes my phone is able to pick up my WiFi signal when I’m halfway between building and garage - but at that point the signal is normally so bad that my phone connects to the WiFi but can’t use the internet connection reliable.
Also the building and the garage are not aligned, meaning the WiFi signal can’t simply pass the outer wall in a 90 degrees angle, it’s more like a 20 degrees angle…

I assume the garage has electricity from the house?
Use an ethernet over power device (Netgear/TP LInk)
I use this to run a camera on my garden shed

Not that I’m aware - the garage is a separate building in the other side of a street / parking lot. :thinking:

You may have to consider a 12v battery and a solar cell on the roof

Sorry, you got me wrong - the garage has power - I just don’t think that it is connected the my apartment.
That’s why I was thinking about connecting a Raspy via cellular.

(Without power the whole idea about using an electric door opener would have been quite problematic :wink: )

LOL - yes - I forgot you wanted the garage door to open which would need electricity

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Maybe you can use network over power line.

Not that I’m aware - the garage is a separate building in the other side of a street / parking lot. :thinking:

As mentioned before - I don’t think that that would work…

I think you can use a LTE router, place your raspberry or arduino with openhab in the garage and used openhab cloud.

Would be an option is I can’t get the Raspy working with an LTE stick.
But I would prefer the stick solution - it’s still a garage and should only have the minimum number IT devices :sweat_smile: