Re: [misterhouse-users] Re: Garage door control via MH

[Cullen S. <cu...@ba...>]

Yes they are the same.

No, the powerflash is hooked onto a set of contacts simply to send an X10
signal when the door opens or closes.

I use what is called a Universal Module in line with a different set of
contacts to complete the circuit. When the door is open, the circuit is
complete and then an X10 signal sent to the universal module will cause it to
make contact for a few seconds.

The Universal module is at: http://www.smarthome.com/2010.html
You can have it do momentary of continuos contact closure.

Cullen

db...@di... said: 

> Are magetic contacts the same thing as dry contacts? I keep seeing mention
of dry contacts but
> all I can find are magnetic contacts. 
> 
> If I understand this correctly you have a powerflash module connected to the
two remote wires but
> one of those wires goes through a normally closed magnetic contact. This way
the circuit works
> only when the door is NOT closed. Is that right?
> 
> Dave Lounsberry
> db...@di...
> 
> 
> Quoting Cullen Simpson <cu...@ba...>:
> 
> > 
> > I hooked up a set of dry contacts to a Power Flash to let me know when the
> > door was open.
> > Then I hooked up a universal module to the terminals on the opener so that
> > X10
> > could activate the door. I did decide this was risky since if mh got
> > confused
> > on the state of the door it could open it when it really thought it was
> > closing.
> >
> > So, I split the line from the universal module to the opener and added a
> > set
> > of dry contacts on one leg. I have it set up so that X10 can only activate
> > the
> > door if it is open. So now if the door is closed and an X10 signal is sent
> > nothing happens. If the door is open (even just a little) then the circuit
> > is
> > complete and the universal module can activate the opener which will cause
> > it
> > to close.
> >
> > At first I was going to put a reed switch at the top of the door to
> > complete
> > the circuit when the door was open. However, I realized that it would have
> > to
> > be all the way open for that to work. With the contacts on the door set to
> > activate the circuit when they are broken it will allow you to close the
> > door
> > no matter how much it is open.
> >
> > When you mount the contacts to the door, watch the path several times and
> > make
> > sure your selected location will not be obstructed. I broke off a couple
of
> > sensors due to poor initial placement.
> >
> > Cullen
> >
> >
> >
> > Bill Richman <bi...@in...> said:
> >
> > > Had you considered that anyone with an X-10 transmitter could open
> > > your garage door if you use an X-10 device to operate it?  Not to
> > > mention the occasional bit of line noise that can turn X-10 stuff off
> > > and on, thus leaving your door wide open at random times of the day
> > > and night.  For something like a garage door, I'd recommend a
> > > hard-wired solution.  Or at the very least, go out and buy a spare
> > > remote control for your garage and wire up a relay on a parallel port
> > > (or use one of the many serial-port-based relay controllers) to close
> > > the button contacts in the spare remote.  This is assuming, of course,
> > > that your computer is close enough to the garage for the remote to
> > > work.  I'm in the process of wiring up a 1-wire (www.dalsemi.com)
> > > setup to sense if the door is open or closed, using one of the big
> > > industrial reed switch sensors for garage doors, and "pushing the
> > > button" on the door control using a relay, to open and close it.
> > >
> > >
> > > Bill Richman
> > >
> > > ________________________________________________________
> > > To unsubscribe from this list, go to:
> > http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id 65
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
.--------------------------------------------------------------------------.
> > | Cullen Simpson                               The 3D Computing Solution  
> > |
> > | Badencorp                                                               
> > |
> > | 101 Sunnytown Rd, Suite 208                    Tel: (407)250-2777       
> > |
> > | Casselberry, Fl 32707                          Fax: (407)260-0584       
> > |
> > | www.badencorp.com                            Email: cu...@ba...
> > |
> >
`--------------------------------------------------------------------------'
> >
> >
> >
> > ________________________________________________________
> > To unsubscribe from this list, go to:
> > http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id 65
> > 
> 
> ________________________________________________________
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> 
> 



-- 
.--------------------------------------------------------------------------.
| Cullen Simpson                               The 3D Computing Solution   |
| Badencorp                                                                |
| 101 Sunnytown Rd, Suite 208                    Tel: (407)250-2777        |
| Casselberry, Fl 32707                          Fax: (407)260-0584        |
| www.badencorp.com                            Email: cu...@ba... |
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