Hello,
Does anyone have a sliding gate opener and way to connect to hubitat locally recommendation?
Looking to see open and closed states and of course open and close through Hubitat
My parents recently installed a fence with a manual sliding gate and had the area pre wired with power.
I installed a Hubitat at their place, and several Ethernet backhauled mesh nodes for Wi-Fi. There’s only one Hubitat in the main house and the gate is really far from it with no other zigbee or zwave things nearby. The Wi-Fi signal at the gate is 2 of 3 bars on an iPhone (don’t have a db reading).
I have an electric opener for my farm gate on the end of the driveway that runs on 24vac. It's a pretty long run, so I'm sure the voltage is less than that at the gate. I don't have Hubitat connected, yet? I have the Hub on a windowsill sort of facing that direction. WIFI is very weak at the gate. But, zigbee is workable. I have zigbee contact sensors in my mail and package boxes, as well as a SmartThings arrival sensors that works to open the garage and turn on lights from the other side of the gate. So, maybe zigbee would work.
The opener allows for a couple of contacts to control the gate. For me, I'd probably have to run a small gauged wire from the gate to the basement to a Zen16. Maybe put a zigbee contact sensor on the gate. It auto opens when it senses a problem, and sometimes that operates with a mind of its own. We're more concerned with deer than thieves.
I took a Zen16 powered by a battery out to the gate, and as far as I could tell at the time, it didn't have the range. I think the Zen16 can be powered by 24vac as well as its USB-C connection. It'd have to be waterproofed out there as well, since the control box is pretty small.
The opener came with a wireless remote, so it's pretty easy the way it is.
Couldn't get a zen or wifi device to work reliably with the gate 30yds out. I eventually soldered a dry contact which takes usb voltage onto a stock gate opener and put in a plastic box near the sliding door facing the gate.
I just dragged out the Zen17 plugged into a TalentCell battery to the end of the driveway and it works, barely. Thing is, I have, maybe, 24 Volts AC out at the gate and the ZEN17 can take 24 Volts DC. That Quibino also takes 24 VDC or 120 VAC, no?
Yes but the qubino.is plugged in inside the house soldiered into a dissected stock remote that is meant for my gate opener which has a much better range.
That's a good idea. I have a spare opener. Although my remote's range is maybe a little less than the zigbee devices, it'll be worth a shot because of the voltage and cable running alternatives.
@Steve9123456789 - Curious what distance are you talking about here ?
@velvetfoot - Curious what your distance is as well, I presume that run is very "radio quiet" in comparison to most.
Edit: I have often thought if I ever had a distance dilemma I might set up a small solar panel, battery, and repeater somewhere halfway. Your 24v line might allow you to tap in for such halfway and not even need the solar & battery.
I can't really tell. The driveway curves and there are trees in the way. It's about 400 ft walking on the driveway, but it's not as the crow flies. I'd have to make an effort to take a tape measure and actually measure it...which I might in the future, just to know.
County agencies (Assessors Office etc) often have publicly available GIS tools that would allow you to strike a line and get that distance. Even your phone could give you ballpark without taping it out.
As you likely know, those trees in full foliage are going to be your radio road block.
