My Keyfob Project

Looking into keyfobs and there isn't much out there. The problem with the Zwave or Zigbee ones is the re-connect time and distance if I keep one in the car.

So purchased a garage door remote receiver board for under $20, with 2 remotes, and some Sonoff Mini relays. Works out great and I don't have to wait for the fob to connect and better distance.

Everything is going to be mounted in a utility box but waiting on that to show up. Here's pix of it as it is.


1 Like

Cool project. What distance are you getting?

I personally use a Lutron Pico in my car using their visor mount. I live in a culdesac and I get better range with the Pico than my GDO button since my Lutron hub is in the middle of the house vs GDO which is in the back.

1 Like

Haven't really tested it too far yet as waiting to see if the box, pvc, has any affect. But at this point a half block or so from the house seems to work. Distance is really a function of the remote which is typical of any garage door remote.

My biggest issue with a Zigbee remote that I have, I believe it is a Sonoff but not sure, was the reconnect time to the network. Not real long but 10-15 secs and then only if I was in my driveway.

1 Like

+1 on this and relatively happy. Haven't noticed any issues with lag re-connecting with the Lutron hub.

1 Like

Don’t know much about Lutron stuff. But if it requires its own hub then 2 remotes plus hub I would think would be a little costly. At least for me anyway. I only have about $40 total for mine.

1 Like

i did something like this with a ZEN16 and a somfy remote (before i got a bond bridge). was a fun project

In retrospect I should have gotten the 12 volt version of the remote receiver and a zen17. Would have been a little cleaner setup.

Not sure what sort of keyfob these support, documentation is pretty crap, but possibly could also do the job.

4 channel ZigBee RF Relay

I saw that. But it wasn't very clear as to what kind of keyfob and I didn't want to take a chance not knowing.

Totally agree. More of an option if you already have Lutron lights integrated into your HE environment.