RATGDO and HE functionality

Was wondering if anybody here has successfully installed the RATGDO device for garage door use locally into HE. I know there is a version using ESPHome and there is an ESPHome integration, but wanted to hear if anybody has been able to do this. With MyQ doing what they're doing I really want to go a different route.

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Works great with Home Assistant Device Bridge, not local to Hubitat though.

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I just found out about the ratgdo and I'm looking into it. I don't quite know what I'm doing, but I might give it a shot. Just have to order one and wait.

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I have written a driver for it (when your ratgo flashed with the MQTT firmware). It requires an MQTT server (you can use one of the free hosted ones or host it on a pi or homelab). I'll make it available soon. I think it's the most direct way to HE.

I don't have the device yet so it'll be a v0.9 until later this week when I receive the ratgo and plug it in.

They also have Homekit firmware (might be able to bridge somehow) and ESP Home (not sure if that one can be bridged)

Awesome can't wait to see this work out. Im still waiting for mine to come in. I know they were backordered so Im not sure when it will be here.

It's there: [WIP] ratgdo driver (MQTT firmware)

I haven't tested it with the device yet, it's just based on the MQTT specs for it. When I have the device and install it, I'll update the driver if it's broken anywhere.

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Awesome, mine is coming today. Can’t wait to try it out.

Thanks.

Thank you so much for trying to make this work. I’m new to HE. Is there anyway you can notify me when you are finished making it work? I have my Ratgdo on order. It said back ordered.
:nerd_face:

It works now, @Darby , I’ve had reports of a few people installing it and making it work successfully

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Cool man, I might need a little hand holding setting it up :rofl:
Any idea of the delivery time for most folks? I ordered it 12/12/23 and it just said back ordered. I heard some people were getting it in 3 weeks.

@everyone
I’m wondering if I need any kind of bridge or hub to use with the RATGDO. I only have the HE hub running everything in my house. If I’m going to need something. What do you guys suggest? Maybe something that is versatile for other things like motion sensors that I might add. I may add some Kasa light switches too.
Thank you :blush:

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ratgdo offers 2 ways to connect to control systems out of the box - MQTT or ESPHome. You flash either firmware to the device following the manufacturer's instructions.

MQTT requires an always running 'broker'. It's a relatively small piece of software, but you do have to have some place to run it. You can run it on a Raspberry pi, NAS, etc. You can use Mr. @825d60685b34c4f304ab's driver that brings all the useful capability and monitoring to Hubitat.

ESPHome does not require another piece of software to run. The issue on Hubitat is that ESPHome support is fairly minimal. A dev built the framework, but he doesn't seem to be active much these days. Hubitat has some limitations that require modification to the ESPHome firmware. It looks like there are some pre-built drivers that might work.

Another option is to use Home Assistant as a bridge. Home Assistant can use either MQTT (broker still required, can be part of HA hub) or ESPHome firmware versions. HA can be run on a Raspberry pi or NAS as well. There is a Hubitat driver called HADB that gives access to Home Assistant deices. This is how I'm doing it as I use HA for some other devices that don't have Hubitat integrations. It was the most expedient method for me. Otherwise I'd use the native Hubitat MQTT method.

You don't need another bridge or hub for Kasa devices or the vast majority of motion sensors.

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Ordered mine on November 20, 2023, backordered, have yet to receive anything except the charge to my credit card on November 20.

@672southmain mine took about a month to get here

@bill.d That's good information, A few thoughts.

There are three ratgdo firmwares at the moment. You mentioned MQTT & ESPHome but there is also a Homekit firmware. That might be a good alternative for HE users who rely on Homekit for dashboarding and have little automation.

ESPHome support in HE is at a dead end, as you've mentioned, it's complex and is best used via a HA integration. While I play with Home Assistant, I don't have the integration with HE going as I found it resource-intensive and chatty on the HE side.

As far as MQTT goes, as you indicated, the best approach requires a local MQTT broker running on something like a raspberry pie or bigger. Note that most people running HA will be running MQTT so it might be easier to run the MQTT firmware with my driver, rather than relying on the HE/HA bridge.

I'd like to suggest an alternative that might work for some people and that's one of a cloud-based MQTT broker, of which there are many. The downside is that you rely on a cloud appliance for local garage control, of course. The upside is that it's easy to get going, free and you can always upgrade to a local broker, in time.

Interesting. I have all of my community-contributed HE cloud integrations for which the developer/porter has left HE, or for which there is no HE support, running on HA and brought to HE through HADB. Works fine, minimal load on HE. And, one of those integrations (SureFlap) would continually bring down HE when the SureFlap server had issues. Now everything works perfectly, and the integrations are supported and developed on HA.

I guess if I have to store MQTT somewhere I’ll use the cloud or buy what is necessary. Can it go on a computer or (not sure if it would work) is there a spot for a thumb drive in the router? I’m guessing neither of those will work :rofl:

@Darby you can host MQTT on a computer as long as it's always on. A raspberry pi is a cheaper alternative if you're starting from scratch but requires some linux knowledge. Most routers wouldn't be able to run MQTT though Firewallas or OpenWRT would. A NAS like a Synology or a QNAS could as well.

i haven't gotten mine yet, but would like to avoid MQTT server, it just doesn't make sense
to use another box... or computer on all the time... and have a Hubitat... does the ESPHome firmware give us anyway to do it without external server?
course the firmware for the Ratgdo is opensource... so at some point could maybe add what would be needed for direct control.

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If you're averse to setting up MQTT or wading into ESPHome, why are you interested in ratgdo versus something like a basic tried-&-true relay/sensor solution instead?

Sincere question - not trying to be snarky or instigate anything.

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