Smart Radio Blast Receiver for Mighty Mule Driveway Sensor?

💬 Lounge
1

I recently obtained a Mighty Mule driveway sensor. For my needs, it's great, but it would be even better if I had some way to bridge it to my Hubitat ecosystem.

There are some projects I've seen where people have done just that, via popping open the signal receiver and wiring an Arduino to LEDs that show driveway activity and battery life. It gets the job done, but seems a bit more advanced than what I am willing to do, and the end product looks a bit messy, even if functional.

The other day, I obtained a Flipper Zero. In playing around with it, I noted it has a feature where it can detect certain radio signals. It's intended to capture and clone signals for things like garage doors. I decided to test if it could pick up the signals sent from the Mighty Mule sensor to the indoor receiver. It at first failed, not detecting it as a distinct signal. However, the Flipper has a "raw" feature that lets you record for a set time bursts of radio traffic and replay them upon command. I recorded a few seconds when I set off the alarm, saving it to the Flipper. Later, I went inside and replayed the radio blast. It successfully spoofed the signal for a vehicle entering the driveway, as expected.

So, clearly, the signals aren't some super-encrypted thing, and could be picked up and recognized by the right equipment, other than the stand-alone, "dumb" alarm receiver. This got me thinking, could I possibly make or find an existing product that could be configured to recognize specific signals from the sensor and do various things in a smart-home ecosystem? Sort of "If car enters driveway, turn on this switch in Hubitat". Is there anything out there that can do that, or even some project with a Rasberry Pi that could use a radio dongle to accomplish this. I realize that takes some DIY effort, but at least it seems it wouldn't involve a lot of wires and strung out breadboards.

Also, if anyone has mastered converting the factory-default Mighty Mule sensor to a smart device and does it for a fee, I'd be happy to go that route too.

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AFAIK, there's nothing out there. I recently thought the MM had failed and ordered a replacement, the new one still doesn't have terminals for adding a device. So soldering a 2-wire lead for a contact sensor is -unfortunately- the way to go. Video of hack is in the thread linked below. BTW, my first one failed because ants decided to fill it with eggs. 2 days of blasting with contact cleaner and drying it in the sun and it started working fine. I suggest applying some petroleum jelly to the standpipe.

3

I have gotten it to work overall from a Hubitat and Z-wave sensor perspective. What's odd it it seems the MM sensor overall isn't as reliable as I'd like. I've notice it tends to pick up my own vehicle when leaving or arriving home, but other visitors often manage somehow to sneak by it, or it is triggered by them leaving, even if it didn't catch them driving up. I think I may need to adjust my positioning, and it could be a range issue of the receiver from the MM sensor.

Also, thank you for the warning and tip about ants. I'll try that to keep them from bugging up the system.

4

I'm using Panasonic Eneloop li-on batteries even though alkaline are recommended (so it is under-powered at 4.8vdc). The transmitter is about 120 feet from the receiver with a good line-of-sight. I did not bury the probe but put it under a shrub and mulch located along the edge of the driveway. I do get the odd 'sneak-by' but it is rare.