Garage Door Transmitters - Givaways

[Jeff Wisnia]

I just got through installing two new Sears Craftsman garage door openers to replace the Craftsman openers I installed 30 years ago and were performing intermittently, stopping or reversing when there were no apparent overloads to the doors travel.

So, I sprung for two new Craftsman openers and they work slicker than snot on a brass doorknob.

It was interesting to note how much lighter the main rail and traveling components have become over that time, but they look like they'll probably hold up for the rest of my years.

Anyway, the point is that I'm left with four working garage door transmitters viz:

One Craftsman 139.53708 One Button Control One Craftsman 139.53718 Three Button Control Two Chamberlin Liftsmaster 61LM One button controls

That I'll never need.

These are all the earlier style transmitters with dip switches inside to set the code.

I'd be happy to give them to folks on this group who could use them. I think I can mail one or a pair of them in a padded envelope for less than $5, so if someone wants them just email me after removing the obvious upper case words from what shows here, and we'll work it out.

Jeff

[Don Y]

See below.

Amazing to try to *remember* what is was like to LIFT a garage door by hand, eh? :> Sort of like GETTING UP to change the channel on the TV! :-/

One thing you'll have to watch is the mechanical system tends to be underdamped. The "impulse" that it experiences when starting can often lead to the opener triggering a fault and stopping travel ("Oh! I may have just crushed a little child!"). You can usually compensate for this with an "overload" adjustment on the opener.

[Just something to keep in mind if you find the opener stopping unexpectedly.]

Fixed code systems should be avoided. Far too easy for someone to "harvest" your code and, thereafter, have unimpeded access to your garage. *With* that, in many cases, you also gain entry to the house interior -- as folks (IME) tend NOT to lock the interior door from garage to house.

[hrhofmann]

What about the receivers that worked at receiving the signals from those transmitters????

[gfretwell]

[DerbyDad03]

I'll look up my part numbers later today. If either of the 139 units will work with my GDO, I'll take one of them off of your hands.

[DerbyDad03]

P.S. Thanks for the offer.

[DerbyDad03]

Temperature can also be a factor. I typically have to increase the up force on my older Craftsman GDO when winter arrives. If I don't, it will start t o open then stop.

You might say it's too early to be worrying about temperature issues, but I just spent the weekend in Western Massachusetts. It was 33° F on Sunday morning.

[Don Y]

Bad rollers (they can be easily replaced), loose hinges and other hardware also play a roll. It pays to "watch" the mechanism and see how much it "dances around" -- esp as it tries to get started. If it's moving one way (due to an undamped oscillation) and opener wants it moving the *other*, it looks like a jam/overload.

I think 102 forecast, here... presently 72 at ~5AM

[Jeff Wisnia]

They are built into the sick/dead garage door openers, which ended up tossed into a dumpster.

Jeff

[Jeff Wisnia]

Thanks, but I installed a new set of nylon/ball bearing track rollers on one of those doors, oiled the hinges and saw that the door was properly balanced. It still would intermittently decide to stop on the way up or reverse on the way down regardless of how I set the "force settings." None of that happened after I installed the new opener.

The second opener just "dropped dead" and the only faint of some life was that the LED in its wall mounted push button control was lit.

30 years of use for both of those openers gave me my money's worth, don't you think?

Jeff

[Don Y]

I wasn't questioning your decision to replace. Rather, was commenting on your observation: "It was interesting to note how much lighter the main rail and traveling components have become over that time, but they look like they'll probably hold up for the rest of my years."

[Don Y]

They're usually built onto the "back cover". When I replace an opener, I pull that cover off and set it aside -- self-contained remote control system (albeit one in an unusual form factor).

[gfretwell]

On the chamberlain/Crafstman GDO I have sitting on the bench right now, the RF receiver is on the same card as the motor controller. It is one FRU for just about everything .

[Don Y]

Yes. And you can, for example, wire an arbitrary load in place of the motor and have a "remote controlled" .

I plan to install a momentary switch in one of the empty "knockouts" in the car dash wired to the opener's xmtr with the "receiver" connected to a light to illuminate the driveway. So, when backing into the garage, at night, we'll be able to *see* the driveway (instead of relying on the feeble backup lights on the car)

[gfretwell]

It is more complicated than that on the one I have. There is a slotted wheel optical emitter that monitors motor movement and shuts it down if it is not seeing pulses at the expected rate.

It is easier to just buy a separate GDO receiver. I got one on Ebay for $10 or so, to use as the portable "next" button on my tiki bar MP3 player.

That picks a relay and makes the appropriate key on the keyboard card that runs this

The whole thing runs on a PC using MPXPLAY a DOS application in DOXBOX a W/XP application.

For your application, why not just add more lights to the light in the opener? My wife wants me to install "chase lights" in her dad's driveway hooked to his opener.

[Don Y]

Don't want lights going on just because the door is opened. Consider daylight. Also, want to be able to light up the driveway when the door is NOT being opened.

I figure I can add a switch in a dashboard knockout in the one car with the old "remote" unit, program one of the extra "HomeLink" remote buttons in the other car and wire a pushbutton to the "manual open" contacts for a "wall switch" just inside the garage door.

I want to build a Cylon visor (that's actually functional as sunglasses) along the same lines! Would be wicked cool at night!

[gfretwell]

You are better off simply finding a stand alone receiver. They usually run on 24vac and it is easy to find relays they will pick. A lot of newer cars already have the "remote" built in. My wife's Lincoln will run up to 3 different doors.

When we had the "car hoppers" here (thieves) I built something similar to what you want. I had almost 1000 wats of spotlights connected to a

2440 SSR that was tripped with a GDO receiver. The transmitter had a little 12v relay in it, connected to the dome light of my car. They caught the crooks before they came back here.

That would light you up.

[gfretwell]

That is my lovely lady. The picture was back in the house building days when the sun bleached her blonde. It really is more red if she doesn't spend all day outside.

[Don Y]

Then I would have to find a matching transmitter "remote" for "the one car"... I figure I can add a switch in a dashboard knockout in THE ONE CAR with the old "remote" unit,

... and, for "the other car" program one of the extra "HomeLink" remote buttons in THE OTHER CAR

Then, still need a manual means of turning the lights on when *not* in EITHER car: and wire a pushbutton to the "manual open" contacts for a "wall switch" just inside the garage door.

The receiver unit from the old door opener -- along with the matching "remote" -- solves all of these problems, as is.

Cars are garaged. The *driveway* is the thing that wants to be illuminated (to improve visibility when backing in as well as when we're STANDING out there -- with the cars in the garage)

[DerbyDad03]

Jeff,

I'll take the 139.53708 off of your hands if it's still available.

Unfortunately I don't see anything that resembles an email address in your post. Maybe it's because I am using Google Groups.

My throwaway email address (backwards) is ten.tenze@sworrameat

Tell me how to get you the $5 and I'll send it your way. Thanks!