Replacing transmitter/receiver of old Sears garage door opener?

I have a 1972-vintage Sears garage door opener, model 139.654000 which still works great. But the only remote I have left is falling apart, and is no longer dependable, particularly in very hot or very cold weather.

The transmitter/receiver system is the old analog type - no digital codes at all, just the specification of "carrier frequency" and "modulation frequency", and the receiver is powered by 24VAC provided from the main chassis. In fact, it appears that the receiver actuates the opener mechanism by at least partially shorting out its own power supply temporarily.

I have been unable to find any direct replacements for either the transmitter or the receiver. In fact, I don't really see any total replacements for the transmitter/receiver system that would operate using the 24VAC power supply.

Does anybody have any suggestions for what to do? I'd like to avoid having to replace the entire opener.

Reply to
Peabody
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Buy a radio set.

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Reply to
Rich

Reply to
Art Todesco

Yes, I think there are other universal replacement ones available too that connect via the manual switch on the old system, so they don't involve the old RF system at all.

Reply to
Chet Hayes

I just wanted to report what I ended up doing in case anybody is interested.

I used a transmitter/receiver set I found at Lowe's. It was $21.97, and the extra remote was about $17.00. So it's a good bit cheaper than the Genie at Home Depot.

It's a HouseLink package, Model 318TR, and the extra remote is Model 318T. You set a 9-bit code, with each bit set to either +, -, or zero. I think that means you have one of

19,683 possible settings. This differs from the Genie setup which changes the code after each use. More info at:

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The receiver looks like a wall wort which you plug into

110VAC. Then there is a 15' wire pair coming out the side of it that you connect to the old receiver's wire terminals. When triggered, the receiver appears to close a relay so as to short those two wires. I confirmed that with an ohmmeter. So for this setup you have to keep the old receiver in place so you can use its manual switch, or install a new manual switch.

The nifty thing about this is that the Sears opener has a

110VAC "convenience" receptacle on the back of the main box, intended for appliances or whatever, and right next to it are the terminals for the wires going to the old receiver and the external key switch. So I had no wiring to do.

Works quite nicely. Cheap. Hope it lasts a while.

Art Todesco says...

Reply to
Peabody

replying to Peabody, rocketsocketman wrote: waybackKILLSPAM44 wrote:t

using the Delta 3 receiver wired with an external 24 volt power supply should fix the problem. your old sears operator has 2 terminals that when shorted actuate operator. connect terminal 1 on the Delta receiver to the ground terminal on operator and terminal 2 on the receiver to the 2nd terminal on the operator. connect the external 24 volt power supply conductors to terminal 2 and 3 respectively on the Delta. set receiver and transmitter switches to match. check operation.

Reply to
rocketsocketman

Unfortunately in trying to get his garage door to work, the door closed on the OP and he was crushed. If you had not waited 9 years to make a response he might still be alive.

Reply to
bud--

Reply to
Not Always Done Twice

replying to Art Todesco, Patricia Quiggins wrote: Just exactly where is the transmitter in the opener? We've been trying to find dip switches. Where do you buy a transmitter?

Reply to
Patricia Quiggins

I consider the remote control to be a "transmitter". Some openers may not have a remote control, but are opened by a wired keypad.

Look for the Sears model number. It consists of two or three digits, a decimal point, and several more digits. The first group of digits indicates its actual manufacturer. You can find a cross-reference if you search the web.

Take the Sears model number to the Sears Parts Direct website . With any luck, there will be a parts list that includes the keypad or dip switches you need.

If yours is not a Sears opener, that website may still have parts for it.

Fred

Reply to
Fred McKenzie

I'm the OP and did that some 10 or 12 years ago and I sold the house. We had a lightning hit close by and it took out the radio receiver on the garage door. I ended up replacing the radio and the 2 transmitters with a digital code unit from Granger, I think. That lightning hit also took out the computer mobo, scanner, cable modem, 1 X10 module but didn't touch things like the wired garage door keypad or TV/stereo.

Reply to
Art Todesco

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