Garage Door Controller

Did you ever leave home and wonder if you remembered to close your garage door behind you? Are you worried about leaving your garage door remote in your car and wish to have an alternative solution? Then this project is for you!

The Garage Door Controller allows you to obtain the status of your garage door (open or closed) on a smart phone app (Android only at this time). This project uses a Particle Photon to communicate with the App over the Internet. No modifications to the garage door opener are necessary. The garage door status is determined using an ultrasonic distance sensor to measure the distance to an object in the path of the garage door. An open garage door measures a smaller distance than a closed one. The garage door opener is activated using a modified remote unit. A relay attached to the Photon performs the same function as pressing the remote unit's activation button.

Please note: This project is intended to be mounted in a garage. The following considerations apply:

1. Make sure that you have a good WiFi signal where the project is mounted. We found that using an external WiFi antenna on the Photon was very helpful.

2. If the garage is un-insulated, make sure that the ambient temperature remains within the operating range of the electronics year round. The Photon's specified ambient temperature operating range is -4 to 60 degrees C (25 degrees to 140 degrees F). The other electronic components have a similar temperature operating range.

3. The electronics require a source of 5 volt regulated power; usually supplied by a USB "wall wart". Make sure that you have AC power within a reasonable distance of the electronics where you can plug in the "wall wart" and run a USB cable to the electronics.

Complete information, including source code and instruction manuals can be found at:

https://github.com/TeamPracticalProjects/Garage_Door_Controller