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    #16
    Originally posted by VirtualPanther View Post
    That's great. Most definitely use of of the locks soon in the future on my front door. But... How do I securely, easily, access garage?! Everything suggested so far seems to work for folks who tried those routes, but these solutions resemble jerry-rigging and not a securely designed conversions from traditional garage controls to secure z-wave. Is there such a thing anyway?
    I dont think something exists that meets your specs. Hopefully others will chime in, but in this group of HA enthusiasts, most simply build their own with different pieces of technology.
    HS4Pro on a Raspberry Pi4
    54 Z-Wave Nodes / 21 Zigbee Devices / 108 Events / 767 Devices
    Plugins: Z-Wave / Zigbee Plus / EasyTrigger / AK Weather / OMNI

    HSTouch Clients: 1 Android

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      #17
      Understand that the traditonal garage door opener is not based on the Z-Wave frequency but the 372 Mhz frequency. Wayne-Dalton back in the day incorporated Z-Wave into their garage door openers but Z-Wave was not used to open and close the door.

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        #18
        Just a quick update:

        I bought two Aeon Labs DSB04100-ZWUS Wireless Door/Window Sensors and two of the Evolve LFM-20 - 20A Z-Wave Relay Fixture Modules. Installed all of these in garage. The Evolve relays are great; wiring them in parallel to the garage door openers was quite simple indeed. Next, the Aeon Labs sensors were installed -- one on each garage door. Finally, following advice from gdrapp, I created an event that would turn each of the Evolve relays off a second after it was turned on. This was necessary to return control of garage doors to the standard wall buttons. Otherwise, while the Evolve relays remained on (after opening or closing the door), the wall buttons would not respond.

        So... Now, both doors can be remotely controlled and integrated into events in HomeSeer and the Aeon sensors instantly tell me the status of each door, which I use as trigger in events. Here are some pics:








        Last edited by Rupp; July 18, 2011, 12:25 PM.

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          #19
          Originally posted by Otis
          Awesome solution here VP! I'll be copying this myself...
          Thanks. It actually works quite well. The only "but" is that all of these devices (the Evolve relay and the Aeon sensor) are shown as "devices" in HSTouch. That means they have an "On" and "Off" button. So... I once accidentally hit the "Off" for the Aeon sensor. The only way I was able to set it was by manually (not via HSTouch but using wall buttons in garage) opening and closing the door. Until then, after I clicked the wrong button in HSTouch, the sensor would not change state (open vs closed).

          In reality, it was a minor problem. If I were away, I would remotely log into HomeTroller and reboot it. But more importantly, I do not plan to rely on predicting the state of any entrance to the house via whatever the sensor reports. I plan to buy two cheap Foscam IP cams and have one per garage door. This way, I can SEE the state of the door. Just extra peace of mind. Plus, you know, creating an event to capture snapshots when garage door is activated. That's the plan for now, at least. The wife still has to approve additional budget

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            #20
            VP -- stupid questions maybe. I ordered the same Evolve relay you used. In your pic, I don't see the black live wire going up to a power source -- just the white wire. Also where are you running that yellow wire to? Isn't that just in case you want to use a wall switch with the Evolve relay as well? Finally I'm assuming it's the two blue lines I wire in parallel around the garage door opener wall switch.

            Anyway I'll be heading out to give it a shot now. :unsure:

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              #21
              Originally posted by Otis View Post
              VP -- stupid questions maybe. I ordered the same Evolve relay you used. In your pic, I don't see the black live wire going up to a power source -- just the white wire. Also where are you running that yellow wire to? Isn't that just in case you want to use a wall switch with the Evolve relay as well? Finally I'm assuming it's the two blue lines I wire in parallel around the garage door opener wall switch.

              Anyway I'll be heading out to give it a shot now. :unsure:
              You are correct: black and white are wired directly into incoming power that comes into garage opener - before those wires go into any board within the opener. I physically cut mine with pliers, stripped both ends, and joined with black and white from the Evolve module using a wire nut. The ground from the module gets connected to any ground in the opener. Yellow wire is unused in my case, so i made a loop from it and closed the open end with electrical tape. I used the loop to slightly elevate the Evolve module from the cover of the opener. That is not necessary, of course. Just came in handy in my setting. Next, trace the wire going from the wall switch into the opener: that is where the blue wired get connected as well. I have no idea why, but the two blue wires on the Evolve module are the largest - literally humongous. Ironically, and quite appropriately for the voltage being used there, the two wires from your wall switch are most likely very tiny. Given the large size of blue wires, simply adding them to same connection set as the tiny wall switch wires was not practical. I used small wires I found around the house, added one to each of the two screws connecting the wires from wall switch to opener, then used a wire nut and some electrical tape to connect the small wire I added to the blue wire, one at a time of course

              Final note: adding to network. The evolve relay had an odd button that is used both to control the unit and to add/remove z-wave associations. So, after connecting everything and powering on, pressing the small button on the Evolve relay will cause the door to open/close. It is during one of these presses on that button that you add it to z-wave network. If you press-and-hold that button, like I was used to doing wit dimmers, that will not work. So just tap it and then add.

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                #22
                Originally posted by VirtualPanther View Post
                You are correct: black and white are wired directly into incoming power that comes into garage opener - before those wires go into any board within the opener. I physically cut mine with pliers, stripped both ends, and joined with black and white from the Evolve module using a wire nut. The ground from the module gets connected to any ground in the opener. Yellow wire is unused in my case, so i made a loop from it and closed the open end with electrical tape. I used the loop to slightly elevate the Evolve module from the cover of the opener. That is not necessary, of course. Just came in handy in my setting. Next, trace the wire going from the wall switch into the opener: that is where the blue wired get connected as well. I have no idea why, but the two blue wires on the Evolve module are the largest - literally humongous. Ironically, and quite appropriately for the voltage being used there, the two wires from your wall switch are most likely very tiny. Given the large size of blue wires, simply adding them to same connection set as the tiny wall switch wires was not practical. I used small wires I found around the house, added one to each of the two screws connecting the wires from wall switch to opener, then used a wire nut and some electrical tape to connect the small wire I added to the blue wire, one at a time of course

                Final note: adding to network. The evolve relay had an odd button that is used both to control the unit and to add/remove z-wave associations. So, after connecting everything and powering on, pressing the small button on the Evolve relay will cause the door to open/close. It is during one of these presses on that button that you add it to z-wave network. If you press-and-hold that button, like I was used to doing wit dimmers, that will not work. So just tap it and then add.
                Thanks, that is helpful. My garage door is just plugged into an outlet in the garage. So you're saying I should just cut the power cord maybe a couple inches before it goes into the unit and make a connection there with wire nuts? Makes sense.

                Ok I'll have to give this a go. On the downside, I couldn't figure out which breaker turns off the circuit in my garage. On the upside, I now know that I can just unplug the garage door opening using your approach and do all the wiring before plugging it back in!

                (Really stupid question -- how do I know which wire inside the garage door opening plug goes to the black on the relay and which goes to white? I at least know which one the ground is... )

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                  #23
                  I cut my power cord and the wires inside were appropriately colored: white, black, and green

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                    #24
                    Well thanks VP -- this was a snap to install. Only problems I'm now experiencing are that I think the signal in my garage is too weak (it's all concrete), so my Ztroller in the house isn't able to communicate with the relay. But pressing it manually works fine. I'm also struggling to get the door sensor to work properly on my network -- Homeseer isn't receiving status changes when I move the pieces close together or pull them apart (simulating close and open). The LED goes red for a moment to indicate the status change, but it isn't reflected in Homeseer status for the device or in the log. Looks like it is installed right, since it appears with multiple child devices and the thing at least sent status once, so that the battery level and current statuses at the time were updated. But since then it doesn't seem to track the changes.

                    :shrug:

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                      #25
                      It sounds exactly as you said: poor reception issue. Try installing some wave devices that can act as repeaters on your z-wave network, close to garage. For example, replace some of your home's switches and outlets close to garage with z-wave versions. You probably also havean outlet inside the garage, which could be replaced with a z-wave outlet. You get the idea.

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                        #26
                        Originally posted by VirtualPanther View Post
                        It sounds exactly as you said: poor reception issue. Try installing some wave devices that can act as repeaters on your z-wave network, close to garage. For example, replace some of your home's switches and outlets close to garage with z-wave versions. You probably also havean outlet inside the garage, which could be replaced with a z-wave outlet. You get the idea.
                        Yup that's what I figure. Really the garage is encased in masonry on all sides, so this may be a tricky task. My best bet is probably to extent the network into the basement through the wood in the house and hopefully carry it then on in from there through the wood door. But either way that's gonna be tricky. I wonder if people have run into this kind of issue before, and if so, how they resolved it.

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                          #27
                          I don't have a concrete garage, but nonetheless I did something to improve transmission. I have a door from garage into house. Next to that door, on inside of house, there are a bunch of wall switches: hall, kitchen, garage ceiling lights, etc. So I replaced an old switch that turns on kitchen lights with a Leviton z-wave switch. Now, the signal from z-troller hops to that switch (inside house) and from there-through regular metal door--into garage. In garage, an outlet (z-wave) acts as yet another repeater and the signal can hop to door sensors and Evolve relays.
                          In all honesty, if the straightest route from an indoor z-wave device (switch, dimmer, outlet, etc) into garage is though a wall -- I'd drill that wall without hesitation. Nothing a hammer drill can't do in 10 min and if you have two wired z-wave devices separated by just one concrete wall and small distance, your signal should penetrate that. Oh, and the outlet would cover the hole
                          Last edited by VirtualPanther; July 8, 2011, 08:28 PM. Reason: Damn auto-correct: z-troller is a word!

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                            #28
                            Originally posted by VirtualPanther View Post
                            I don't have a concrete garage, but nonetheless I did something to improve transmission. I have a door from garage into house. Next to that door, on inside of house, there are a bunch of wall switches: hall, kitchen, garage ceiling lights, etc. So I replaced an old switch that turns on kitchen lights with a Leviton z-wave switch. Now, the signal from z-troller hops to that switch (inside house) and from there-through regular metal door--into garage. In garage, an outlet (z-wave) acts as yet another repeater and the signal can hop to door sensors and Evolve relays.
                            In all honesty, if the straightest route from an indoor z-wave device (switch, dimmer, outlet, etc) into garage is though a wall -- I'd drill that wall without hesitation. Nothing a hammer drill can't do in 10 min and if you have two wired z-wave devices separated by just one concrete wall and small distance, your signal should penetrate that. Oh, and the outlet would cover the hole
                            This makes a lot of sense VP. Noobie question, but how would you go about hardwiring two Z-wave devices together? I didn't realize there was a way to make these communicate over wires. If there is, I'll get a masonry bit for my drill, put a hole into the garage, and run a wire in there...

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                              #29
                              Originally posted by Otis View Post
                              This makes a lot of sense VP. Noobie question, but how would you go about hardwiring two Z-wave devices together? I didn't realize there was a way to make these communicate over wires. If there is, I'll get a masonry bit for my drill, put a hole into the garage, and run a wire in there...
                              Sorry if I misguided you. Z-wave communication is not over wires, regardless of wiring. What I meant is this. If you do not have any z-wave devices in garage close to the wall that separates garage from the house, you can add one by running a wire straight through the wall. I presumed that you must have some electrical device in your house close to that wall, be that an outlet or a switch. By running the wire through wall into garage, you can add another device but this time in garage. The running "the wire through wall" part is meant to serve as a means of adding a z-wave device in the garage on the wall close to house, even if you currently have no source of power there. If you already have something on that garage wall that can be converted into a z-wave device, just do that. But remember, you'll still need something close to garage on the house side. The idea is simple: most wired z-wave devices can act as repeaters. So if your current issue is loss of signal from your z-troller on its way to garage, you need some z-wave devices in that path to help transmission.
                              Hopefully, this was not even more confusing...

                              P.S.: I'm a newbie myself: always stumped by something new

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                                #30
                                Originally posted by VirtualPanther View Post
                                Sorry if I misguided you. Z-wave communication is not over wires, regardless of wiring. What I meant is this. If you do not have any z-wave devices in garage close to the wall that separates garage from the house, you can add one by running a wire straight through the wall. I presumed that you must have some electrical device in your house close to that wall, be that an outlet or a switch. By running the wire through wall into garage, you can add another device but this time in garage. The running "the wire through wall" part is meant to serve as a means of adding a z-wave device in the garage on the wall close to house, even if you currently have no source of power there. If you already have something on that garage wall that can be converted into a z-wave device, just do that. But remember, you'll still need something close to garage on the house side. The idea is simple: most wired z-wave devices can act as repeaters. So if your current issue is loss of signal from your z-troller on its way to garage, you need some z-wave devices in that path to help transmission.
                                Hopefully, this was not even more confusing...

                                P.S.: I'm a newbie myself: always stumped by something new
                                Ah! Got it -- thanks.

                                I had a Eureka moment today anyway. I added a bunch of receptacle outlets in the living room and dining room -- Intermatic HA01. After installing, suddenly the relay in the garage was communicating! Just opened and closed the door from up here, worked like a charm! In the event that the communication ends up being somewhat unstable, you make a good point -- I have an outlet in the garage, and I can just swap one of these in for that, so there is another Zwave device in there at least a little closer to the rest inside my house.

                                Thanks again for all the guidance. Super helpful. Now if I can get the window/door sensor working properly, I will be in business!

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