Remotely controlling garage door

Firstly, if I am asking this in completely wrong forum, apologies, and please ignore my question.

I have Merlin Model M-230T installed in my garage door. It looks like an older model.

Since I have noticed that my garage door opens automatically ( without me pressing the garage remote button) now and then, sometime in the middle of the night and sometime in the middle of the day, I am a little bit worried about security.

What could be the reason ( if anybody has experienced this situation before)?

What I am wanting to do is, have a spare security camera, which I can install and access the video from anywhere. I am hoping this camera will notify me of the movement of doors ( I am going to check this weekend.)

What I like to also do is, I like to control ( opening and closing ) of this garage remotely, which means from different places, different cities.

At the moment, this garage motor ( machine) is directly and always powered ON, and pressing the remote button is one and only option s to open the garage door. I have been researching in ebay, amazon, bunnings, etc and yes I can find wi-fi controlled (remote) power outlets but this does not look like going to solve my problem because in my case, it is remote controls that controls the movement of the garage door.

Thanks for reading and any advice will be appreciated.

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Sugar

Just for extra information, I had asked solution to one of my friend also, and he suggested me I can look up for solution using Adruino, which I think I can do also ( with some extra time) but just need to find out the what frequency this machine is working on.

EricL

Hello @Sugar

Thank you for sharing your question about remotely controlling your garage door. Before I make my suggestions, I recommend having your garage motor and electronics serviced as there might be an existing fault in the system causing it to close and open at odd hours. It might also be the remote itself and is malfunctioning.

At the back of your garage motor is the big Merlin sticker and below this is the tag of the service agent that installed the unit. I propose giving them a call and seeing if they can still service your garage motor and remote. If not, I suggest calling Merlin and seeing who is the closest service agent in your area.

I recommend the following devices to help you manage your garage door:

Orion Grid Connect Smart Garage Door Controller With Sensor. The Smart Garage Door Controller allows you to add Wi-Fi connectivity to your existing compatible garage door opener. Check if your garage door is open or closed from your smartphone and view a log of the device history. You can also choose to receive mobile notifications if your garage door has been left open for a preset period of time.
Arlec White Grid Connect Smart Plug-In Socket With Energy Meter. This Arlec Grid Connect Smart Plug-In Socket With Energy Meter gives you smart control of whatever you connect, making it ideal for your working or living spaces. This will allow you to turn the power off to your garage door opener. Even if someone else has a remote the door will not open because the motor is off.
Orion Grid Connect Smart 1080p HD White Pan And Tilt Security Camera. This Orion SMART Pan and Tilt Security Camera allows you to see and record activity in your home from your smartphone or tablet from anywhere, at any time. It has motion detection and night vision capabilities so you can see into your garage 24/7 anywhere in the world.

All of these devices are wifi enabled and will let you monitor and control the garage door from anywhere with your phone.

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your garage door fixed.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

MikeTNZ

Hi @Sugar,

I think @EricL is quite correct here, you need to get a Merlin service agent in to have a gander at this unit as it doesn't sound right

that it should be triggering and operating when you don't want it to.

The strange thing about these door openers (I have one myself) is that the signal from the remote to the unit uses a frequency of about 433- 435 MHz.

Now, that wouldn't normally be an issue, but since these units were designed and installed in garages, all sorts of other things have been added to this range of frequencies, namely baby monitors, some types of walkie-talkies, wireless weather stations also transmit data over this band, this is not an exhaustive list.

I'm an Amateur radio operator and I have to power my door unit down if I'm using the 70cm band or all hell breaks loose if I don't, these things are very susceptible to stray RF currents.

By all means, let us know how you get on, because to be fair, I haven't sorted my one out either.

Sugar

@MikeTNZ @EricL

I do really appreciate input from you guys. I am slow because of my other work and have not really got time to prioritize this project ( shame on me). I will definitely keep you guys in the loop regarding my progress and if I have any questions to ask.

I do really want to solve this or at least try to get some solution so that it might be useful for others.

Mitoski

Hey @Sugar

I have used and recommend Meross smart garage opener meross garage opener Can be purchased on Amazon and also directly front the website, it’s very easy to setup and install. If you have an iPhone I would pay a little extra and get the HomeKit compatible version. This is handy in case you are not home and need to allow someone access to your garage just jump on the Meross app and open your garage, it’s great to have as a “wait did I close the garage door” reassurance as you get alerts every time your garage opens and closes.

MitchellMc

That seems like a nifty device @Mitoski! Other community members might like to consider our Orion Grid Connect Smart Garage Controller With Sensor. It's an easy D.I.Y. installation, allows you to control your garage door remotely from a smartphone, and receive activation alerts.

There is also a whole range of products that can operate through the same Grid Connect app.

Mitchell

Sugar

@Mitoski

Does this system work remotely ?

What I meant was, remotely from friends house, different city in the same country etc, with available mobile network( internet) or does the phone has to be on the same network like this device is?

Thank you and it seems it satisfies my requirements. And I am doing more research on compatibility( seems like it does so far)

@MitchellMc i am going to have a research done on the Bunnings brands as well and compare what satisfies best. Thank you.

Looks like I am close to be done with this project.

Mitoski

@Sugar It sure does work remotely, as long as you have internet connect via wireless or mobile data you can open your garage using the app

Sugar

@Mitoski That could solve my problem. Thank you.

Sugar

@Mitoski , I believe the actual ( original) garage remote controller still works although we connect this kit, am I right ?

Mitoski

@Sugar yes you are still able to connect the Meross garage opener as well as Having the original remote connected. @MitchellMc Does the grid connect version work with original remote as well?

macduff89

@Sugar I originally bought the Meross controller from Amazon due to the Apple compatibility, and if it had worked I would have been able to open the garage door from Carplay. However I didn't realise you need a compatible hub device such as a recent Apple TV or HomePod to access it remotely. You can still use the Meross app remotely though.

However I since changed to the Grid Connect model as I have a lot of other Grid Connect devices and it was more convenient to use a single app.

Both devices work essentially the same way, as long as your door opener has two switch terminals which open the door when shorted together.

I have a roller door, not a panel door, and it's difficult to access the door control panel. As a work around, I soldered the control wires across the button on my spare remote. Of course this means I have one less remote to use, but it should work with almost 100% of garage doors.

Either of these can give you notifications via the app when your garage door is opened by ghosts or when left open for a long time.

Photo showing original setup with Meross:

Screenshot 2022-06-15 214935.png

EricL

Hi @macduff89

Thank you very much for sharing that ingenious workaround for compatibility. Hardwiring your remote guarantees that the garage door will close. I'm with you on the single app use. So many devices today use so many apps that it brings you back to the time when you had so many remotes to control your multi-media set-up. When you consider that the price of a garage remote is not that much, it definitely becomes a worthwhile option.

Again, thanks for sharing that solution to garage remote compatibility.

Eric

EricL

Hi @Mitoski

If you look at the recent post by @macduff89 in this discussion you'll see the elegant solution that was applied to guarantee remote compatibility. But technically speaking the Orion Grid Connect Smart Garage Door Controller With Sensor operates independently of the remote. It sends all of its notifications to the app on your phone, whether you left it open, it opened accidentally or you need to open it remotely from another location. This particular device needs to be hardwired to the garage controller and does not possess a wireless signalling device for the garage opener.

Eric

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