restoring old garage door opener-receiver/transmitter

[hevans1944]

Here is a side note that may or may not interest you. I bought my first house in Dayton, Ohio, about thirty-something years ago. It came with a detached two-car garage and an automatic garage door opener. The door opener was based on a tone-encoded Citizens Band transmitter and, IIRC, a vacuum tube receiver. The remote control transmitters were missing. So a quick trip to Sears secured a new chain-driven door opener mechanism with solid-state electronics. A significant upgrade, but still pretty much obsolete, or verging on obsolete, because remote controls (mainly for automotive key-less entry systems) were beginning to use so-called "rolling codes" to prevent unauthorized reception and copying of the "code" the end-user (me) selected to transmit and operate the remote control mechanism. A patient thief could park outside my garage and try every possible code combination, selected by a few three-position slide switches on my Sear remote, until they found the one that worked. Not very secure, but I had almost nothing of value stored in the garage anyway.

Rather than spend money on a better-encoded transmitter/receiver pair, I simply decided to turn the whole system off every night when I got home. That meant the garage was vulnerable during the day to anyone with the "right" code to activate the receiver. I don't recall that ever being a real problem however. Now that we have moved to Florida, the Genie garage door system seems fairly sophisticated. There is a "training" mode that allows each remote to be synchronized with the mothership. So far, so good. Plus this is a "stand your ground" state, which tends to take the sand out of most trespassers.

 

[noquacks]

Turns out I finally got it done! Yipee! I bought this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JGDV8UM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and it works great! Only thing I had to buy a 12v DC adapter separate. Code was easy to imput. Anyway, i got this ancient Heathkit 1/2 Century old garage door opener to work again! Te people at Heathkit said it is near the end of life, but they are WRONG!

Thanks to all here!

 

[73's de Edd]

Sir noquacks . . . . .

GREAT SHADES ! . . . . . of deja vu . . . . . haven't out paths crossed in the past ?

Read the post of . . .

https://www.electronicspoint.com/forums/threads/old-remote-control-repair.290618/#post-1781901

Where I go into detail on that HEATHKIT unit of yours.

It operates on the 27 Mhz Citizens band and all of its options of different crystal frequencies + an additional choice of multiple modulated tones for system security.
See the ORANGE square mark up of that freq selective inductor.
The relay that shorts across your outer terminal boards connections, for cycling the lift mechanism, is being the GREEN square mark up.
It is a muuuuuuuuuuuuulti turn, fine wire wound solenoid with a center core mounted HEAVY DUTY reed relay switch, which the coil magnetically activates.


If you want to get rid of that "umbilical cord " wall wart that you are using for power presently .
The receiver unit HAS 12VDC inside on the power supply of the original receiver.
It is shown on my markup as being in the RED marked up electrolytic area.
Two wires connected to those points and run out to your new receivers power terminal block should get internal power for you.

Aside Observation . . . . . . . Heath must have been sleeping in Multi Elmacs bed, to fullfill their Garage Door Opener marketing ventures.
Since, in early times, Multi Elmac was a major player in that product, along with a lesser known entity of manufacture . . . . . .that being remote transmitters and receivers for model aircraft.

REALLY RELEVANT REFERENCING . . . . .







73's de Edd . . . . .

My wife oft complains that the road to our house is TOO long and muddy, but what to do, as if it was any shorter, it wouldn't reach the house.

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[noquacks]

Wow, I never would have known, Edd! You even provide a schematic of my ancient receiver! Thanks! Yes, we have crossed paths before! I just never connected your advice to this newer project. I must have been blind somehow, to your language. You were right.

Anyway, thanks again! This forum is great.