Garage door opener Mod woes (1 Viewer)

[MrAWD]

Hey Everyone!

Hoping for a bit of help here. I heard about the garage door opener mod while lurking on the forum and I loved the idea so I amassed the parts (hazard switch, garage opener, etc) and wired it up. I really like how it looks and I placed it in that little useless cubby area above the radio with the help of a product I bought from Etsy. This spot is perfect as it allows me to service the battery on the remote without removing the entire dash, two screws and it pops out! anyway, here is my issue. Because it is nice and tucked away behind the dash the range on the remote SUUUCCKKKSSS! I gotta be right up on the door and even then it works maybe 30% of the time. I first ran like an 8 gauge wire from the garage motor to the outside of the house and that helped but it was unsightly so today I swapped it out for a 14 gauge and that made things worse. I figured id come here and ask for the sage wisdom of you fine folks, any ideas on how I can boost the range on this remote? also, I put in a fresh battery on the remote to no noticeable difference. Thanks in advance you guys, some pictures included!

 

[MrAWD]

 

[BILT4ME]

Can you attach an antenna wire to the circuit board on the unit in the truck to give it more range?

I know the factory alarm on my LC had a wire that went from one side of the truck across under the dash to the opposite side to improve the reception of the key fob. Same principle.

 

[MrAWD]

I'm pretty stupid when it comes to electronics, that's what i thought initially to do but I'm afraid i don't know where to attach a wire on this circuit board. Any suggestions?

 

[BILT4ME]

I'm pretty stupid when it comes to electronics, that's what i thought initially to do but I'm afraid i don't know where to attach a wire on this circuit board. Any suggestions?

Not by me, but there are a lot smarter spark chasers on here then me! @rkymtnflyfisher

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

I'm at a loss on this one. Best thing I can think of is to extend the antenna from the door opener, or to boost the power from the remote.


There is an EE over in the 40 section that restores radios, maybe he can share some knowledge.

I'll try to remember his handle.......

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

@Engineer8000

 

[MrAWD]

Thank you for the referrals guys. Ya, I might switch it back out to the 8 gauge wire, for now, 30% is better than the 0% range. Trying to figure out how I can boost the power for the remote.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Does your garage door opener support a long range remote of some type? I know some come with el cheapo remotes and then they'll sell you a better one for more $$$. Might be worth looking into. Of course, then you have to be confident tearing into and soldering on a more expensive remote.

 

[MrAWD]

Does your garage door opener support a long range remote of some type? I know some come with el cheapo remotes and then they'll sell you a better one for more $$$. Might be worth looking into. Of course, then you have to be confident tearing into and soldering on a more expensive remote.

Went and checked, didn't see anything that stood out to me on amazon, although I could purchase any remote so long as it had the right frequency correct? if so I may find one that has an external antenna attached and then gut that remote.

 

[MrAWD]

went back outside and reinstalled the 8 gauge wire again to see if I can at least get it back to where it was yesterday, no dice now I can't open the garage at all from the outside of the house. At my wits end here yall, any other suggestions?

 

[ppc]

First point is that the gauge of the wire is totally irrelevant when it comes to low power transmissions.

Antennas are tuned circuits. Just like a CB/Ham radio the length of the antenna needs to be ratios of the wavelength of the frequency., i.e. full wave, 1/2 wave, 1/4 wave and others, not just some random length. That is why to tune an antenna you trim the length radiating element for lowest SWR - standing wave ratio.

The connecting cable between the antenna and receiver/transmitter needs to be low loss. Typically that means a shielded coax cable where the shield gets grounded at both ends. It a coax cable is used the antenna that section must have the shielded portion must be removed. A vertical wire is going to be better than one placed horizontally.

In this case it would be more productive to change the location and orientation of the remote than to mess with antennas. In the useless cubby there is too much metal that is going to absorb the signal.

In the past I modified one of my remotes to add a rocker switch in parallel to the circuit board switch. I mounted the rocker switch replacing one of the coin holders on the center console and tucked the circuit board below it under the center console. The battery lasted many years, only removed it when I sold the house.

 

[Engineer8000]

As @ppc said, the antenna has to be tuned to the transmitter. If you have a 390 MHz opener, the wire hanging out of the opener is probably about 7-1/4" long. Modifying the transmitter will not be successful. They make "antenna extenders" for door openers, like this that might work for you.: Antenna Extender Kit 41A3504

 

[MrAWD]

As @ppc said, the antenna has to be tuned to the transmitter. If you have a 390 MHz opener, the wire hanging out of the opener is probably about 7-1/4" long. Modifying the transmitter will not be successful. They make "antenna extenders" for door openers, like this that might work for you.: Antenna Extender Kit 41A3504

So the fact that I cut that wire a tad to remove the 8 gauge from before probably made things worse? Should I attempt to restore it to its proper length before adding an extender?

 

[ppc]

What do you mean by "tad"? A small amount is not going to drastically change performance. Most likely any changes would be how you routed the wire and if there were any things that blocked the signal.

You would want to attach the "Antenna Extender KIt" @Engineer8000 suggested directly to your opener. Mount the antenna vertically either right side up or down, not horizontal.

 

[Engineer8000]

The directions on the web site show how it connects to your existing wire. The length of that wire will not matter if you install the extender as the new antenna becomes the tuned element.

 

[MrAWD]

Got! It’s ordered should be here next week. Thanks for all your help guys. I’ll let you know how it goes