I am looking to install a garage opener and due to meatspace constraints I will probably have to use jackshaft. Jackshafts are predominantly LiftMaster and Chamberlain => the smarts are myQ, which I don't want anywhere near my network. Genie jackshafts seem fine, but Genie's reputation is bad to the point where garage door companies may refuse to work on them.
These motors also usually come with the ability to hook up a hardwired button. There are a couple of pre-made (konnected, ratgo) solutions or one could jury rig a z-wave relay.
Alternative is Overhead Garage door company that have separate SKUs for the unit, the battery and the smarts so one can pick two and use the same relay (my current plan).
There may be _some_ proprietary shenanigans with LM and Chamberlain hardwired buttons but Overhead's one really seems to just work through bridging two contacts
Just use a LiftMaster/Chamberlain jackshaft opener, never connect it to any network install the ESP32-based ratgdo device into the wiring harness, be done with this issue.
Nothing else compares due to the digital integration. ratgdo uses the simple serial protocol that the opener button uses, so it has access to a lot of information.
Thanks, that's the plan. To be precise - - I thought about getting the opener+battery from Overhead and ratgo/konnected.
Since you mention those two manufacturers specifically -- do you know if there's something that disqualifies the Overhead company's one? One downside that I could think of is that I'd be vendor-locked in for parts when it croaks.
Not sure how it works with a jackshaft vs. the more traditional residential opener, but ratgdo can speak the myQ protocol and control it from mqtt or home assistant. I have it working with my Chamberlain opener as do many others.
Besides the questionable rent-seeking behavior from myQ:
* I don't want to use an integration that needs a round-trip through the cloud to work. Long-term changes are inevitable (company goes out of business, randomly changes API, etc.)
* I fundamentally do not like Amazon Key integration. It gives someone else control over my security hardware which makes me very uncomfortable. I am not sure if it's opt-in or out, but the point is that a myQ device that is installed _can_ be configured to let arbitrary third party to open the door.
If I have a choice, I'd rather set up a system that I control from the get-go rather than try to lobotomize a system that I can't fully control.
Ratgdo doesn't go through the cloud. It's a separate board. You wire it into the opener the same way would a button, and it speaks the serial protocol that a myQ enabled button or console would use. Then it can speak MQTT over wifi.
I never paired my opener with any app nor do I have it on WiFi.
Yes, of course. As a matter of fact -- I will be using one of those solutions myself and pair it with HA.
>I never paired my opener with any app nor do I have it on WiFi.
The opener may be advertising "configure me" network (WiFi or BT) -- which (in theory, depending on how bad did they screw the security up) could allow anyone to pair their app with your opener.
I think it might be better to add it to the network but firewall it off No ingress or egress. This is just so that it no longer advertises the configuration network.
Putting it into a faraday cage should also work but I suppose the firewall way is faster
> Why don’t you want myQ anywhere near your network?
Precisely because they're rent-seeking. I have a wifi-enabled garage door opener that I paid a lot of money for. Why should I have to pay MyQ every month to effectively just let something other than their app or their proprietary switch open the door?
“Near my network” suggested it was a security issue. Are there other companies running a cloud-based api for garage doors that don’t charge? It does cost money to keep the servers going.
I personally just took a cheap remote, attached its button to an esp32 with a relay, put on mqtt, and interfaced it with homebridge. Now it shows up in the home app. Works well! iCloud via Apple TV connects it to the internet securely.
Ah, sorry. I may have misinterpreted your question.
I've only had a garage worth having motorization for a short time. It isn't something I've thought a ton about: While I do have this garage, and it would be nice to be able to park a car in there on a daily basis, and having it be motorized (and automated!) would be great, it's still full of the detritus from moving. Having the door go up and down by itself is pretty low on the list right now and will probably remain that way until the weather gets warmer and drier. :)
When I have thought about it, I've thought that building something myself would be adequate; that I'd just pick any dumb opener that has open/closed IO exposed, and graft on the connectivity functions I need with an ESP32 and some relays, using ESPHome.
Or maybe Shelly modules: One variation or another might have enough IO built in to do it, and they're packaged neatly, priced right, and the default software integrates well with Home Assistant. (They've also got ESP32s inside and can run ESPHome if one is so-inclined.)
Seems easy enough to me, and I've certainly done much more daunting and elaborate integration stuff at $dayjob.
But I don't know of a competitive "just-works" LAN-controllable garage door opener.
If it weren't for the SNAFU a year or so ago[0], I'd probably pick Chamberlain and a Ratdgo[1] board for local network control. But as it stands, I do not want to reward Chamberlain with any of my dollars, and I'm willing to go to any expense in order to avoid doing so.
These motors also usually come with the ability to hook up a hardwired button. There are a couple of pre-made (konnected, ratgo) solutions or one could jury rig a z-wave relay.
Alternative is Overhead Garage door company that have separate SKUs for the unit, the battery and the smarts so one can pick two and use the same relay (my current plan).
There may be _some_ proprietary shenanigans with LM and Chamberlain hardwired buttons but Overhead's one really seems to just work through bridging two contacts