OpenGarage - open-source Wifi garage opener

swoodford · October 10, 2018, 8:01pm

Anyone using OpenGarage with HomeKit through HA?

After clicking the tile to open the garage in the iOS Home app, the tile stays stuck on “Opening…” until I restart the Home app, and then it updates to “Open”. Same but reversed with closing. It seems like HomeKit is never notified that the open/close action completed so the tile isn’t updated until its forced to check its state again by force-quitting.

I’ve also got homebridge set up so for now I’m using the OG plugin over there since it has “openCloseDurationSecs” and “pollFrequencySecs” options that seem to keep HomeKit’s state in sync. But I’d love to keep this in HA if possible so was looking to see if anyone else had solutions. Thanks!

Chris8837 · October 30, 2018, 2:18am

Same thing here. I have it coming under homekit, but when I ask siri to open the garage it just say’s opening and doesnt’ do anything. Script maybe?

Does anyone have a script?

irqnet · November 14, 2018, 11:04am

It seems that I’ve got the same or nearly the same issue.

My device is conntected to my wifi network but the web interface doesn’t show up correctly.

Maybe I will try another power supply.

callifo · November 14, 2018, 11:28am

Could be a bad firmware flash too? If the webpage is sufficient condition you could re-run the firmware update?

Is the wifi coverage ample?

irqnet · November 14, 2018, 11:44am

No the firmware update doesn’t work, I can get to the update page, select the fw file and enter the device key, but after I hit submit, nothing happens.

Wifi coverage seems to be good, and my setup has been working over the last 10-12 weeks now. Don’t know what happend. Is it possible that the circuit is sensitive about cold weather or high humidity?

callifo · November 14, 2018, 11:50am

I had issues in cold weather with my distance sensor being way off (would say car not in garage when it was, and it would alternate between 1m and 2m), I could track the number of errors by the lower the temperature directly. The power pack was no good and had to be replaced.

I now run two of them off one decent quality 2.5A dual port charger and no issues. Previously I had two left over 1A phone chargers.

hiscorebob · November 14, 2018, 3:42pm

It’s funny, I had the same thoughts. I’ve been using OpenGarage since May, and it stopped working 2-3 weeks ago. Since then I’ve wanted to replace the cable between OpenGarage and the Opener, but never had the time to actually do it. I can clearly hear the “click” sound when I tell it to open/close

mistrovly · November 14, 2018, 3:57pm

I’m seeing the same issue on mine too; but if reboot the unit i can access the web ui with no problem for a few hours. Im using FW 1.0.9

irqnet · November 14, 2018, 7:07pm

I’ve unmounted my circuit and plugged it into a phone charger in the kitchen close to one of my wifi ap’s and it works without problems. I guess it might be an issue regarding the wifi range of the ESP itself and signal strength.

I’ve updated to the actual version and put it back to my garage. Works right now but wifi signal indicator on web interfaces switches very often from good to weak. So I guess I have to improve the location of my access points.

day1ok · November 19, 2018, 3:50am

@swbradshaw thanks for posting this diagram. I made a circuit board based off of this design that can be soldered with through hole components and so far it is working. I have noticed when the device restarts the solenoid triggers 3 times at about 1Hz. I am worried that if I have a power failure and then the power comes back on the garage door would open. Has anyone noticed this with their device?
Any help to solve this boot up issue would be greatly appreciated.

hiscorebob · November 19, 2018, 11:31am

I replaced the cable between the motor and the OpenGarage Module this weekend (swapped the provided cable with a thicker one) and now the OpenGarage Module works like a charm.

talondnb · November 20, 2018, 12:10pm

Nice one!

I’ve made a multi-purpose breakout board for the NodeMCUv3:

It can accept a HC-SR04 as well as a DHT22 temp/humidity sensor, two relay outputs, etc. It also accepts four separate voltage inputs to a comparator for retrofitting existing wired home alarm sensors (see here: ESP8266 into existing alarm sensors). It accepts 12VDC 2.1mm input and has an onboard 5v regulator for the NodeMCU and relays (the 12V is for the comparator).

If anyone’s interested, I’ll be putting the EAGLE files up on github with a quick writeup when i have a chance.

sparkydave · November 20, 2018, 9:58pm

very nice! I’m just getting into ESP8266’s as HA sensors around the place and this gives me some good ideas. Keen to see more

slovenc · December 3, 2018, 1:55pm

Hi,
does anyone know the mqtt command for distance reading or open/closed message? I found online a set of commands for opening/closing and for notifications, but would also love to do a distance reading every x seconds.
thanks

talondnb · December 30, 2018, 9:52am

Can anyone please help me with my presence detection?

car_presence:
  value_template: '{% if states.cover.garage_door %}
    {% if states.cover.garage_door.state == "open" %}
      n/a
    {% elif (( states.sensor.ultrasonic_car_sensor.state > 0.4 ) and ( states.sensor.ultrasonic_car_sensor.state < 1.40 )) %}
      Yes
    {% else %}
      No
    {% endif %}
    {% else %}
      Unknown
    {% endif %}'
  friendly_name: 'Honda in Garage'

With the above code as a template sensor, I get ‘n/a’ for the status in HA:

47%20pm

Current sensor reads as 1.05m distance and the garage door cover is ‘closed’. Even if I open the garage it makes no difference.

Thanks in advance!

talondnb · December 30, 2018, 12:35pm

I’ve managed to fix my issue with the following:

car_presence:
  value_template: '{% if states.cover.garage_door %}
    {% if states.cover.garage_door.state == "open" %}
      n/a
    {% elif (( states.sensor.ultrasonic_car_sensor.state | float > 0.5 ) and ( states.sensor.ultrasonic_car_sensor.state | float < 1.3 )) %}
      Yes
    {% else %}
      No
    {% endif %}
    {% else %}
      Unknown
    {% endif %}'
  friendly_name: 'Honda in Garage'

Adding ‘float’ seems to have done the trick.

talondnb · January 2, 2019, 11:24am

Has anyone encountered freezing issues with their nodemcu and relay?

talondnb · January 5, 2019, 8:16am

sparkydave · January 6, 2019, 7:00am

are you selling these boards?

talondnb · January 6, 2019, 7:06am

No, I had 5 proto pcbs made, gave away 2 and used 2 and I have plans for the last one.

You can get them made pretty cheaply, around $20 or so shipped (usually min of 5). All the necessary files (gerbers, BoM, etc) are on the github page.

There are a few changes I’d like to do to this design though, but as it stands, it’s all functional.