I have the following pain points with my 433 MHz garage door remotes:
- Poor range: An alternative antenna might improve this, but my Zigbee network provides a much better range, and it keeps growing.
- Manual retries: When getting closer to the garage door, I keep pressing the remote until it’s close enough and opens the door.
- Lack of acknowledgment: It’d be nice to get audible feedback the moment the door opens.
On the ideal device, I’d press a button; it’d keep transmitting for about half a minute, and the moment it got an acknowledgment, it’d beep its piezo.
Apart from custom development, the closest thing I could find are Zigbee buttons. However, the longer the car is away from the house, the higher the chance the button will unpair, and for some of them, reconnection takes ages.
Your ideas are much appreciated.