Exacq trigger for a garage door opener?

[alpine0000 0]

Is there a way to set up a trigger in Event Linking (or any other place in Exacq) so that I can use maybe a soft button or something to open/close my garage door? Or is there some better way to do this short of getting a new garage door opener that connects to my router (some of those new garage door openers that connect to your router that I've seen require an annual activation fee anyways)?

 

If I login to Exacq when I am out of town and see that somebody left the garage door open, I'd like to be able to use my iPhone to close it. I was thinking maybe a soft button in exacq could work, or even some other way in exacq? But I am open to pretty much any ideas, as long as I can do it via an App on my iPhone.

 

Has anybody rigged up exacq to do something like this?

 

Thanks!

[Razer_SE 0]

If you have an Exacq built server with the output triggers it should be possible pretty easily I would think. You just go to event linking and choose soft trigger as the input and name it, then choose the output trigger, then choose the target for the action and decide what it needs to do and for how long to correctly trigger the door opener. Try this to see if you have alarm outputs available.

 

If you do not have the built in triggers on the NVR itself then maybe your cameras have a alarm output. My ACTi cameras have outputs on them, so I could wire the door opener to the camera, hit the button in Exacq and it will trigger the alarm output on the camera, closing the door. Makes for a shorter run usually too if you use the camera to handle the trigger. A site I just pulled up has 13 possible alarm outputs from the DVR and the cameras.

 

Without the output triggers built in to the NVR or camera I do not know how to make it work though, so someone else might have an idea.

[alpine0000 0]

Thanks razer.

 

I do not have an exacq-built server. I built my own; it's a dell poweredge. However, I think my cameras have alarm outputs. I have an Axis P3346-VE and a P3367-VE. I also have a Vivotek 8161.

 

So, if these do have an alarm output, would I just run a wire from the camera to the garage door opener? Would I need a diode? Is the voltage the same?

 

I'm new to alarm outputs and triggers, but *very* well versed in electricity and computers

[ak357 0]

Thanks razer.

 

I do not have an exacq-built server. I built my own; it's a dell poweredge. However, I think my cameras have alarm outputs. I have an Axis P3346-VE and a P3367-VE. I also have a Vivotek 8161.

 

So, if these do have an alarm output, would I just run a wire from the camera to the garage door opener? Would I need a diode? Is the voltage the same?

 

I'm new to alarm outputs and triggers, but *very* well versed in electricity and computers

 

keep in mind that your garage door opener

 

only need short 1-2 sec pulse to open door

[alpine0000 0]

keep in mind that your garage door opener only need short 1-2 sec pulse to open door

 

Yep. Got it. Exacq can do pulses, right?

[nDAlk90 0]

I don't understand.

From what I have seen usually garage doors need a momentary connection (perhaps about 500 ms).

 

Why do you need a pulsing trigger?

On residential garage doors I have seen at least that will just start the garage door, pause it and then reverse it...

 

keep in mind that your garage door opener only need short 1-2 sec pulse to open door

 

Yep. Got it. Exacq can do pulses, right?

[ak357 0]

I don't understand.

From what I have seen usually garage doors need a momentary connection (perhaps about 500 ms).

 

Why do you need a pulsing trigger?

On residential garage doors I have seen at least that will just start the garage door, pause it and then reverse it...

 

 

Hmm, "momentary connection" as you call is "pulse" as we call

xellbuy with his finger touch button for sec to open door

xellbuy touch again for sec to stop door

xellbuy touch again to close door

xellbuy just create few pulses

one after another

just example for you

[alpine0000 0]

I don't understand.

From what I have seen usually garage doors need a momentary connection (perhaps about 500 ms).

 

Why do you need a pulsing trigger?

On residential garage doors I have seen at least that will just start the garage door, pause it and then reverse it...

 

You are correct. Momentary is what I meant, but I incorrectly called it 'pulsing'. Sorry for the incorrect terminology. Pulsing would indicate multiple pulses, instead of just one momentary short burst.

 

With that out of the way, can exacq do that? And my previous questions: Would I need a diode? Is the voltage the same on the garage door opener and the alarm outputs on a camera? If not, I guess I'd need to use a relay.

 

And would anybody care to go into more details about actually setting up exacq triggers to do this?

 

Thanks again

[thewireguys 3]

You should not need any voltage to trigger the door. Just take your control button off the wall (chances are its just a door bell button) and touch the to wires together for a second. The door should open or close.

 

I control mine door with my ELK automation panel and I use 1 sec pulse.

[mike_va 0]

Thanks razer.

 

I do not have an exacq-built server. I built my own; it's a dell poweredge. However, I think my cameras have alarm outputs. I have an Axis P3346-VE and a P3367-VE. I also have a Vivotek 8161.

 

So, if these do have an alarm output, would I just run a wire from the camera to the garage door opener? Would I need a diode? Is the voltage the same?

 

I'm new to alarm outputs and triggers, but *very* well versed in electricity and computers

Mine is just contact closure. I have several systems that can open the garage door, but have not tied it to a camera (yet...)

 

Don't know about exacq, only played with it briefly but you can have the output show on the 3346 liveview page, or add button that maps to an http command. You can also make a different button put it on your phone and have it send the http command.

[mike_va 0]

while you are out there screwing around you might want to add alarm sensors to the garage doors, I think it would not be too hard to get into houses that way...we added some like this

[alpine0000 0]

You should not need any voltage to trigger the door. Just take your control button off the wall (chances are its just a door bell button) and touch the to wires together for a second. The door should open or close

 

Well you'd need *some* kind of voltage to trigger a relay or do that for you remotely, right (even if it's just low-voltage, which it is)? The wires won't touch themselves together Even if wired to an automation panel, that would then have to send voltage to the opener of some sort, I would imagine? I wasnt talking about 120 volts or anything. I had asked if it was the same voltage, thinking that maybe the garage door opener is 12v and perhaps the camera alarm output is only 1.5v? Wasnt sure if they were on the same page as far as voltage or not, and as far as DC/AC power.

 

I control mine door with my ELK automation panel and I use 1 sec pulse.

 

Neat! I'm on their website. They have so many products. Which one are you using? And do you use it for other things in your house too?

Edited August 2, 2012 by Guest

[alpine0000 0]

Mine is just contact closure.

 

Yea, I think most garage openers are contact closures. But the trick is, how to get the contacts to close (or, more precisely, send the correct voltage to the wire going to the motor) remotely?

 

Don't know about exacq, only played with it briefly but you can have the output show on the 3346 liveview page, or add button that maps to an http command. You can also make a different button put it on your phone and have it send the http command.

 

Hmm. Interesting. I'll give that a look.

[mike_va 0]

add a transistor, driving a relay (diode across the coil). you can probably buy a small board with all that stuff on it somewhere.

 

that gives you a contact closure. you are not "directly" controlling the motor.

 

parallel the relay contacts across the switch

 

we use the sensors in our alarm system also to prevent the system from being armed at night with the doors open.

 

hope this helps

[hardwired 0]

You can use this Altronix relay to change the low level digital outputs from the camera to a dry relay contact suitable to connect to the garage door control. http://www.altronix.com/products/product.php?name=RBSNTTL

[Razer_SE 0]

In exacq in the linking area you click on new, then choose soft trigger. Event source you then name it whatever you want, likely Garage Door. The next area to the right is action type, choose output trigger. Once you have that clicked then the available alarm outputs on your cameras should show up. Choose the correct camera output you want to use. The last option is time on the right, for how long to hold the output. That you might have to play with, but I can't imagine it needs more than a second and maybe not even that long.

 

As for a relay, in the gate systems I play with more often the current needed and relay and such is already there, you are just closing the loop for to complete the circuit momentarily. In my case if I wire directly to where the keypads are connected then I need nothing else at all, just closing the loop will cycle the gate. No help with a garage door opener, but I'd assume it works the same way in some cases anyway. The ones that have a doorbell type connector is just closing the loop for a second. Wire to that connection on the opener and try it I guess? If I tap the strike wires for a second it works, and that is all I want my output to do, close the loop for a second and shut back off. If a relay is needed then it looks like hardwired has what you may need!

 

That is my best guess on the opener side, on the exacq side I just made a trigger and typed it out so you should be able to do that easily. Then the soft trigger shows up on the main view page of exacq and look like a light switch in the newest version. In the phone app there is a button at the bottom labeled triggers, you will click there to use the trigger on the phone.

[alpine0000 0]

Razer:

 

I set up that trigger in exacq, and I hooked up a volt meter to my Axis 3346-VE output, and when I turn the soft trigger on, it outputs 3.3 volts DC So that is working.

 

Now, on to the more tricky part. I don't think my garage opener uses 3.3 volts, its probly more like 12 or 24 volts, I would assume? And also I'm not sure yet if the garage opener uses DC or AC power. The garage opener hasnt actually been installed yet, which is why I cant test it right now for voltage type. It is getting installed next week. I've been trying to find manuals/diagrams online for garage openers to see what kind of voltage they use, but havent found anything yet.

 

The other thing is, can I set up the trigger in exacq to be momentary? The post-trigger thing, if it set it to 1-second, doesnt do a 1-second momentary signal. It stays on for 1-second AFTER you turn the trigger off. So, currently, I have to turn the trigger on, then off real quick, which isnt that hard from the client software, but sometimes laggy/tricky using the iOS app, and I found myself often not able to get it to turn back off very quickly (sometimes took 3-5 seconds, which is probably too long?). It'd be cool if we could just have a momentary button, and choose how long it sends voltage out.

 

So I guess my two questions are: can we set a momentary trigger in exacq, instead of one that you have to turn on and off quickly, and does anybody know the voltage that most garage openers use (12v?), and what type of voltage it is (DC or AC)? Most likely, I will just end up hooking up a relay to complete the circuit, like the button in the garage does.

 

[ak357 0]

Razer:

 

I set up that trigger in exacq, and I hooked up a volt meter to my Axis 3346-VE output, and when I turn the soft trigger on, it outputs 3.3 volts DC So that is working.

 

Now, on to the more tricky part. I don't think my garage opener uses 3.3 volts, its probly more like 12 or 24 volts, I would assume? And also I'm not sure yet if the garage opener uses DC or AC power. The garage opener hasnt actually been installed yet, which is why I cant test it right now for voltage type. It is getting installed next week. I've been trying to find manuals/diagrams online for garage openers to see what kind of voltage they use, but havent found anything yet.

 

The other thing is, can I set up the trigger in exacq to be momentary? The post-trigger thing, if it set it to 1-second, doesnt do a 1-second momentary signal. It stays on for 1-second AFTER you turn the trigger off. So, currently, I have to turn the trigger on, then off real quick, which isnt that hard from the client software, but sometimes laggy/tricky using the iOS app, and I found myself often not able to get it to turn back off very quickly (sometimes took 3-5 seconds, which is probably too long?). It'd be cool if we could just have a momentary button, and choose how long it sends voltage out.

 

So I guess my two questions are: can we set a momentary trigger in exacq, instead of one that you have to turn on and off quickly, and does anybody know the voltage that most garage openers use (12v?), and what type of voltage it is (DC or AC)? Most likely, I will just end up hooking up a relay to complete the circuit, like the button in the garage does.

 

 

Don't make life so difficult for your self

its not that difficult

get output from camera triggering standard 12 volts timer

which u can setup as you wish

and don't worry about voltage on garage opener

all u need to short button

meaning your timer relay contacts will do that job

[thewireguys 3]

No voltage needed to control the door. You need a relay for the camera to trigger and connect normally open and common to the garage door controls.

[alpine0000 0]

No voltage needed to control the door. You need a relay for the camera to trigger and connect normally open and common to the garage door controls.

 

My thoughts exactly Just have the 3.3v output on the camera go and trigger a relay that will close two contacts to short the wire at the garage door opener button on the wall.

 

I have a bunch of 12v relays that are used in automobiles (i used to install car alarms), but the 3.3 volts out of the camera isnt enough to trigger the relay. So i guess i need to find a relay that can be triggered by 3.3v DC and the Normally Open contacts would have to be able to handle the garage door opener voltage, which I think is 24 volts AC? Maybe radio shack? Simple and easy hook up for me, once I find a relay that works with 3.3v.

[thewireguys 3]

Hardwired already posted a link in this thread

[alpine0000 0]

Hardwired already posted a link in this thread

 

Hah. How did I miss that??? That look perfect. Thanks!

 

Now, is there a way to get a soft trigger in exacq to just be momentary? Or am I just going to have to open and close it real quick?

[hardwired 0]

If you can't get a short trigger from Exacq, use this Altronix timer relay instead, in "one shot" mode. http://www.altronix.com/products/product.php?name=6062

[vector18 1]

If you use the alarm output of the dvr, you can ask you neighbor to walk past the camera and your garage door will close. Done. LOL.

[ak357 0]

If you use the alarm output of the dvr, you can ask you neighbor to walk past the camera and your garage door will close. Done. LOL.

 

And what will happen if neighbor walk again ?