MyQ Garage Door 'monitor' - Hackable?

[BaduFamily]

HI Crew
 
We picked up a MyQ garage door monitor for our main entrance. It's nice enough, allowing us to see if the overhead door has been left open and closing it if we wish.
 
What we can't understand is why the same device isn't designed to open the door as well.
 
Some of you folks have been in this industry since dirt was new - do you have any insights?
 
Another useful control on this monitor would be the remote-disabling option available on the hard-wired control in the garage.
 
I'm considering opening it up to see if there is room for a regular remote inside, and adding a button.
 
 

 

[pete_c]

What we can't understand is why the same device isn't designed to open the door as well.

 
The video for the device stresses the "did you leave your garage door open?" primary purpose of the device while it does mention once that you can open your garage door with the app on your phone such that I am guessing that both features are present on the hardware side of the device. 
 
In the 1980/90's I would call the neighbor and ask for a visual if I thought I had left the door open.  She was always home.
 
The installation video appears to be plug-n-play.  Have you installed yours yet? 
 
Here I have two Liftmaster controllers adjacent to each other.  I wonder if you need two of the MyQ devices.  I have removed mine to paint the wall and it is just two wires per controller. (mine are buried in the wall and just come out inside of the controllers.

 

[Del91574]

*Disclaimer* I don't own one but all the docs say you can open OR close the connected device.
 
Wait, just saw the "monitor" portion....wasn't paying enough attention and only saw MyQ.
 
http://liftmaster.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3195/kw/videos/related/1
 
Basically comes down to liability, any non line of sight device won't allow the door to operate as their system appears to offer some sort of audible/visual indication that the door is going to start moving. Also appears to prevent someone from locking someone outside of the garage.

 

[az1324]

For closing the door you worry about hitting something but there are safety senors and warnings to reduce those concerns. For opening the door you worry about it happening unintentionally and providing access to your garage/home for unwanted people/animals.

 

[pete_c]

Ahh.... see that you got the MyQ Garage Door monitor and I looked at the MyQ Garage door device video.
 

The MyQ Garage Door Monitor is not compatible with the MyQ Garage (Wi-Fi Hub) product.

 
I guess you can return it and get the MyQ Garage product eh?
 
Is there a Windows Mobile app for it? 

 

[NeverDie]

HI Crew
 
We picked up a MyQ garage door monitor for our main entrance. It's nice enough, allowing us to see if the overhead door has been left open and closing it if we wish.
 
What we can't understand is why the same device isn't designed to open the door as well.
 
Some of you folks have been in this industry since dirt was new - do you have any insights?
 
Another useful control on this monitor would be the remote-disabling option available on the hard-wired control in the garage.
 
I'm considering opening it up to see if there is room for a regular remote inside, and adding a button.

It's a long-shot, but perhaps you somehow got an older model/firmware?  For instance, does it meet all the UL 325-2010 requirements and also show the UL listing for that? cf: http://www.cepro.com/article/lowes_iris_to_launch_first_ever_ul_compliant_zwave_garage_door_controller/
Now that it's Monday, I would imagine the shortest path to an answer would be calling MyQ.

 

[pete_c]

Appears that to be able to utilize the Liftmaster MyQ monitor you also need to have installed the base Liftmaster MyQ garage door opener retro fit as the monitor appears to be an optional remote monitor.
 

The MyQ garage door monitor is compatible with MyQ™ enabled garage door openers only.

 
I do not think that it will report any status without the rest of the Liftmaster MyQ stuff. 
 
The MyQ monitor device is just an "a la carte" add to the base MyQ system.
 
The docs on the web site state you can retro fit any Liftmaster system built from 1998 up with the Liftmaster MyQ system.
 
That said you could just wire your door to your Elk Panel providing same said features as the MyQ system.  (input / output).
 
Here I have integrated my doors to my OPII panel but not touched the base safety features built in to the Liftmaster configuration.  (IE: priority of control is the Liftmaster configured system; then its the automation stuff (overdid the saftey stuff a bit).
 
I am not sure what my two Liftmaster 2-wire connected controllers send over to the Liftmaster openers to lock the garage doors though.

 

[BaduFamily]

Sorry I wasn't clear from the onset. I have MyQ Garage Door opener dealy. After the contractors left I installed a hard-wired MyQ Door contoller - the one with the motion detector. ( the contractors had taken one of the car visor remotes and drilled it into the wall! ) This setup works pretty well. I then added this 829LM Monitor to the little room off the front door which serves as coat room / mail drop / backpack pit etc.
 
The 829LM does allow closing of the unseen door, DELinstallations. When you fire it off it sets off the door opener's buzzer and flashes the attached lights. Quite vigorously.
 
But the restriction on remote opening... weird. It came up while working in the front yard. My wife wanted a gardening tool, and went in to the handy garage door control in the much closer front door. Discussion starts. Because the other option is to take off boots, clomp through hallways to garage...
 
When we rebuilt this place I did run wires from the M1 to the garage floor, drilled in a sensor and therefore can tell when the garage is open. It's on a Force Arm setting. What didn't occure to me was that there is a way to have the M1 remotely close the door. Pete_C how did you pull that off? A relay on a keypad hacked into a remote? or into a hard wired Liftmaster control panel?
 
I'll probably game up and get their ethernet gateway, and then mongle something up to run on the wall mounted Slate21 in the same little room. Seems like total overkill since I already have 2-way communication via the little 829LM.

 

[pete_c]

When we rebuilt this place I did run wires from the M1 to the garage floor, drilled in a sensor and therefore can tell when the garage is open. It's on a Force Arm setting. What didn't occure to me was that there is a way to have the M1 remotely close the door. Pete_C how did you pull that off? A relay on a keypad hacked into a remote? or into a hard wired Liftmaster control panel?

 
The whole garage door automation / security thing started here with my old home and a detached garage.  My automation, security stuff and circumventing some built safety stuff created a debacle one day. 
 
This original endeavor started because I could not see the garage door from various places in the home.
 
You can just hard wire the opener or hardware a remote to your Elk panel.  You can wire sensors to your Elk panel to do see and do anything you want with your garage door and concurrently leave the saftey stuff in place provided what you already have in place.
 
I do not know anything about the Liftmaster control panel. 
 
That said though take it and the remote garage door status box apart and see what makes it tick.

 

[tmbrown97]

There are lots of ways to use the M1 to open/close the door... right now that's my main method of entry/exit since I've been too lazy to program the new truck... I just pull out my phone.
 
Some options:

1. Output of the M1 straight to either the existing wall switch or the opener itself (smart panels have issue with this but you don't seem to have a smart panel... short story is the door will open/close as expected but the smart panel will "reboot" and lose any date/time settings)...
2. Hack a remote and solder some wires that go to an output
3. Use any other protocols like UPB I/O or Zwave I/O module hooked to either the button contacts or a hacked remote

 

[Madcodger]

So, just searched for Liftmaster and found this thread, and wondering who has figured this out, please... We just had two new garage doors and Liftmaster openers installed. I went to wire in my Elk outputs to the openers on the garage door wall switches, which worked perfectly for the old system as the Elk just closed the door contacts for a second, which opened or closed the door. Simple, right? Not on this blasted Liftmaster!!

It seems shorting across the wall switch with the Elk output does nothing, and that these wall switches are instead sending some sort of command to the opener, (making a dry contact closure obsolete). Has anyone figured out how to interface these to their Elk, preferably without buying a bunch of additional Liftmaster gear? I can monitor open/close state of the doors easily with garage door - type magnet sensors (very reliable). I just can't open or close them via the Elk with these $&{^]* new openers! Thanks in advance for help.

 

[Neurorad]

I've read of a few solutions for MyQ at the RC forum.

http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/forums/search.cgi?sid=625633

I avoided it by installing a dumb GDO.

 

[Neurorad]

Read that first thread, quick recap -

1. MyQ controller is the button, powered from the GDO. You could try removing it, wire the M1 to the GDO. Lost MyQ functionality, though.
2. Buy an accessory push button, and hack it, shorting with the M1.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Possible do THIS with two additional remotes?

 

[zenoparadox]

So, just searched for Liftmaster and found this thread, and wondering who has figured this out, please... 

 
Did you see this thread: http://cocoontech.com/forums/topic/2215-how-to-automate-your-garage-door/
 
I had been thinking for a bit about having my Elk control my LiftMaster. The approach in that thread is pretty much what I was planning to do (our garage is detached, running wire would be non-trivial). I realize you may want a wired solution rather than wireless but if they do sell a fat wired button that only opens and closes the door and is not any smarter than this, maybe this button can be hacked in the same way a remote would: by having the Elk simulate a button press on this device instead of trying to trigger the opener directly.