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Leaving Garage Door Open

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gmhill33

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Oct 5, 2009
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Ohio
Greetings,

Is there something that will remind a person (me) that they have left their garage door open? My garage is off to the side behind the house and when we leave we go the opposite direction, so if I left the garage door open (which I have on a few occasions) I don't know it until we come home.

Thanks,
Gary
 
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PassnThru

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Location
Bowling Green KY
The last Craftsman opener I bought came with a sensor that mounts on the door. There is a wireless receiver that goes in the house with a red and green light. Door open - red light. Door down - green light.

I put the transmitter in the detached garage and bent up some wire to mount it to tell me if either door was open. The transmitter is at the edge of the open door in this pic -

View media item 6155
They are available separately:
Garage door monitor
 
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OhioSiouxFan

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Oct 17, 2011
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110
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Northwest Ohio
I have the Craftsman too. Works great. I gave one to my neighbor as a gift because I was always calling him to let him know his door was open!
 
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cowboyjosh

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Mar 11, 2010
Messages
1,066
I wired in sensors to my alarm system, if the GD is open for more then 120 minutes the keypads start beeping. Also if the overheads are open the system wont arm. I do like the wireless solutions from Craftsman and Liftmaster
 
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gmhill33

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Oct 5, 2009
Messages
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Location
Ohio
PassnThru said:
The last Craftsman opener I bought came with a sensor that mounts on the door. There is a wireless receiver that goes in the house with a red and green light. Door open - red light. Door down - green light.

I put the transmitter in the detached garage and bent up some wire to mount it to tell me if either door was open. The transmitter is at the edge of the open door in this pic -

View media item 6155
They are available separately:
Garage door monitor
Click to expand...

Thank you sir, that might be a better alternative since it is cheaper.
 
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Stuart in MN

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Location
Minneapolis
I made it a habit to sit in the driveway and watch the door go all the way down, to make sure it's closed - once in a while a falling leaf or blowing snow will go in front of the photosensors and make the door go back up. That way I always know it's closed.
 
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Wanna Ride

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2,790
How about wiring in a light on the side of the garage that comes on, if the door is open? Would be pretty easy, actually.
 
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PassnThru

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Bowling Green KY
Stuart in MN said:
I made it a habit to sit in the driveway and watch the door go all the way down, to make sure it's closed - once in a while a falling leaf or blowing snow will go in front of the photosensors and make the door go back up. That way I always know it's closed.
Click to expand...

I've always done this - trained the wife to do so as well. You just have to develop a habit to check. As for the wireless unit - I've just trained myself to always check it before I go to bed at night. The receiver is next to the back door. Door locked - check. Outside light off - check. Green light - check.
You would just have to develop the habit of checking it before you left the house. I don't know of any reasonably priced system that will tell you miles from home if you left the garage door open.
 
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patrick66

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Feb 20, 2009
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219
Location
OK
I watch my door shut completely before I drive off. No gimmicks, just attention to detail.
 
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sselander

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Nov 20, 2008
Messages
2,041
Location
CT
Liftmaster announced their MyQ a while, one option is a light monitoring setup, another lets you use your smartphone or pc to control the door.

http://www.chamberlaingroup.com/cor...s/articles/liftmasterDebutsMyQTechIDA2011.htm


G"arage Door Monitor Enabled by MyQ Technology
Synced up with the same 900 MHz frequency as the "communication" radio in the power head of either the 8550 or 8360 unit, the LiftMaster Garage Door Monitor (Model 829LM) displays the status of the garage door from within any room of the house. This innovative base station receives an alert from the garage door opener, which has the sensor built in to the system. If the door is open, the garage door opener will alert the base station which will blink red and an audible noise will sound; if the door is closed, the garage door opener will inform the base station and the light on the monitor will illuminate green until the status of the door changes. This feature offers the homeowner added convenience and peace-of-mind that their garage door is open or closed when it should be"
 
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NathanJax

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Oct 4, 2011
Messages
19
Location
Jax, Fl
Usually I wait to leave until I see it close. I have a security camera system with 1 camera in the garage. I can see the entire system from my cell phone. So if my OCD kicks in and I can't remember if it closed or not, I can look from my phone. As far as closing it if it's open, I'm looking into that now.

Currently i have 3 options:

1. Call the wife (if she's home)
2. Call either of my 2 of my neighbors (I trust them)
3. Turn around and go home...


My current opener is a craftsman and I was looking at their new opener, the
Craftsman Assurelink. You can open and close it from your cell phone anywhere.
 
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gmhill33

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Messages
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Location
Ohio
NathanJax said:
Usually I wait to leave until I see it close. I have a security camera system with 1 camera in the garage. I can see the entire system from my cell phone. So if my OCD kicks in and I can't remember if it closed or not, I can look from my phone. As far as closing it if it's open, I'm looking into that now.

Currently i have 3 options:

1. Call the wife (if she's home)
2. Call either of my 2 of my neighbors (I trust them)
3. Turn around and go home...


My current opener is a craftsman and I was looking at their new opener, the
Craftsman Assurelink. You can open and close it from your cell phone anywhere.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link., Sounded good until I read that there will be a annual fee. :(


EDIT: What type of camera do you have? I would like to get one or two but I'm not sure what type to get. (don't want to spend a bunch of money on camera's).
 
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NathanJax

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Oct 4, 2011
Messages
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Location
Jax, Fl
gmhill33 said:
Thanks for the link., Sounded good until I read that there will be a annual fee. :(
Click to expand...

Free for the first year and only $20 a year after that. That's $1.60 a month to be able to close my garage door if it's left open is worth it to me.


gmhill33 said:
EDIT: What type of camera do you have? I would like to get one or two but I'm not sure what type to get. (don't want to spend a bunch of money on camera's).
Click to expand...

I use to install security systems so I have all different kinds around the house (inside & out). For the average Joe, decent cameras are around $100 each.

Something like this...

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=11006&cs_id=1100602&p_id=6641&seq=1&format=2



Here's a pic of the garage right now (from my cellphone). Excuse the wife's stuff and kids stuff in the middle of the garage

photo.png
 
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gmhill33

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Messages
539
Location
Ohio
NathanJax said:
Free for the first year and only $20 a year after that. That's $1.60 a month to be able to close my garage door if it's left open is worth it to me.




I use to install security systems so I have all different kinds around the house (inside & out). For the average Joe, decent cameras are around $100 each.

Something like this...

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=11006&cs_id=1100602&p_id=6641&seq=1&format=2



Here's a pic of the garage right now (from my cellphone). Excuse the wife's stuff and kids stuff in the middle of the garage

photo.png
Click to expand...

Can I by a single wireless camera and run it off of my wireless network and be able to view it from my phone or Internet
or do I need to buy other pieces?
 
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NathanJax

Member
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Oct 4, 2011
Messages
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Location
Jax, Fl
gmhill33 said:
Can I by a single wireless camera and run it off of my wireless network and be able to view it from my phone or Internet
or do I need to buy other pieces?
Click to expand...

Yes, They have "IP cameras" that have their own IP address. Around $100 to $150 for a decent camera with night vision. That's all you'll need to be able to watch live feed. That won't record anything. If you only want this one camera, they have recording software for your computer you can get for free.


For example:

Newegg - D-link DCS-932L on sale for $100- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16881103035

And better software for recording - iSpy software (free open source) instead of the software D-Link provides.
 
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gmhill33

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Oct 5, 2009
Messages
539
Location
Ohio
NathanJax said:
Yes, They have "IP cameras" that have their own IP address. Around $100 to $150 for a decent camera with night vision. That's all you'll need to be able to watch live feed. That won't record anything. If you only want this one camera, they have recording software for your computer you can get for free.


For example:

Newegg - D-link DCS-932L on sale for $100- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16881103035

And better software for recording - iSpy software (free open source) instead of the software D-Link provides.
Click to expand...

Can you recommend a camera for the outside, and is iSPy available for the Mac? If it isn't, can you recommend a free software for the MAc?

Thanks for all of your help.
 
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NathanJax

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Oct 4, 2011
Messages
19
Location
Jax, Fl
gmhill33 said:
Can you recommend a camera for the outside, and is iSPy available for the Mac? If it isn't, can you recommend a free software for the MAc?

Thanks for all of your help.
Click to expand...

Since we're getting more into security systems, I'll shoot you a pm so we don't clutter up this thread.
 
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Ryan_C

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Joined
Jan 12, 2010
Messages
115
Location
IN
Could you guys actually create a thread on this security camera usage and post a link here to it? I would greatly appreciate it.

I have know a little about the use of cameras and knew they were very affordable, but never figured out how to actually make good use of them.
 
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