The chamberlain door opener my folks installed has some terrible range. i popped open the remote today to have a look and check the battery and saw a potentiometer on the circuit board. Does anyone know what this adjusts? i thought it was a little strange to have an adjustment on an opener.
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question about my chamberlain remote
- Thread starter Cholleman
- Start date
Gary S
Well-known member
I can't find any information about that remote, but adjusting the pot isn't likely to increase the range.
Some garage door openers have a short wire hanging out of the receiver in the garage. If yours has an antenna wire, you might gain some range by adding different lengths of wire to that antenna. Depending on the frequency of the opener, you might hit on a length that gives more antenna gain, and more range.
Some garage door openers have a short wire hanging out of the receiver in the garage. If yours has an antenna wire, you might gain some range by adding different lengths of wire to that antenna. Depending on the frequency of the opener, you might hit on a length that gives more antenna gain, and more range.
nadogail
Well-known member
The operating range for the Chamberlain opener I puchased just over a year ago became a problem, I complained to the dealer. They sent out a technician who installed a new radio receiver tuned to 390 MHZ, the frequency used by Geni, the Smart Home remote built into my Volvo was cloned to the new frequency. He also replaced some wiring to the pushbutton operator on the wall. He came very close to blaming my problem on the US Navy ships in port. There was no charge for the parts, but I was billed for the service call and additional labor.
This is my only Chamberlan opener, I have four Genie openers that have been almost trouble free (no expense for adjustments). When and if, the Chamberlan needs replacement, I will most probably buy another Geni.
This is my only Chamberlan opener, I have four Genie openers that have been almost trouble free (no expense for adjustments). When and if, the Chamberlan needs replacement, I will most probably buy another Geni.
I have 3 openers that are Chamberlain. I have noticed just recently that their range has become very very poor. I replaced the batteries thinking that was an issue however replacing them might have made it worse! I am not really sure what changed. I have only been in this house for about 6 months now.
Thanks!
Neil
Thanks!
Neil
rockwithjason
Well-known member
the pot is probably to tune the transmitter circuit. before you change it measure the resistance between all pins so you can reset it.
The operating range for the Chamberlain opener I puchased just over a year ago became a problem, I complained to the dealer. They sent out a technician who installed a new radio receiver tuned to 390 MHZ, the frequency used by Geni, the Smart Home remote built into my Volvo was cloned to the new frequency. He also replaced some wiring to the pushbutton operator on the wall. He came very close to blaming my problem on the US Navy ships in port. There was no charge for the parts, but I was billed for the service call and additional labor.
This is my only Chamberlan opener, I have four Genie openers that have been almost trouble free (no expense for adjustments). When and if, the Chamberlan needs replacement, I will most probably buy another Geni.
Thanks for the replies guys. I did read an old post that the pot helps fine tune the frequency of the remote. haven't tried it yet.
as for the 390MHz freq, we live in close proximity to a handful of bases in hampton roads. i thought most door openers now operated on 315MHz so as not to interfere with military transmissions. could switching to 390 cause more problems?
I wanted to update on my poor reception quality. The other day my cable went out. I saw the cable man driving by very slowly. It turns out that they were testing for "leaky" cables. They suspected the cable to my house was leaking so they were going to run a new one. A nice man from the cable company came in and hooked up some very fancy equipment and it turned out one of my cable lines was poorly crimped. He fixed the end and showed me the different on his meter and away he went. Well I don't believe in coincidences but to make a short story long now all my garage door openers work without issue. Who knew?!
Neil
Neil
you can buy a universal remote and receiver for less than a service call, replace all the problematic parts with new stuff if you can't get what you have to work....expect to pay around $40 from most any hardware store, I've seen genie branded kits.
Schtauffer
Well-known member
I'm a door guy, and a Lift-Master (Chamberlain's professional brand) dealer.
If you live close to a military base, do not switch to 390 MHz.
When we have trouble with range, its pretty much time to experiment. A couple things to try: mess with the antennae. If its pointing down, try pointing it up. If its pointing up, try pointing it down. Run a wire down the rail, and staple it down the header so that it sticks down between the door and the weatherseal an inch or two. We have found that sometimes this takes care of distance issues. Its also the cheapest and easiest thing to try first.
Look for the source of the interference, like heffneil discovered with his cable problem. Sources of interference are often things like wireless internet, battery chargers, etc. If you can't locate or eliminate the source of interference, you will continue to have problems with distance.
The most reliable option (and predictable the most expensive) is to add an old non-rolling code piggy-back receiver and remotes. The old frequencies are generally very good distance wise; they are no longer used for security reasons.
If you live close to a military base, do not switch to 390 MHz.
When we have trouble with range, its pretty much time to experiment. A couple things to try: mess with the antennae. If its pointing down, try pointing it up. If its pointing up, try pointing it down. Run a wire down the rail, and staple it down the header so that it sticks down between the door and the weatherseal an inch or two. We have found that sometimes this takes care of distance issues. Its also the cheapest and easiest thing to try first.
Look for the source of the interference, like heffneil discovered with his cable problem. Sources of interference are often things like wireless internet, battery chargers, etc. If you can't locate or eliminate the source of interference, you will continue to have problems with distance.
The most reliable option (and predictable the most expensive) is to add an old non-rolling code piggy-back receiver and remotes. The old frequencies are generally very good distance wise; they are no longer used for security reasons.
I'm a door guy, and a Lift-Master (Chamberlain's professional brand) dealer.
If you live close to a military base, do not switch to 390 MHz.
When we have trouble with range, its pretty much time to experiment. A couple things to try: mess with the antennae. If its pointing down, try pointing it up. If its pointing up, try pointing it down. Run a wire down the rail, and staple it down the header so that it sticks down between the door and the weatherseal an inch or two. We have found that sometimes this takes care of distance issues. Its also the cheapest and easiest thing to try first.
Look for the source of the interference, like heffneil discovered with his cable problem. Sources of interference are often things like wireless internet, battery chargers, etc. If you can't locate or eliminate the source of interference, you will continue to have problems with distance.
The most reliable option (and predictable the most expensive) is to add an old non-rolling code piggy-back receiver and remotes. The old frequencies are generally very good distance wise; they are no longer used for security reasons.
thanks, i'll try what you've suggested. my dad's opener had the antenna coiled up, so i straightened it out and pointed it down, but that doesn't seem to work.
i tried so experimentation with the remote by itself, out of the car. i can open the door from the street when it's not in the car. additionally, the garage door is on the side of the house with a window facing the street. if i move a couple of feet left or right from where i can open the door, it seems like the corner of the house (brick) is blocking the signal. when in the car, you have to be right by the door or close to it. i'm thinking that the issue is physical interference rather than electrical. i'll give extending the wire a shot, as that may be just the trick, but from what i've read on here, it may or may not work and messing with antenna length can also be a detriment to reception.
Mercedes has infrared blocking glass or something like that. They have small "windows" in the front windshield for things like EZ Passes and Garage Door Openers. I don't know what kind of a car it could be. Also maybe an FM modulator which is pretty popular with ipods and stuff could be putting out radio interference in the car?
Neil
Neil
Schtauffer
Well-known member
When it won't work with the window up, but works when you roll the car window down, its usually batteries. But if you tried those already, then mess with the antennae-- maybe extend it to the side window instead to the front of the garage or something. Experimentation is the key in these kinds of situations.
You can try messing with what you called the potentiometer-- its actually an RF trimmer. There is also one on the circuit board on the operator. The hole to access it is usually covered by a sticker. Probe around with something small until you find the hole, then shine a light in-- look for a very small allen screw (its not a Phillips, like the one in your remote). There's two holes; it should be the one directly beneath your up force screw. If you decide to start messing with those RF trimmers, try to make some kind of mark or something so you can turn them back to where they were set originally-- its a good way to make a problem worse. That's why Chamberlain would never tell you about them. They're usually tuned pretty good from the factory, anyway.
Let me know how it works for you.
You can try messing with what you called the potentiometer-- its actually an RF trimmer. There is also one on the circuit board on the operator. The hole to access it is usually covered by a sticker. Probe around with something small until you find the hole, then shine a light in-- look for a very small allen screw (its not a Phillips, like the one in your remote). There's two holes; it should be the one directly beneath your up force screw. If you decide to start messing with those RF trimmers, try to make some kind of mark or something so you can turn them back to where they were set originally-- its a good way to make a problem worse. That's why Chamberlain would never tell you about them. They're usually tuned pretty good from the factory, anyway.
Let me know how it works for you.