Garage door openers

[brino]

Okay @cathead, I did NOT forget you!

I went digging in the back of my storage area and found them:





It looks like a couple different generations of cards.....

Based on the size of these parts (about 2x4 inches) I initially thought these were transmitters:



However, they have no buttons, so I now assume they are just simpler receivers...... maybe?
(the white square thing near the top is a variable capacitor.)

Some old model transmitter cases:



Here is one type of receiver and motor controller:


....and another type with a corner missing:

I believe these are the same as yours.

...and some even smaller ones, like half cards:



It must be 30 years ago that a friend gave me these. He had been "dumpster diving" and found hundreds of them.
I used one for some remote control project many years ago, but never before or since.
I figured they would be useful for something, so the box had followed me thru 3 or 4 moves.

They cost me nothing and some can be your for the price of shipping.

Brian

 

[cathead]

Okay @cathead, I did NOT forget you!

I went digging in the back of my storage area and found them:

View attachment 443348

View attachment 443349

It looks like a couple different generations of cards.....

Based on the size of these parts (about 2x4 inches) I initially thought these were transmitters:

View attachment 443350

However, they have no buttons, so I now assume they are just simpler receivers...... maybe?
(the white square thing near the top is a variable capacitor.)

Some old model transmitter cases:
View attachment 443372


Here is one type of receiver and motor controller:
View attachment 443373

....and another type with a corner missing:
View attachment 443374
I believe these are the same as yours.

...and some even smaller ones, like half cards:
View attachment 443375


It must be 30 years ago that a friend gave me these. He had been "dumpster diving" and found hundreds of them.
I used one for some remote control project many years ago, but never before or since.
I figured they would be useful for something, so the box had followed me thru 3 or 4 moves.

They cost me nothing and some can be your for the price of shipping.

Brian

Brian,

It looks as the earlier generation ones had a separate board for the receivers and also used 3 smaller chips for
latching and reversing the motor. The number on the closest ones is 843910, second photo from the bottom.
If you could send me those two, I will be eternally grateful. I can send cash in US or Canadian. Let me know the
amount and I will send funds. This is really amazing as it isn't likely one could come across something like this.
I will send you a PM with my address and will need your address back of course.

This makes my day! Thanks Brian

 

[markba633csi]

Holy cow! the mother lode!
Probably they use a +5 volt or +12 volt signal to tell the board to open or close to answer your question Cat

 

[brino]

@cathead,

I got those two boards sent off to you today.
There's a tracking number out in the truck if we need it....

Brian

 

[cathead]

Brian,

The boards arrived yesterday and very nicely packaged I must say. It will take several days before I head to
town to the post office to post your letter so please be patient. Seldom do I send mail to another country
so need to confirm the postage needed.

Yesterday I connected up each board to the opener and pushed the opener button and neither one would work
which is what one would expect. I can tell they have different problems though because one would initiate
the door when activating the limit switch, the other one silent. Today I will do some testing on the boards
and may remove and replace some electrolytic capacitors and possibly the driver transistors as well.
I may have to resort to taking the opener off the ceiling at some point but that may end up being what I have
to do test for voltages while it is on.

Thanks Brian for offering the boards as they are in the unobtainium category these days. Also thanks
for the prompt mailing of the package. Now it's up to me to figure it all out.


Burt

 

[Dabbler]

Stanley no longer is in the garage door opener business
so it's up to me to keep them working or replace them.

My Stanley died last fall when I opened it and there was something blocking the track. It is the exact same board you had! Something burned out - but I elected to remiove it, and all the lifting apparatus. I can lift it manually just fine.

Time was that just about every garage had the bright yellow box in it..

 

[Dabbler]

@rwdenney Aren't ZAP the maker of 'Liftmaster' openers? I have some very serious concerns about the security of liftmaster. Defcon (5 I think) demonstrated an easy way to defeat the RF opener using a kids toy...

FYI I keep my door locked with a padlock in the track. I never remotely open it. (and now there is no motorized opener)

 

[brino]

Yesterday I connected up each board to the opener and pushed the opener button and neither one would work

Dang!
I knew if I had you walk me thru testing them here first that we would be another couple weeks on the back-and-forth required.

Today I will do some testing on the boards
and may remove and replace some electrolytic capacitors and possibly the driver transistors as well.

Yes mostly likely any electrolytic caps have dried up over the last 30 years.....
Good Luck! and please let us know about any success.

My Stanley died last fall when I opened it and there was something blocking the track. It is the exact same board you had!

@Dabbler although I just sent away the last two rectangular boards with the corner missing, if you could use any of the others for parts, just ask.

Brian

 

[Dabbler]

@Dabbler although I just sent away the last two rectangular boards with the corner missing, if you could use any of the others for parts, just ask.

I really appreciate you generosity! I removed the entire affair and discarded it last year. I wanted the headroom for the bridge crane I'm building.

I'm a bit of a hoarder, saving things 'in case'... It is really uplifting that you were able to turn your storing those boards into a boon for someone else! Victory!

 

[Provincial]

Right now I am fighting an old Lift Master chain drive opener that was installed in my in-laws garage, which is now a rental. The plastic gear was eaten up, but the worm gear and the rest of the unit were okay. I replaced the gear and re-lubricated the working parts. The repairs cost about $12.00 for parts and lubricant. It runs smooth and quiet (relatively, as it isn't ever quiet) but I'm having problems with the sensors.

I had to readjust the stops, which is normal when replacing the gear. Now it acts like the optical sensors are not hooked up, but they are hooked up, the wiring checked, and both sensors have steady green lights. The door opens normally. The door closes all the way when the wall button is pushed and held the whole way down. When pushing and releasing the button, or using the remote, the door moves down a foot or so, then reverses and the light flashes five times. According to the book, this indicates a problem with the sensor system. The lights stay steady green even when the door is in motion and reverses, which indicates that the both the sensors are getting power and can see each other. The wires are hooked to the proper terminals on the unit. They were not removed from the sensors.

I've ordered set of new sensors just in case. I have two other units like this, so if I don't need them, they will become spares. All three units have new gears now, and all lasted 20 years without problems or visible wear other than the drive gear. It cost me $10.00 for three gears, or you can get the gear mounted on the shaft with sprocket and upper bearing, grease, and small parts for $16.45 (p/n 41C220A) from a couple of places on Ebay. The kits come with full instructions, but I figured out an easier way to install all the parts, and an even easier way to replace just the gear. These were also sold under the Craftsman and Chamberlain brands.

I'm going to polish up the sensor wires at the terminals on the opener while I wait for the new sensors.

I bought a pair of new sensors, then tried again. First, I took all the sensor wires off the opener and polished the stripped ends, twisted each group that went on a terminal, and then secured them again. Then, I checked the old sensors. One was rapid flashing, and realigning them got steady green lights from both. The door operated normally!

I think there was enough resistance due to corrosion at the terminals. This caused the sensor circuit to think that there was an open circuit, but there was enough voltage for the sensors to indicate that they were functional. It was sort of a perfect storm of malfunction factors.

Now I have a pair of new sensors, but since they fit any of the six openers I have, it doesn't bother me to have them in stock.