Question:
I have a Sears Craftsman garage door opener that came with a 3 button
multi function remote control that is supposed to be Homelink
compatible.
One of the buttons controls the door itself and the other 2 I was
hoping I could program to perform other stuff.
Mainly, I would like to have one of the other 2 buttons turn the
outdoor lights on and off from my car. They are not lights that I can
plug into an outlet. They are currently controlled by a wall light
switch inside the house. I was hoping I could simply replace that light
switch by one that is wireless enable (315 Mhz is the frequency my
Sears remote operates at).
I asked the technical support at X10 is their products would allow me
to do that.
I ended up buying 2 parts. 1 WS467 wall switch module and 1 TM751 Mini
Transceiver. Is that even right ? So far, I plugged a lamp into the
mini transceiver and tried to turn it on and off using the Sears remote
with no success. Do I need to do anything for the transceiver to
"learn" the remote ?
Is there a simpler way ?
Answer:
If your unit isn't too old you should be able to buy additional
remotes. I have an outdated Stanley (20 yrs old) that I built a remote
for using parts from Radio Shack.
Radio Shack is having a sale on a remote control switch for lamps and
appliances. With a few modifications it can be attached to the push
button circuit in your garage. The remote has about a 30-40 foot range,
has some security protection and is a keychain type. The unit with one
remote costs $20 and additional remotes cost $9.
I think you need to reread the original post. He
does not have a Homelink equipped car but has a garage door remote which is
sold as "Homelink compatible" which means that, if he did have a Homelink
equipped car, he could use the garage door remote to train his Homelink. In
this case, calling the remote "Homelink compatible" is about as meaningful
as calling it "gravity compatible". I predict if you hold it at shoulder
height and release your grip, it will demonstrate its "gravity
compatibility".
The "compatibility" is in the Homelink system not in the garage door opener.
Any ASK RF system using frequencies within the Homelink range is "Homelink
compatible" in that the Homelink system can learn it. The garage door opener
and remote use a fixed 315MHz frequency. The garage door opener can be
trained to respond to two more of the remotes designed to work with it but
cannot be trained for 310MHz or for the X-10 RF protocol.
