M1 Newsletter

January 26, 2005

Automating the Garage Door

Have you ever left home, been well on your way, and thought, “Did I shut the garage door?”  Your only option is to drive all the way back home, right?  Not with M1…  The garage door can be programmed to close several minutes after you leave or, with the built-in telephone remote control feature, you can call the M1 and find out if the door is open and close it if it is. 

Here is another common scenario.  It’s late at night and you are not sure if the garage door is closed, so you peep out wondering who or what could have crept into your garage while the door was open. Your female customers want and need this great M1 feature.  You can easily program an F key to be lit or blink when the garage door is open.  This is an option on the keypad screen in RP. Just set the illumination event to the zone of the garage door (zone 3 in this example), and check the box under ‘blink light’ if a blinking light is desired. 

In this example, the garage door will open or close when the F5 key is pressed on any keypad, or when button 3 on the wireless keyfob is pressed. 

The next rule will announce the state of the door after it is fully opened/ closed, using the voice description for the zone.   The voice description is set up in RP on the screen for each zone, under inputs. 

In the following rules, an unused output (output 208 in this example) will be turned on for 5 minutes when the system is armed in away mode.  If the garage door is still open when the unused output is turned off, it will be closed.   You can adjust the length of time that the unused output is turned on, which will allow the door to stay open for more or less time before automatically closing.

For added convenience and safety, the rule below will turn on the garage light and an outdoor light, if the garage door is opened when it is dark outside.

The M1 can also remind you to close the garage door if it has accidentally been left open.  With the rule below, if the garage door is still open at 9:00 PM , the M1 will announce “Garage Door Is Open.”  Just press the F key (F5 in this example) on any keypad to close the door!

Got Questions or Ideas?
Email me at amy.strickland@elkproducts.com