sensors

[malelan]

looking for some info on sensors, don't really know much so i'll lay it out and hopefully someone can give me a quick run through.

Specifically i'm talking about garage door sensors here, as i know the topic is generic.

What i'd like to do is add garage door sensors to my doors, i have 2 regular size doors. I understand they are contact sensors? probably mounted somewhere on the rail, and when the door is open, they are in contact, or vice versa.

Can this be wired directly to a controller? or do i need to wire to a sensor bridge? i've seen the wireless sensor module from card access , looks like this supports zigbee pro and can handle 2 sensors (exactly what i need). would this interface directly over zigbee pro or do i need a sensor bridge or controller to connect to this?

can i get a few links or name brands of sensors people are using for this ?

-Jon

[RyanE]

If you have wire from your garage door back to your Control4 system, you can direct-wire these types of sensors into a controller or IO Extender, if you have free contact inputs.

I used standard wide-gap contacts, available from alarm installers.

If you either don't have wire back to your Control4 system, or if you don't have free IOs on the controllers or IO Extender, the CardAccess units communicate over ZigBee directly with your Control4 system, and provide contact inputs for your sensors. They also have relay modules, which can be used to trigger your garage door to open or close on command.

RyanE

[malelan]

ah thanks,

yeah i can wire this back to the io extender and have available inputs, so i'll probably go that route,

last question, what kind of wire are you using? can i use regular cat5e/6? or is station wire/thermostat wire better for this type of application?

Jon

[RyanE]

You could use Cat5 or thermostat wire, but I don't like either.

Best is security sensor wire (they sell 2 wire or 4 wire), because it's stranded copper, not solid, like Cat5 or Thermostat wire, and tends to hold up a bit better to abuse.

If you don't have that, use what you've got.

RyanE

[alanchow]

Magnetic contact on the bottom on the door and the ground. Preferably hooked upto the security system so you can use it for dual purpose otherwise connected to your controller is fine. As ryan says use security cable 2 cores is enough.

[RyanE]

Here's a writeup of how I did installed my sensors (over 10 years ago!):

http://ericksonfamily.com/GarageDoor/

Note: I haven't much updated it since then, and my DSL upload speed is horrible. Sorry! I'm also getting a bit of rubbing against the sensor and the garage door, so some of the plastic has worn away from the sensor, but it's worked for 10+ years and still works, so it must be OK.

RyanE