[#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] [#]
  [#]                                                                 [#]
 [#]              Building a Garage Door Opener Hacker                 [#]
  [#]                                                                 [#]
 [#]                        by Black Manta                             [#]
  [#]                                                                 [#]
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Garage door openers employ a DIP switch that the owner sets to his own
personal "code".  The code is actually just a binary number created by the
on/off positions of the switch.  The device discussed here will enable you to
open any automatic garage door (aside from some of the new dual switch models).

The opener employs a 555 timer as a pulse generator to transmit pulses to a
binary counter.  Each pulse will increment the binary counter by one.  You can
adjust the speed of the counting by turning R1.  You will have to experiment to
find the best speed.  If it is too fast, the signal will not be long enough to
open the door.  Normally, about 2.5 minutes to complete all 1024 combinations.

As you hit the switch, it will begin counting up, lighting the leds for the
corresponding switches as it turns each on. This will serve as a reference so
that you can set any opener to.

To connect to the garage door opener, first desolder the DIP switches from the
door opener and solder an IC socket into where the DIP switches were.  (This
will allow you to put the DIP switches back, when operating in normal mode.)
Second, you should connect the output to a wirewrap IC socket.  If you mount
the IC socket on your pc or perfboard you can use the socket to plug right into
the door opener.  When connecting the output, be sure that the connections on
the wirewrap socket correspond to the ON setting of the DIP switches.


Parts List
~~~~~~~~~~
Resistors
     R1 - PC mount 100k potentiometer
     R2 - 1k ohm 1/4 watt

Capacitors
     C1 - 22MFD

Integrated Circuits
     IC1 - 555CP Timer
     IC2 - CD4040BE 12 stage binary counter

Misc Parts
     LED1 - 10 Light Emitting Diodes
     S1 - Normally Closed Momentary Push Button Switch
     Perfboard
     9V Battery



10 leds going to the 10 pins of the dip switch

Dip Switch Assemblies (2 of 10 shown)

 |------+----------------------------------+--------->>> to ground
        |                                  |
        |                                  |
       led                                led          etc......
        |                                  |
        |                                  |
        +-----> to dip switch #            +-----> to dip switch #
        |                                  |
        |                                  |
        +-----> to IC2 pin #               +-----> to IC2 pin #


Wire in IC2 through the assemblies as follows.

>From IC2 pin            To Dip Switch Assembly
~~~~~~~~~~~~            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     2                          6
     3                          5
     4                          7
     5                          4
     6                          3
     7                          2
     9                          1
    12                          9
    13                          8
    14                         10


>From IC2 pin                    To
~~~~~~~~~~~~            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     1                        Not Used
     10                      IC1-pin #3
     15                       Not Used 
     16                         + 9V



The remaining components and remaining pins of IC2 hook up as follows:


>from IC2 pin #8-----+-----(S1)---->to IC2 pin #11
                    |
                    |                to +9V
                    |                  |
                    |                  +---------------+------+
                    |                  |               |      |
                    |             IC1 pin 8       IC1 pin 4   R1
                    |                                         |
                    |                             IC1 pin 7---+
                    |                                         |
                    |                                         R2
                    |                                         |
                    |                             IC1 pin 6   |
                    |                                   |     |
                    |                                   +-----+
                    |                                   |     |
                    |            to IC1 pin 1     IC1 pin 2   C1
                    |                 |                       |
                    +-----------------+-----------------------+
                                      |
                                      +-->>> to ground