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I am looking to install a garage opener and due to meatspace constraints I will probably have to use jackshaft. Jackshafts are predominantly LiftMaster and Cham

I am looking to install a garage opener and due to meatspace constraints I will probably have to use jackshaft. Jackshafts are predominantly LiftMaster and Chamberlain => the smarts are myQ, which I don't want anywhere near my network. Genie jackshafts seem fine, but Genie's reputation is bad to the point where garage door companies may refuse to work on them. These motors also usually come with the ability to hook up a hardwired button. There are a couple of pre-made (konnected, ratgo) solutions or one could jury rig a z-wave relay. Alternative is Overhead Garage door company that have separate SKUs for the unit, the battery and the smarts so one can pick two and use the same relay (my current plan). There may be _some_ proprietary shenanigans with LM and Chamberlain hardwired buttons but Overhead's one really seems to just work through bridging two contacts

asveikau 2y ago
Not sure how it works with a jackshaft vs. the more traditional residential opener, but ratgdo can speak the myQ protocol and control it from mqtt or home assistant. I have it working with my Chamberlain opener as do many others.
- VTimofeenko 2y ago
  Besides the questionable rent-seeking behavior from myQ: * I don't want to use an integration that needs a round-trip through the cloud to work. Long-term changes are inevitable (company goes out of business, randomly changes API, etc.) * I fundamentally do not like Amazon Key integration. It gives someone else control over my security hardware which makes me very uncomfortable. I am not sure if it's opt-in or out, but the point is that a myQ device that is installed _can_ be configured to let arbitrary third party to open the door. If I have a choice, I'd rather set up a system that I control from the get-go rather than try to lobotomize a system that I can't fully control.
  - asveikau 2y ago
    Ratgdo doesn't go through the cloud. It's a separate board. You wire it into the opener the same way would a button, and it speaks the serial protocol that a myQ enabled button or console would use. Then it can speak MQTT over wifi. I never paired my opener with any app nor do I have it on WiFi.
    - VTimofeenko 2y ago
      Yes, of course. As a matter of fact -- I will be using one of those solutions myself and pair it with HA. >I never paired my opener with any app nor do I have it on WiFi. The opener may be advertising "configure me" network (WiFi or BT) -- which (in theory, depending on how bad did they screw the security up) could allow anyone to pair their app with your opener. I think it might be better to add it to the network but firewall it off No ingress or egress. This is just so that it no longer advertises the configuration network. Putting it into a faraday cage should also work but I suppose the firewall way is faster
azinman2 2y ago
Why don’t you want myQ anywhere near your network? Last I saw, 3rd party security analysis has actually been shockingly good. That said they’re rent seeking to use their products, eg $100/yr or thereabouts for Tesla integration.
- efitz 2y ago
  > Why don’t you want myQ anywhere near your network? Precisely because they're rent-seeking. I have a wifi-enabled garage door opener that I paid a lot of money for. Why should I have to pay MyQ every month to effectively just let something other than their app or their proprietary switch open the door?
  - azinman2 2y ago
    “Near my network” suggested it was a security issue. Are there other companies running a cloud-based api for garage doors that don’t charge? It does cost money to keep the servers going. I personally just took a cheap remote, attached its button to an esp32 with a relay, put on mqtt, and interfaced it with homebridge. Now it shows up in the home app. Works well! iCloud via Apple TV connects it to the internet securely.
    - efitz 2y ago
      Nope, my concern wasn’t security, it was corporate greed
      - azinman2 2y ago
        I’m curious, do you expect them to run and maintain servers for free?
        Someone1234 2y ago
        I didn't realize they were selling garage door openers for free.
15155 2y ago
Just use a LiftMaster/Chamberlain jackshaft opener, never connect it to any network install the ESP32-based ratgdo device into the wiring harness, be done with this issue. Nothing else compares due to the digital integration. ratgdo uses the simple serial protocol that the opener button uses, so it has access to a lot of information.
- VTimofeenko 2y ago
  Thanks, that's the plan. To be precise - - I thought about getting the opener+battery from Overhead and ratgo/konnected. Since you mention those two manufacturers specifically -- do you know if there's something that disqualifies the Overhead company's one? One downside that I could think of is that I'd be vendor-locked in for parts when it croaks.

asveikau 2y ago

Not sure how it works with a jackshaft vs. the more traditional residential opener, but ratgdo can speak the myQ protocol and control it from mqtt or home assistant. I have it working with my Chamberlain opener as do many others.

VTimofeenko 2y ago
Besides the questionable rent-seeking behavior from myQ: * I don't want to use an integration that needs a round-trip through the cloud to work. Long-term changes are inevitable (company goes out of business, randomly changes API, etc.) * I fundamentally do not like Amazon Key integration. It gives someone else control over my security hardware which makes me very uncomfortable. I am not sure if it's opt-in or out, but the point is that a myQ device that is installed _can_ be configured to let arbitrary third party to open the door. If I have a choice, I'd rather set up a system that I control from the get-go rather than try to lobotomize a system that I can't fully control.
- asveikau 2y ago
  Ratgdo doesn't go through the cloud. It's a separate board. You wire it into the opener the same way would a button, and it speaks the serial protocol that a myQ enabled button or console would use. Then it can speak MQTT over wifi. I never paired my opener with any app nor do I have it on WiFi.
  - VTimofeenko 2y ago
    Yes, of course. As a matter of fact -- I will be using one of those solutions myself and pair it with HA. >I never paired my opener with any app nor do I have it on WiFi. The opener may be advertising "configure me" network (WiFi or BT) -- which (in theory, depending on how bad did they screw the security up) could allow anyone to pair their app with your opener. I think it might be better to add it to the network but firewall it off No ingress or egress. This is just so that it no longer advertises the configuration network. Putting it into a faraday cage should also work but I suppose the firewall way is faster

azinman2 2y ago

Why don’t you want myQ anywhere near your network? Last I saw, 3rd party security analysis has actually been shockingly good. That said they’re rent seeking to use their products, eg $100/yr or thereabouts for Tesla integration.

efitz 2y ago
> Why don’t you want myQ anywhere near your network? Precisely because they're rent-seeking. I have a wifi-enabled garage door opener that I paid a lot of money for. Why should I have to pay MyQ every month to effectively just let something other than their app or their proprietary switch open the door?
- azinman2 2y ago
  “Near my network” suggested it was a security issue. Are there other companies running a cloud-based api for garage doors that don’t charge? It does cost money to keep the servers going. I personally just took a cheap remote, attached its button to an esp32 with a relay, put on mqtt, and interfaced it with homebridge. Now it shows up in the home app. Works well! iCloud via Apple TV connects it to the internet securely.
  - efitz 2y ago
    Nope, my concern wasn’t security, it was corporate greed
    - azinman2 2y ago
      I’m curious, do you expect them to run and maintain servers for free?
      - Someone1234 2y ago
        I didn't realize they were selling garage door openers for free.

15155 2y ago

Just use a LiftMaster/Chamberlain jackshaft opener, never connect it to any network install the ESP32-based ratgdo device into the wiring harness, be done with this issue. Nothing else compares due to the digital integration. ratgdo uses the simple serial protocol that the opener button uses, so it has access to a lot of information.

VTimofeenko 2y ago
Thanks, that's the plan. To be precise - - I thought about getting the opener+battery from Overhead and ratgo/konnected. Since you mention those two manufacturers specifically -- do you know if there's something that disqualifies the Overhead company's one? One downside that I could think of is that I'd be vendor-locked in for parts when it croaks.