Re: Using garage door safety beams

[Frank Olson <Use_the_email_links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Les Blalock wrote:
>
> Is there any place that sells something that could be tied into the
> safety beam of my garage door opener to trigger a remote chime to
> indicate someone/something has entered my garage when the door is
> open?
>
> It appears that the wires from the sensors to the door control carry
> around 10.85 volts dc until the beam is broken when the voltage jumps
> to around 12v.  Would maybe the X10 Powerflash recognize the ~ 1v
> difference and trigger an X10 receiver?


It seems to me that the beams are usually mounted too low for accurate
detection (you may pick up a stray cat or dog nosin' about).  I'd
suggest going with an actual beam detector or one of those chime units
you see being used in many retail store entrances.