Summary of Garage Remote – Arduino ft. Android
Summary: The GarageUino is a personal Arduino-based garage door controller with a 20x4 LCD, four LEDs, a button, two position sensor connectors, USB and Ethernet ports. The creator fabricated a custom enclosure with cutouts, soldered resistors to LED pins and tied grounds together to simplify wiring, using basic tools and glue for assembly.
Parts used in the GarageUino:
- Arduino (implied)
- 20 by 4 character LCD display
- Four LEDs
- Resistors for LEDs
- Push button
- Two connectors for position sensors
- USB connector/port
- Ethernet port/connector
- Wires (including ground wiring)
- Enclosure/front cover material
- Glue gun and glue
- Drill and small saw blade (tools for cutting)
- Heat shrink tubing
The GarageUino is my first Arduino project that has resulted in a product that I actually use. It’s a garage port controller that features a 20 by 4 character LCD display, four LEDs, a button, two connectors for position sensors and an USB connector. Oh! And of course an Ethernet port for Internet access. I’ll get back to that later.
Read on to learn how I created the GarageUino, and how you can make one yourself.
Why?
I get a lot of whys. Why do you have to control your garage door from your phone? Why do you need an 80 character LCD? What’s wrong with the wireless remote that came with the original opener? Why?
And the answers are; I don’t. I don’t. Nothing. Because I can.
Fabrication
I started with the external connectors for the position sensors, the Ethernet connector and the USB port. I used a combination of a drill and a small saw blade for all the cutting, and a glue-gun to make things stick together. Next I made all the cut-outs in the front cover, for the LCD, LEDs and the button.
I soldered the resistors directly to the LED pins to save space and to ease the wiring. I also soldered together the grounds so I only have to ground one wire as opposed to four. A little heat shrink tube later and it all looks pretty good. You can barely see the resistors.
- What components does the GarageUino include?
It includes a 20 by 4 LCD, four LEDs, a button, two position sensor connectors, a USB connector, and an Ethernet port. - How were the enclosure cut-outs made?
The cut-outs were made using a drill and a small saw blade. - How were the LED resistors installed?
Resistors were soldered directly to the LED pins to save space and ease wiring. - How was grounding simplified?
Grounds were soldered together so only one ground wire is needed. - What tools were used for assembly?
A drill, a small saw blade, a glue gun, soldering tools, and heat shrink tubing were used. - How were parts secured in the enclosure?
Parts and cut pieces were glued together using a glue gun. - Was heat shrink tubing used in the project?
Yes, heat shrink tubing was used to tidy up and insulate connections. - Does the GarageUino have Internet access?
Yes, it includes an Ethernet port for Internet access.
