How to make my Swing Gate smart?

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Neville Bailey

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I have a driveway swing gate, powered by a Centurion PC-board CP77, and I use a single-button ET remote to operate the gate.

Is there a way that I can make my existing system smart and integrated with Home Assistant? I've heard of the Sonoff RF bridge 433, but not sure if it will be compatible with my remote. Also, is it compatible with HA, without needing to flash it?
 
One automation that I would like is for the gate to open if me or the wife arrives home, by using our phone location.

Another one would be to open the gate, when not at home, to allow the domestics in.
 
Give the gate an education... Yes what a stupid joke.

Maybe the Centurion board can be triggered by a relay input?
 
Neville Bailey said:
One automation that I would like is for the gate to open if me or the wife arrives home, by using our phone location.

Another one would be to open the gate, when not at home, to allow the domestics in.
Click to expand...

So, I used a Sonoff SV with a reed switch on the LED so that I could see in HA if the gate was open or closed.

I never did an automation for it to open automatically when I or my wife arrived home for two reasons:

1. Big security risk imho
2. Was quicker to just press the button on the remote instead of waiting for automation to kick in.

As for the last idea - I did remotely open it a lot and that was useful.

The SV since died and I have not had the urge to reset it up. So now it’s a stupid gate again.
 
Shelly 1 job done.

Nothing about the remote changes, it works as per normal.
 
PowerFactor said:
Give the gate an education... Yes what a stupid joke.

Maybe the Centurion board can be triggered by a relay input?
Click to expand...
Lol, there is a youtube video of a guy that used a ESP32 connected to his garage door with a MOSFET trigger to the manual override on the board. So something like this is possible.
 
I've just had a chat with a technician from Centurion Systems and he recommended that I connect a Sonoff Basic Smart Switch to the PC-Board, so that is what I have ordered. It seems fairly straightforward to set up.
 
Neville Bailey said:
Would you mind sharing more information on how to do that?
Click to expand...
So you buy one of these.

Shelly 1 - Shelly SA

Shelly 1 The smallest, smartest and most powerful Wi-Fi relay switch that provides the best home automation solution that can […]
shellysa.co.za shellysa.co.za

and then you watch this video.


Now the REED switch will depend on what you are already running, I didn't go for the wired version as I have Zigbee Aqara sensors already so I just use of those and configured it in Home Assistant to work with the Shelly as a Cover Entity.

But if you want to go wired you can just buy one of these cheap alarm magnets like he uses and then you need to find a place close enough to the motor to wire it up....or if you want to get advanced tap into the motors own reed but I don't have a Centurion so can't comment there.
 
The Centurion G-Remote will work, but not cheap
You can use as many phones as you like - you, wife, domestic, etc
It has 2 relay outputs, so in theory you can operate gate and garage
The gate should be on auto-close
About R2900,00
 
Neville Bailey said:
I've just had a chat with a technician from Centurion Systems and he recommended that I connect a Sonoff Basic Smart Switch to the PC-Board, so that is what I have ordered. It seems fairly straightforward to set up.
Click to expand...
That's firstly AC (which may or may not work) but also has no option for inputting any sensor data.

Which is fine if you are going the wireless route as HA can then do the work.

Basic is also going to be a problem to fit inside the cavity I reckon. Wrong product for the job in my opinion.

The Shelly is smaller, supports AC and DC, natively supports a sensor and works directly in Home Assistant.

www.robofactory.co.za

Shelly 1

The Shelly 1 is a small and smart Wifi switch that provides you with a powerful home automation solution.
www.robofactory.co.za www.robofactory.co.za

Much better option than a Basic.
 
I ended up installing a Shelly 1, which was much easier than I expected, and it works like a charm.

The only issue is that my WiFi signal is a bit sketchy at the gate, so the Shelly disconnects now and then.

Any recommendations on which WiFi extender I should get?
 
Neville Bailey said:
I ended up installing a Shelly 1, which was much easier than I expected, and it works like a charm.

The only issue is that my WiFi signal is a bit sketchy at the gate, so the Shelly disconnects now and then.

Any recommendations on which WiFi extender I should get?
Click to expand...

Try dropping your 2.4ghz to 20mhz only and see if that helps.

And no WiFi extenders they are garbage. Run a cable and put in another access point or buy a whole new mesh system.
 
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