![]() what are your laws for safety during opening / closing eg I have read some posts that some parts in the USA require IR beam for auto garage doors for child safety ? ![]() how are you going to open them from the house, do you want a manual button near the gate too ? how are you going to automate them - are you wanting to use the spare button on your garage remote ( in which case need to have a suitable interface board for the gate from your garage door controller manufacturer or equivalent) They will also respond if needed to input eg IR beam or manual open switch and much more. the controller for the motor is probably more important than the motors- mine is programmable for how fast they open where they open to, where they close to, what happens if they jam against something. think about wind resistance eg metal skeleton ornate gates vs solid wood panel Thnk seriously about sturdy metal gateposts as wet/dry is bad enough for dimensional soil change let alone when you add wood into the mix ie when it rains your gates swell and can jam shut ie they WOULD open if they were not motor controlled with a good yank but won't with the gate motor ideally metal gates or if wood they need to be braced. hinges need to be high quality ie so the gates can swing freely by hand eg those ball bearing hinges I actually did that 20 years ago and am still living in the same house. A true gate opener system with all the correct circuits and switches would be adjustable, and include provisions to stop the gate if it detects that it hits an obstruction. They have their stuff for sale on amazon. We sell to US Automatic, and they make a reputable product. otherwise you're just pulling against the locks or depending on your closing device to lock the gate. You'll also need someway to lock and unlock the gate shut at the other post automatically. ![]() and probably a bunch of other electrical gobblety gook. You'll need a RF transciever, receiver, switch combination. You can get a simple acme drive 12v linear actuator with limit switches, but the power (battery, and how to charge it) and the start signal is whats complicated. The other option is an air cylinder if you have the compressed air available and only want 1 way operation. If you go to Mcmaster-carr, or grainger, you can buy linear actuators and gear-motors to do this sort of thing. (inexpensive ones, homebuilt ones that aren't tacky or cumbersome, yadda, yadda, yadda) ![]() I only want a closing mechanism, gravity opens it fine. After you get the distance all dialed in, build a nice cover. The great thing about this setup is it is a cheap solution compared "gate openers". My bracket is an 1/8" piece of strap steel with the derailer sprockets mounted on each end with a mounting hole in the center (mounted in the center so it can teeter back and forth while still putting pressure on both sides of the units main sprocket). With the old derailer sprockets make a bracket that keeps the chain under tension on the garage doors sprocket. The chain has to run the length of your gate. You will also need to buy an old derailer, you will need it for parts. Next, go to your local bicycle shop and buy some chain. Here is the solution, go and buy a chain driven garage door opener and mount it on its side (gear/sprocket side towards your gate). The first thing you find out when you start researching gate opener electronics is they are very expensive (not my style at all). I built my own automatic gate about 5-6 years ago.
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