I need to be able to check via the web if a garage door is open or closed, I'm thinking of just pointing a crappy webcam at it but wanted to see if anyone else had any ideas

5/14/2009 2:13:50 PM

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2419298&CAWELAID=112294074 + hooked up to a serial port somehow ?

5/14/2009 2:17:02 PM

A webcam is probably the quickest and easiest solution, but it's not the most elegant. How much time, effort, and money do you want to put into this?

5/14/2009 2:24:50 PM

honestly, it's for the bedroom to make sure the wife/gf isn't sleeping around, isn't it

5/14/2009 3:05:34 PM

your door randomly opening too?

5/14/2009 3:09:32 PM

Cheapest and easiest way to monitor it? Take a chair from your dining room, put in the middle of the driveway facing the garage and sit your ass down.

5/14/2009 4:13:01 PM

any generic serial sensor with a program and webservice that will poll the state of the sensor for a voltage value and convert it to a bool value

5/14/2009 4:13:31 PM

Quote :

"Cheapest and easiest way to monitor it? Take a chair from your dining room, put in the middle of the driveway facing the garage and sit your ass down."

i laffed

5/14/2009 4:25:17 PM

I wouldn't use a web service or anything like that if all you want to know is when it opens. I would have it send an email to ##########@messaging.sprintpcs.com (sprint) or ##########@vtext.com (verizon) to alert via cellphone when the open/closed state changes.

If you've got a parallel port, you don't need anything but a parallel cable. Connect one pin's wire to the garage door track. Position another pin's wire such that it contacts the wheel on the garage door when fully closed. Constantly send a signal from one of the pins and monitor the signal on the other. If the signal is interrupted, then the door was opened. When the signal is restored, the door is closed again.

5/14/2009 4:32:40 PM

arduino + magnetic contact switch

5/14/2009 6:35:14 PM

hook up the power cord to your home phone to your door
call your home phone from your cell
when the call gets cut off, the door is open

5/14/2009 7:24:36 PM

^^ that costs more than my solution.

5/14/2009 8:03:56 PM

true.

i must say, that is simplicity at its finest. good job, sir.

5/14/2009 9:35:30 PM