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Having built a custom driveway gate and hinge setup I found myself shocked at what a quality dual-swing gate opener costs these days. More importantly, they have rather a lack of customization available in how you control or communicate with them, so I've set out to build my own with a pair of 12v linear actuators and a Semtech SX1287 LORA radio module. This is a work in progress.
I'll be building a custom PCB for the whole thing, but I've tried to design this in such a way that any number of Arduino and related modules would work if hand-wired with jumpers, perfboard, breadboard, etc. Most parts are through-hole, and the ones that are surface mount are large enough hand soldering should be easy. Also makes for easy customization.
Schematic and first soldered board is complete. Code testing has begun, and has been mostly reliable with a few adjustments needed in error handling functions and long-term robust-ness.
Shown here is the relay configuration in a simple H-Bridge. By switching seperate relays, any leg can be made positive, while the other remains grounded, causing the DC motor to be able to turn in two directions. This is very fault tolerant too- if any relay became stuck or failed, the motor would have either both leads grounded, or both leads at 12 volts, neither one of which would allow current to flow, therefore the motor will remain stopped. If the linear actuator is moving, it will of course stop when it reaches the built-in limit switches.
Avid home DIY'ers might recognize this as similar to wiring a 3-way light switch, but backwards. The other difference is that AC power has no single direction of current flow, nor does a lightbulb care which way the current flows.
Added support for the TOPENS HLR01 Homelink-compatible receiver using a single-button toggle on pin A0.
Wiring:
Pressing the assigned Homelink button in your vehicle will toggle the gate state (open ↔ close). Includes debounce and LED2 visual feedback. No PCB rework needed — uses the existing A0 breakout header.
Note: Magnetometer code is commented out in v2.0 but can be easily re-enabled.
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