I took some pictures of my transmitters, and I don't see anywhere to put a screwdriver to tune anything. Am I missing something, or does my transmitter lack this function?
These two are different transmitters, but look to be the exact same circuit, just laid out differently.
Shouldn't it be on the receiver? It would make more sense.
No, Rolf specifically said to tune the transmitters.Originally Posted by Marks256
Shouldn't it be on the receiver? It would make more sense.
I am sorry, but i have to disagree with Rolf. It wouldn't think that the POT would be the receiver. If you don't believe me, then just pop the lid off of the receiver. I bet it is in there.
The only tuned circuit I see is the coil wound over the white tube.
Is there a slug inside? If it is you are lucky, because you will have to tune it slightly.
If not, the only way is to compress or lengthen the space between the windings. To determine what to do, you need a tuning tool, it is a small dia. stick with a powdered iron slug in one end and a brass one the other. But it is almost impossible to use without proper test equipment. Sorry about that.
I don't know what else to suggest.
The type of receivers used I have no experience with but maybe, if this don't work (please do not play with both of your openers) you could post a picture and we could work from there.
PS. As a temporary fix you could double the length of your antenna, that should help some.
Here is what mine looks like but it is almost 20 years old.
Last edited by Rolf; 18th August 2006 at 03:07 AM.
I could be wrong. Sorry!
Been marking trimpots and tiny trimmer caps for years with no problems. The only trimpots that are tricky would be the multi-turn, helical drive ones. Every hear of a very fine point Sharpie marker? WalMart has dozens of them on the shelf in the office supplies section! A steady hand and knowing where to scribe a line on the component are the keys to success. This isn't rocket science..... er, uh excuse me, brain surgery.You are a brain surgeon correct?
The trim cap (or coils) we are talking about are (I just checked mine) about 3/16" in diameter with a access hole of about 1/16"!
I would love to se you try to mark that.
Trust me, I have about 10 years of repair experience on airborne HF, VHF and UHF communication equipment.
Last edited by HiTech; 18th August 2006 at 02:29 PM.
Don't make me reach through this monitor to slap you a good one!
Look, this whole thread is getting carried away and darn silly if you ask me (2 pages of theoretical troubleshooting??). Let's top thinking about individual components going out of tune and instead locate the source of the problem logically. Copy this post of mine, take it out into your garage and get to work and don't report back here until you have some definitive results for us!
1. his vehicle transmitter's design does not provide for tweaking and poopeater states that both units operate the opener with the same results (basically disregard xmttrs. as the fault then)
2. receiver has far more components to affect proper operation so that should be suspect. First ensure that all connections terminals or wires to receiver are of good electrical integrity. Test thinngs once again to note any improvements. If not proceed to #3
3. Remove receiver module and inspect for poor solder connections, cracked foil traces, or electrically loose components. Test once again and if poor reception still exists, proceed to #4
4. swap out receiver to determine if that module is the culprit. If so, then case closed. If not proceed to #5
5. at this point if the system still isn't working properly, switch to raising and lowering the door manually!!
We need to realize that a garage door opener is an electro-mechanical device that uses a high-torque motor, mechanical linkage all interfaced to a circuit board. Mechanical vibrations over time can and have caused problems with the receiver control module. However most of the time it's been faulty xmtter packs since they get tossed about and are exposed to temperature extremes.
Last edited by HiTech; 18th August 2006 at 02:32 PM.
Don't make me reach through this monitor to slap you a good one!
Yes, there is a metal slug inside the white tube. It's not powdered iron, and doesn't appear to be very fragile. How would I go about tuning the coil using this slug?
Last edited by poopeater; 18th August 2006 at 04:52 PM.
If there is a core it will be brass, ferrite isn't suitable for such high frequencies
PIC programmer software, and PIC Tutorials at:
http://www.winpicprog.co.uk
I think you are missing a key point to all of this. It's a pain in the ass to open up the actual motor unit of the opener. It's very simple for me to play with the tiny little transmitters.Look, this whole thread is getting carried away and darn silly if you ask me (2 pages of theoretical troubleshooting??). Let's top thinking about individual components going out of tune and instead locate the source of the problem logically. Copy this post of mine, take it out into your garage and get to work and don't report back here until you have some definitive results for us!
1. his vehicle transmitter's design does not provide for tweaking and poopeater states that both units operate the opener with the same results (basically disregard xmttrs. as the fault then)
2. receiver has far more components to affect proper operation so that should be suspect. First ensure that all connections terminals or wires to receiver are of good electrical integrity. Test thinngs once again to note any improvements. If not proceed to #3
3. Remove receiver module and inspect for poor solder connections, cracked foil traces, or electrically loose components. Test once again and if poor reception still exists, proceed to #4
4. swap out receiver to determine if that module is the culprit. If so, then case closed. If not proceed to #5
5. at this point if the system still isn't working properly, switch to raising and lowering the door manually!!
We need to realize that a garage door opener is an electro-mechanical device that uses a high-torque motor, mechanical linkage all interfaced to a circuit board. Mechanical vibrations over time can and have caused problems with the receiver control module. However most of the time it's been faulty xmtter packs since they get tossed about and are exposed to temperature extremes.
Thus, I'd much rather try adjusting the transmitters to work with my screwed up receiver than go straight to fiddling with the large, bulky, hard to reach, overhead motor unit.
The receiver is likely at fault when two xmttr. packs yielded the same results. I know there's the possibility of retuning the xmttrs. to a possibly detuned receiver, but what if that doesn't work? You'll have no choice to face the reality of maybe messing up things royally and having to call in a professional garage door man.
Don't make me reach through this monitor to slap you a good one!
How am I going to mess things up? The absolute worst case scenario would be my transmitter tuning doesn't work, and I have to go ahead and fix the receiver. I would maybe have to purchase one additional $10 transmitter to replace the one I 'broke'. That's also assuming that I break it during my attempt to tune it, which isn't likely.
Why wouldn't you want to try the simple solutions first? Makes no sense.
god, this reminds me of the old joke: Bus company hires a new driver and puts him on a route. First day he comes back with $57 in fares. The next day, he returns with $46. The third day he comes back with $290. The dispatcher is amazed - "Wow, that's the most money your route has ever made in a single day, what happened?" The driver replies "That route you gave me was a loser so I went over to 4th. Lots of people there, it's a goldmine!"
In case the point of the joke is missed, just because it's easier to muck with the transmitters doesn't mean its the right thing to do. all the evidence points to the receiver. It's staring you in the face. but, hey, do what ever you want to do.
It is a mather of shifting it into or out of the windings, just a fraction. Make sure you can get it back were it was originaly.
We are talking about just a rew thousens of an inch. Is the slug and the tube threded? That would make it a lot easier.
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