How Did You WEMO That? (Read-Only)

[tterag2wemo]

I have a gate at the entrance to our property that I wanted to put a power gate opener on, but I did not want to run power out that far. I also thought it would be nice if I could also receive notifications and set rules based on the gates current state. 

This is the final setup with gates, opener, solar panel, marine battery, buck converter, Wemo Maker, and magnet reed switch in place. It was a fairly easy setup. To get the Maker controlling the gate I simply connected the gate relay to the Maker (very much like a garage door setup).

The reed switch connects to the "_" and "S" of the Maker.

I used a 12V - 5V buck converter with a built on USB port to power the Maker.

Tuck everything "neatly" into a rubbermaid bin.

And close it up.

All that's left to do is setup rules.

-notifications upon opening and closing

-turn on outside light when gate opens, if not already on

-automatically shut gate in the evening

-maybe set it to automatcially close after set period of time

Oh! Almost forgot that I am also controlling the Maker using Amazon Echo.

"Alexa, trigger the gate." 

Short video demostrating Alexa (Echo) controlling it: https://youtu.be/F2wj1TWzrNU

That's how I WEMO'd that!

[Newtown]

Really nice setup, tterag2wemo

Would you have to think about the heat build up in the bin, i.e. ventilation holes?

[tterag2wemo]

This particular bin has 4 bump outs that I thank may be designed for that purpose. I do plan to build a little gate house before winter to protect the battery and equipment from snow.

[tterag2wemo]

Update. We left for a week of vacation recently. While way Ireceived an alert that the power consumption at home was above normal and asked a neighbor to go check it out. I was able to open the gate to let him in... from 800 miles away. 😆 Turns out a water hose had burst.