Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight. I think I can bend it back,
but geeze...
[ Truth be told, I whacked it myself *lightly* about a year ago, but let's
keep that private, ok? ]
Anywho's -- is there some sort of a bumper or low-cost crush thingy that
would make a racket as you back into it with the door down?
Seems to me there's a market in there somewhere.
Surely the worlds got enuff idiots, like me, to warrant a solution!
> There is a very simple NO-TECH solution that I have been utilizing
for
> many years. It also has the advantage of being a safety feature in
> case of an emergency. I don't drive front end into the garage when I
> come home. I BACK IN to the garage (carefully.)
You think that some broad that bashes into a garage door is a good
enough driver to back in? C'mon!
Oversized whoopi cushion?
"patrick conroy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight. I think I can bend it
> back, but geeze...
> [ Truth be told, I whacked it myself *lightly* about a year ago, but let's
> keep that private, ok? ]
>
> Anywho's -- is there some sort of a bumper or low-cost crush thingy that
> would make a racket as you back into it with the door down?
>
> Seems to me there's a market in there somewhere.
> Surely the worlds got enuff idiots, like me, to warrant a solution!
>
In article <[email protected]>,
patrick conroy <[email protected]> wrote:
>Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight. I think I can bend it back,
>but geeze...
>[ Truth be told, I whacked it myself *lightly* about a year ago, but let's
>keep that private, ok? ]
>
>Anywho's -- is there some sort of a bumper or low-cost crush thingy that
>would make a racket as you back into it with the door down?
>
>Seems to me there's a market in there somewhere.
>Surely the worlds got enuff idiots, like me, to warrant a solution!
>
>
A lot depends on how much clearance you have between the garage door and
car bumper when parked 'normally', And whether or not anybody _walks_ in
that space -- assuming there is that kind of space.
There are not-terribly-expensive "high-tech" goodies that will help.
they're designed to 'alert' if there's something _low_ behind you
that you can't see. e.g. the kid left the tricycle parked in the drive.
Unfortunately, they do tend to go off if you're parallel parking in tight
quarters, too,
Me, I'd be tempted to rig a photo-cell 'doorbell' trigger, across the garage,
at some 'reasonable' distance away from the door opening. connected to a
*LOUD* klaxon, if that light-beam is broken _and_ the door is still down.
You could do something similar with a pressure sensor on the garage floor.
(like the old service station 'dinger' air-hose.) this would be less
prone to false-alarms.
Then, there is the *extreme* solution. Learn to _back_ the cars into
the garage. It's _really_hard_ to hit the door that way. <grin>
In article <[email protected]>,
Patrick Conroy <[email protected]> wrote:
>"Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]> wrote in
>news:[email protected]:
>
>
>> How about hanging something on the track that would be visible right
>> in front of the windshield with the door down and retract as it goes
>> up? Maybe a pulley and rope deal to move it.
>
>Neat idea - appeals to my Rube Goldberg side of the brain.
The same idea just hit me.
And it's really, *really* trivial to implement.
pulley on the wall above the top of the garage door. high enough to be
above the door when the door is open.
2nd pulley on the ceiling about at mid-hood point of car, when parked.
Sign hung from a couple of pieces of rope, from ceiling, at eye-level
of driver in car.
second piece of rope, running from top of garage door, through above-
door pulley, to ceiling pulley, and down.
To calibrate, open garage door. pull 2nd rope taught, and with sign at
about ceiling level, tie rope off to sign.
As garage door closes, sign descends. Until it reaches level that the
fixed ropes limit it to. After that, the garage-door rope just goes
slack.
Note: wire-core *clothes-line* is an _ideal_, inexpensive, material for
this kind of construction. Although, with a cardboard sign, you could
probably get by with something about the quality of binder twine.
In article <[email protected]>,
Patriarch <[email protected]> wrote:
>[email protected] (Robert Bonomi) wrote in
>news:[email protected]:
>
>> In article <[email protected]>,
>> Patrick Conroy <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>"Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]> wrote in
>>>news:[email protected]:
>>>
>>>
>>>> How about hanging something on the track that would be visible right
>>>> in front of the windshield with the door down and retract as it goes
>>>> up? Maybe a pulley and rope deal to move it.
>>>
>>>Neat idea - appeals to my Rube Goldberg side of the brain.
>>
>> The same idea just hit me.
>>
>> And it's really, *really* trivial to implement.
>>
>> pulley on the wall above the top of the garage door. high enough to
>be
>> above the door when the door is open.
>>
>> 2nd pulley on the ceiling about at mid-hood point of car, when parked.
>>
>> Sign hung from a couple of pieces of rope, from ceiling, at eye-level
>> of driver in car.
>>
>> second piece of rope, running from top of garage door, through above-
>> door pulley, to ceiling pulley, and down.
>>
>> To calibrate, open garage door. pull 2nd rope taught, and with sign at
>> about ceiling level, tie rope off to sign.
>>
>> As garage door closes, sign descends. Until it reaches level that the
>> fixed ropes limit it to. After that, the garage-door rope just goes
>> slack.
>>
>> Note: wire-core *clothes-line* is an _ideal_, inexpensive, material
>for
>> this kind of construction. Although, with a cardboard sign, you could
>> probably get by with something about the quality of binder twine.
>>
>>
>
>And so what message goes on the sign, that doesn't result in a frosty
>evening, or a call to the attorney? ;-)
>
>"Hey, Dummy! Open the Door!" ?
Maybe we should run a contest! <grin>
I could see:
"Beware of Door!"
"Let the sunshine in!"
"Have you hugged your rear-view mirror today?"
"Push the button, Max."
"Psssst. there's something behind you."
"Thimk!"
"What have you forgotten today?"
"Be sure opener is engaged, before putting motor in gear."
"If you ignore this ...."
"You break it, You buy it"
In fact, with only a little Rube Goldberg-ing, it should be possible to have
a bunch of signs, that come down _in_rotation_.
In article <[email protected]>,
Larry Jaques <novalidaddress@di\/ersify.com> wrote:
>On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 16:14:57 -0400, the inscrutable "no(SPAM)vasys"
><"no(SPAM)vasys"@adelphia.net> spake:
>
>>Robert Bonomi wrote:
>>
>><snipped>
>>>
>>> As garage door closes, sign descends. Until it reaches level that the
>>> fixed ropes limit it to. After that, the garage-door rope just goes
>>> slack.
>>
>>If she can't see the closed garage door do you really think she'll see
>>the sign? ;-)
>
>OR...
>
>As she drives into the garage and the sign obscures her vision, she
>drives right through the other side of the garage. He can't win. <eg>
"No problemo" with that one. If the sign is down (the door has to be
closed for that) where it obscured her vision, she *already* drove
through the door. What's to worry about the other side of the garage?
Hey! there's _another_ possibility for the sign -- an Alfred E. Neumann grin.
In article <[email protected]>,
Charles Spitzer <[email protected]> wrote:
>use the same pulley system to pull a 2x4 wheel chock out of the way when the
>door goes up. obwwr.
Getting the chock to go -back- into place when the door closes presents a
wee bit of a problem. unless you've got a fleet of trained cockroaches,
or something. <grin>
>"Robert Bonomi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> In article <[email protected]>,
>> Patrick Conroy <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>"Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]> wrote in
>>>news:[email protected]:
>>>
>>>
>>>> How about hanging something on the track that would be visible right
>>>> in front of the windshield with the door down and retract as it goes
>>>> up? Maybe a pulley and rope deal to move it.
>>>
>>>Neat idea - appeals to my Rube Goldberg side of the brain.
>>
>> The same idea just hit me.
>>
>> And it's really, *really* trivial to implement.
>>
>> pulley on the wall above the top of the garage door. high enough to be
>> above the door when the door is open.
>>
>> 2nd pulley on the ceiling about at mid-hood point of car, when parked.
>>
>> Sign hung from a couple of pieces of rope, from ceiling, at eye-level
>> of driver in car.
>>
>> second piece of rope, running from top of garage door, through above-
>> door pulley, to ceiling pulley, and down.
>>
>> To calibrate, open garage door. pull 2nd rope taught, and with sign at
>> about ceiling level, tie rope off to sign.
>>
>> As garage door closes, sign descends. Until it reaches level that the
>> fixed ropes limit it to. After that, the garage-door rope just goes
>> slack.
>>
>> Note: wire-core *clothes-line* is an _ideal_, inexpensive, material for
>> this kind of construction. Although, with a cardboard sign, you could
>> probably get by with something about the quality of binder twine.
>>
>
>
In article <[email protected]>,
Patriarch <[email protected]> wrote:
>"CW" <[email protected]> wrote in
>news:[email protected]:
>
>> One caple to pull the block one way, another to pull it the other way.
>> Then, you have to figure way to ensure that the car is far enough in.
>> But not too far.
>>
>
>Another neighbor has a tennis ball on a string, adjusted such that, when it
>just touches the windshield, the car is far enough in.
This is also standard practice at most inter-city bus terminals, and has
been for at least 30 years. Although they tend to use something about
like sash-cord, rather than just string, and run it inside a section of
1/2" PVC pipe -- these are usually open bays, and that way the thing
doesn't move in the wind very much.
Godzilla <[email protected]> writes:
>There is a very simple NO-TECH solution that I have been utilizing for
>many years. It also has the advantage of being a safety feature in
>case of an emergency. I don't drive front end into the garage when I
>come home. I BACK IN to the garage (carefully.) If there is ever some
>catastrophe like a fire in the house, I want to be on my way quickly
A fire in the house and you're worried about getting the car out of the
garage?
Brian Elfert
"Robert Bonomi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "No problemo" with that one. If the sign is down (the door has to be
> closed for that) where it obscured her vision, she *already* drove
> through the door. What's to worry about the other side of the garage?
>
D'OH!!! Well, because fixing two walls is harder than fixing one wall,
silly! (Walks away with a valley girl look of dismay at how some people just
don't seem to get it...)
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
On Mon, 02 May 2005 18:52:32 -0000, Brian Elfert <[email protected]> wrote:
> Godzilla <[email protected]> writes:
>
>>There is a very simple NO-TECH solution that I have been utilizing for
>>many years. It also has the advantage of being a safety feature in
>>case of an emergency. I don't drive front end into the garage when I
>>come home. I BACK IN to the garage (carefully.) If there is ever some
>>catastrophe like a fire in the house, I want to be on my way quickly
>
> A fire in the house and you're worried about getting the car out of the
> garage?
Seems reasonable to me...no reason to have a bigger loss than necessary.
I find the door a great way to check brakelights prior to opening it.
On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 22:39:39 -0700, Mark & Juanita
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 03:30:44 GMT, "patrick conroy"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight. I think I can bend it back,
>>but geeze...
>>[ Truth be told, I whacked it myself *lightly* about a year ago, but let's
>>keep that private, ok? ]
>>
>>Anywho's -- is there some sort of a bumper or low-cost crush thingy that
>>would make a racket as you back into it with the door down?
>>
>>Seems to me there's a market in there somewhere.
>>Surely the worlds got enuff idiots, like me, to warrant a solution!
>>
>
> Not to mock your pain here, but who starts a car without opening the
>garage door first?
>
>
>
>
>+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
> A wheelbarrow! Why didn't you say we had a wheelbarrow; you should
> have included that in our list of assets!
> Westley -- Princess Bride
>+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Robert Bonomi wrote:
<snipped>
>
> As garage door closes, sign descends. Until it reaches level that the
> fixed ropes limit it to. After that, the garage-door rope just goes
> slack.
If she can't see the closed garage door do you really think she'll see
the sign? ;-)
--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA
[email protected]
(Remove -SPAM- to send email)
"Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "patrick conroy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >
> > Anywho's -- is there some sort of a bumper or low-cost crush thingy
that
> > would make a racket as you back into it with the door down?
>
> You could replace the rear view mirror with one since she does not look
into
> it ;)
>
> How about hanging something on the track that would be visible right in
> front of the windshield with the door down and retract as it goes up?
Maybe
> a pulley and rope deal to move it.
>
>
Too low tech. I'm thinking maybe an interlock between the opener rail and
the ignition switch in the car. A simple solid state relay (on its own
220V, 30A circuit ((4 wire, just in case you might want to do "something" in
the future)) of course, with PVC conduit and ground braid wrapped around it)
in series with the ignition such that the car will not turn over until the
door is opened. Use Bluetooth technology to eliminate the nasty tanble of
wires from the door opener to the car. Of course, since it's a
"power-anything" the owner should unplug it and shut off the circuit breaker
before leaving the garage and heading into the house at night - just to be
safe.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 22:39:39 -0700, the inscrutable Mark & Juanita
<[email protected]> spake:
>On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 03:30:44 GMT, "patrick conroy"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight. I think I can bend it back,
>>but geeze...
>>[ Truth be told, I whacked it myself *lightly* about a year ago, but let's
>>keep that private, ok? ]
>>
>>Anywho's -- is there some sort of a bumper or low-cost crush thingy that
>>would make a racket as you back into it with the door down?
>>
>>Seems to me there's a market in there somewhere.
>>Surely the worlds got enuff idiots, like me, to warrant a solution!
>
> Not to mock your pain here, but who starts a car without opening the
>garage door first?
"Female Logic" 'Nuff said?
Pat, look for an automotive radar or ultrasonic backup alarm system.
<http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/tf-Browse/s-10101/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2009643/showCustom-0/p-2009643/N-111+600000492/c-10101>
--== May The Angst Be With You! ==--
-Yoda, on a bad day
--
http://diversify.com Ending Your Web Page Angst.
"patrick conroy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight. I think I can bend it
back,
> but geeze...
> [ Truth be told, I whacked it myself *lightly* about a year ago, but let's
> keep that private, ok? ]
>
> Anywho's -- is there some sort of a bumper or low-cost crush thingy that
> would make a racket as you back into it with the door down?
>
> Seems to me there's a market in there somewhere.
> Surely the worlds got enuff idiots, like me, to warrant a solution!
>
Well, if you have any relatives or kids you don't like, you could tie them
in front of the door. They really squeal when hit.
> Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight. I think I can bend it
> back, but geeze...
> [ Truth be told, I whacked it myself *lightly* about a year ago, but let's
> keep that private, ok? ]
>
If you drive into your garage door, I doubt there is any product that will
be idiot-proof enought to stop you. (except maybe new headlights or
glasses.)
"Mike Marlow" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> Too low tech.
Ooooooooooooooo! Nerd woody approach.
Coooooooooooooooooooooool! :)
On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 23:47:26 -0000, the inscrutable
[email protected] (Robert Bonomi) spake:
--sniperoo--
>>And so what message goes on the sign, that doesn't result in a frosty
>>evening, or a call to the attorney? ;-)
>>
>>"Hey, Dummy! Open the Door!" ?
>
>Maybe we should run a contest! <grin>
>
>I could see:
> "Beware of Door!"
That's the one, in reverse lettering on the door precisely behind each
of the 3 rear view mirrors, just in case she sometimes checks.
> "Have you hugged your rear-view mirror today?"
This one dangles from the rvm and will be wiggling when she sits down
in the vehicle.
> "You break it, You buy it"
Along with this list: how many dinners out, shopping trips, and beauty
shop visits she will miss to pay for the^H^H^HEACH broken door.
>In fact, with only a little Rube Goldberg-ing, it should be possible to have
>a bunch of signs, that come down _in_rotation_.
The only problem is that we're dealing with a person who didn't pay
attention in the first place. It's hard to miss seeing a garage door.
--== May The Angst Be With You! ==--
-Yoda, on a bad day
--
http://diversify.com Ending Your Web Page Angst.
"Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> How about hanging something on the track that would be visible right
> in front of the windshield with the door down and retract as it goes
> up? Maybe a pulley and rope deal to move it.
Neat idea - appeals to my Rube Goldberg side of the brain.
patrick conroy wrote:
> Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight. I think I can bend it back,
> but geeze...
> [ Truth be told, I whacked it myself *lightly* about a year ago, but let's
> keep that private, ok? ]
>
> Anywho's -- is there some sort of a bumper or low-cost crush thingy that
> would make a racket as you back into it with the door down?
>
> Seems to me there's a market in there somewhere.
> Surely the worlds got enuff idiots, like me, to warrant a solution!
>
>
Do a Google search for "automobile proximity sensor". It's an add on
device that sounds a warning if you're about to back into something.
--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA
[email protected]
(Remove -SPAM- to send email)
"patrick conroy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight. I think I can bend it
back,
> but geeze...
Posted a picture for you in alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking.
patrick conroy wrote:
> Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight.  I think I can bend
> it back, but geeze...
> [ Truth be told, I whacked it myself lightly about a year ago, but
> [ let's
> keep that private, ok? ]
>
> Anywho's --  is there some sort of a bumper or low-cost crush thingy
> that would make a racket as you back into it with the door down?
There is a very simple NO-TECH solution that I have been utilizing for
many years. It also has the advantage of being a safety feature in
case of an emergency. I don't drive front end into the garage when I
come home. I BACK IN to the garage (carefully.) If there is ever some
catastrophe like a fire in the house, I want to be on my way quickly
without looking into mirrors in a darkened smoke filled chamber.
Each time that I depart the garage, I am looking straight ahead in the
direction that I want to go.
Godzilla
If his wife is anything like mine, backing in is not a good idea. Even with
the door open, the sides and back of the garage are in danger.
"Godzilla" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> patrick conroy wrote:
>
> > Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight. I think I can bend
> > it back, but geeze...
> > [ Truth be told, I whacked it myself lightly about a year ago, but
> > [ let's
> > keep that private, ok? ]
> >
> > Anywho's -- is there some sort of a bumper or low-cost crush thingy
> > that would make a racket as you back into it with the door down?
>
> There is a very simple NO-TECH solution that I have been utilizing for
> many years. It also has the advantage of being a safety feature in
> case of an emergency. I don't drive front end into the garage when I
> come home. I BACK IN to the garage (carefully.) If there is ever some
> catastrophe like a fire in the house, I want to be on my way quickly
> without looking into mirrors in a darkened smoke filled chamber.
> Each time that I depart the garage, I am looking straight ahead in the
> direction that I want to go.
>
> Godzilla
"patrick conroy" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight. I think I can bend it
> back, but geeze...
> [ Truth be told, I whacked it myself *lightly* about a year ago, but
> let's keep that private, ok? ]
>
> Anywho's -- is there some sort of a bumper or low-cost crush thingy
> that would make a racket as you back into it with the door down?
>
> Seems to me there's a market in there somewhere.
> Surely the worlds got enuff idiots, like me, to warrant a solution!
>
Whatinthehell is the car doing in the garage anyhow? That's where all the
power tools go! Cars are waterproof.
Of course, when SWMBO hoses off the roll-up garage door, about 5 minutes
before I open it, the cabinet saw gets a bath. It needed cleaning anyway.
The door AND the cabinet saw.
My condolences regards the door.
Patriarch
Richard Cline <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> The Amazon catalog (#550, Spring 2005) has a device called Park Zone
> that looks close to what you want. It is illustrated as an ultrasonic
> device that senses the distance from your bumper to a wall. There is
> a display, green, yellow, or red to indicate distance. It is only
> $25. It may still take some imagination to set it up for your
> ppurposes.
>
> Dick
>
My neighbor put something similar on his ugly new Chevy pickup truck (the
Tupperware version.) An electronic female voice tells him whenever there
is anything within 8 ft or so, calling out the distance. More than $25,
though harder to ignore.
Patriarch
[email protected] (Robert Bonomi) wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> Patrick Conroy <[email protected]> wrote:
>>"Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]> wrote in
>>news:[email protected]:
>>
>>
>>> How about hanging something on the track that would be visible right
>>> in front of the windshield with the door down and retract as it goes
>>> up? Maybe a pulley and rope deal to move it.
>>
>>Neat idea - appeals to my Rube Goldberg side of the brain.
>
> The same idea just hit me.
>
> And it's really, *really* trivial to implement.
>
> pulley on the wall above the top of the garage door. high enough to
be
> above the door when the door is open.
>
> 2nd pulley on the ceiling about at mid-hood point of car, when parked.
>
> Sign hung from a couple of pieces of rope, from ceiling, at eye-level
> of driver in car.
>
> second piece of rope, running from top of garage door, through above-
> door pulley, to ceiling pulley, and down.
>
> To calibrate, open garage door. pull 2nd rope taught, and with sign at
> about ceiling level, tie rope off to sign.
>
> As garage door closes, sign descends. Until it reaches level that the
> fixed ropes limit it to. After that, the garage-door rope just goes
> slack.
>
> Note: wire-core *clothes-line* is an _ideal_, inexpensive, material
for
> this kind of construction. Although, with a cardboard sign, you could
> probably get by with something about the quality of binder twine.
>
>
And so what message goes on the sign, that doesn't result in a frosty
evening, or a call to the attorney? ;-)
"Hey, Dummy! Open the Door!" ?
"CW" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> One caple to pull the block one way, another to pull it the other way.
> Then, you have to figure way to ensure that the car is far enough in.
> But not too far.
>
Another neighbor has a tennis ball on a string, adjusted such that, when it
just touches the windshield, the car is far enough in.
All of this is solved by storing and using sufficient quantity of
woodworking tools in the garage, and leaving the cars outside, where they
belong. Oh, and buying sufficently inexpensive automobiles...
Patriarch
"patrick conroy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> Anywho's -- is there some sort of a bumper or low-cost crush thingy that
> would make a racket as you back into it with the door down?
You could replace the rear view mirror with one since she does not look into
it ;)
How about hanging something on the track that would be visible right in
front of the windshield with the door down and retract as it goes up? Maybe
a pulley and rope deal to move it.
use the same pulley system to pull a 2x4 wheel chock out of the way when the
door goes up. obwwr.
"Robert Bonomi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> Patrick Conroy <[email protected]> wrote:
>>"Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]> wrote in
>>news:[email protected]:
>>
>>
>>> How about hanging something on the track that would be visible right
>>> in front of the windshield with the door down and retract as it goes
>>> up? Maybe a pulley and rope deal to move it.
>>
>>Neat idea - appeals to my Rube Goldberg side of the brain.
>
> The same idea just hit me.
>
> And it's really, *really* trivial to implement.
>
> pulley on the wall above the top of the garage door. high enough to be
> above the door when the door is open.
>
> 2nd pulley on the ceiling about at mid-hood point of car, when parked.
>
> Sign hung from a couple of pieces of rope, from ceiling, at eye-level
> of driver in car.
>
> second piece of rope, running from top of garage door, through above-
> door pulley, to ceiling pulley, and down.
>
> To calibrate, open garage door. pull 2nd rope taught, and with sign at
> about ceiling level, tie rope off to sign.
>
> As garage door closes, sign descends. Until it reaches level that the
> fixed ropes limit it to. After that, the garage-door rope just goes
> slack.
>
> Note: wire-core *clothes-line* is an _ideal_, inexpensive, material for
> this kind of construction. Although, with a cardboard sign, you could
> probably get by with something about the quality of binder twine.
>
In article <[email protected]>,
"Mike Marlow" <[email protected]> wrote:
The Amazon catalog (#550, Spring 2005) has a device called Park Zone
that looks close to what you want. It is illustrated as an ultrasonic
device that senses the distance from your bumper to a wall. There is a
display, green, yellow, or red to indicate distance. It is only $25.
It may still take some imagination to set it up for your ppurposes.
Dick
>
> Too low tech. I'm thinking maybe an interlock between the opener rail and
> the ignition switch in the car. A simple solid state relay (on its own
> 220V, 30A circuit ((4 wire, just in case you might want to do "something" in
> the future)) of course, with PVC conduit and ground braid wrapped around it)
> in series with the ignition such that the car will not turn over until the
> door is opened. Use Bluetooth technology to eliminate the nasty tanble of
> wires from the door opener to the car. Of course, since it's a
> "power-anything" the owner should unplug it and shut off the circuit breaker
> before leaving the garage and heading into the house at night - just to be
> safe.
On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 03:30:44 GMT, "patrick conroy"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight. I think I can bend it back,
>but geeze...
>[ Truth be told, I whacked it myself *lightly* about a year ago, but let's
>keep that private, ok? ]
>
>Anywho's -- is there some sort of a bumper or low-cost crush thingy that
>would make a racket as you back into it with the door down?
>
>Seems to me there's a market in there somewhere.
>Surely the worlds got enuff idiots, like me, to warrant a solution!
>
Not to mock your pain here, but who starts a car without opening the
garage door first?
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
A wheelbarrow! Why didn't you say we had a wheelbarrow; you should
have included that in our list of assets!
Westley -- Princess Bride
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 23:59:55 -0500, the inscrutable Patriarch
<[email protected]> spake:
>Another neighbor has a tennis ball on a string, adjusted such that, when it
>just touches the windshield, the car is far enough in.
Dad used to have that one in play at out first Vista house. We put in
a garage (contractor-built) while we turned the attached garage into a
utility room, closet, and family room next to the pool. I just wish
Dad had known more about woodworking.
>All of this is solved by storing and using sufficient quantity of
>woodworking tools in the garage, and leaving the cars outside, where they
>belong. Oh, and buying sufficently inexpensive automobiles...
Amen to that. (Since it's what I do now.)
--== May The Angst Be With You! ==--
-Yoda, on a bad day
--
http://diversify.com Ending Your Web Page Angst.
Mark & Juanita <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> Not to mock your pain here, but who starts a car without opening the
> garage door first?
>
Me. When I lose the will to live.
I hear CO isn't too bad of a way to go out...
On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 16:14:57 -0400, the inscrutable "no(SPAM)vasys"
<"no(SPAM)vasys"@adelphia.net> spake:
>Robert Bonomi wrote:
>
><snipped>
>>
>> As garage door closes, sign descends. Until it reaches level that the
>> fixed ropes limit it to. After that, the garage-door rope just goes
>> slack.
>
>If she can't see the closed garage door do you really think she'll see
>the sign? ;-)
OR...
As she drives into the garage and the sign obscures her vision, she
drives right through the other side of the garage. He can't win. <eg>
--== May The Angst Be With You! ==--
-Yoda, on a bad day
--
http://diversify.com Ending Your Web Page Angst.
One caple to pull the block one way, another to pull it the other way. Then,
you have to figure way to ensure that the car is far enough in. But not to
far.
"Robert Bonomi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> Charles Spitzer <[email protected]> wrote:
> >use the same pulley system to pull a 2x4 wheel chock out of the way when
the
> >door goes up. obwwr.
>
> Getting the chock to go -back- into place when the door closes presents a
> wee bit of a problem. unless you've got a fleet of trained cockroaches,
> or something. <grin>
>
> >"Robert Bonomi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >news:[email protected]...
> >> In article <[email protected]>,
> >> Patrick Conroy <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>>"Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]> wrote in
> >>>news:[email protected]:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> How about hanging something on the track that would be visible right
> >>>> in front of the windshield with the door down and retract as it goes
> >>>> up? Maybe a pulley and rope deal to move it.
> >>>
> >>>Neat idea - appeals to my Rube Goldberg side of the brain.
> >>
> >> The same idea just hit me.
> >>
> >> And it's really, *really* trivial to implement.
> >>
> >> pulley on the wall above the top of the garage door. high enough to be
> >> above the door when the door is open.
> >>
> >> 2nd pulley on the ceiling about at mid-hood point of car, when parked.
> >>
> >> Sign hung from a couple of pieces of rope, from ceiling, at eye-level
> >> of driver in car.
> >>
> >> second piece of rope, running from top of garage door, through above-
> >> door pulley, to ceiling pulley, and down.
> >>
> >> To calibrate, open garage door. pull 2nd rope taught, and with sign at
> >> about ceiling level, tie rope off to sign.
> >>
> >> As garage door closes, sign descends. Until it reaches level that the
> >> fixed ropes limit it to. After that, the garage-door rope just goes
> >> slack.
> >>
> >> Note: wire-core *clothes-line* is an _ideal_, inexpensive, material for
> >> this kind of construction. Although, with a cardboard sign, you could
> >> probably get by with something about the quality of binder twine.
> >>
> >
> >
>
>
On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 03:30:44 GMT, "patrick conroy"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight. I think I can bend it back,
>but geeze...
>[ Truth be told, I whacked it myself *lightly* about a year ago, but let's
>keep that private, ok? ]
>
>Anywho's -- is there some sort of a bumper or low-cost crush thingy that
>would make a racket as you back into it with the door down?
>
>Seems to me there's a market in there somewhere.
>Surely the worlds got enuff idiots, like me, to warrant a solution!
>
I think you may be onto something, if you're looking for a good
idea... I know I've seen plenty of steel shop garage doors maimed by
the tops of forklifts to make such a product useful... (No, they were
not maimed by me- I just always seem to be working near the loading
dock when it happens!)
Aut inveniam viam aut faciam
"patrick conroy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Well the wife hit the door pretty good tonight. I think I can bend it
back,
> but geeze...
I was teaching the oldest son to drive a manual transmission a dozen years
ago, stopping and starting on the street to get used to the clutch. He had
it mastered good enough to call it a successful training opportunity, so I
told him to park the truck in front of the garage, in my normal parking
spot... I hope you see the problem I didn't see.
He idled the truck down the incline of the drive toward the desired parking
spot, I guess we both thought it not under power till that loud noise. The
V8 engine refused to stall and the rear tires skipped on the pavement a few
times, sort of like a jack hammer.
He creamed the brick veneer wall next to the door as well as pushing the
door, framing lumber and track in about 6 inches. I pulled out the pushed in
parts, and did a little tuck-pointing.
The only way to keep him from doing it again was to ban him from the
driveway. He parked on the street through college and till he was into his
mid twenties and still hesitates when turning in...
Jack