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CVO Technical => Electronic Toys and Gadgets => Topic started by: MRN on September 02, 2019, 02:11:18 PM
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Is there a way to increase the range of the opener? I’ve added a12 ft. antenna extension, I’ve moved the receiver to the front of the garage. Neither works.
2017 Ultra CVO.
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Following. If you find out let us know. Have tried moving and relocating the receiver, longer antenna wire, etc. Nothing works until I turn into the driveway. Other CVOs with garage door openers worked from the same range - well back in the street - as the car openers.
On the other hand, I get to practice my slow riding skills in my own driveway each time I use the opener on the bike.
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Just use a door opener remote made for that opener if you want decent range. The Harley system is old technology that never worked very well, and it should have been scrapped at least a decade ago. They could replace their system with a simple programmable transmitter that works directly with your garage door opener if they were serious about making this a useful option. The fact they haven't done so tells me they don't consider it important.
Btw, I have an older (2010) CUV that came with Home Link, which is similar to what I mentioned Harley could do if they wanted to. It worked great with the old door opener I had when I bought the CUV. When I bought a later and more modern garage door opener, the older version of Home Link would not communicate directly with the new opener. A workaround was provided that involved a separate receiver that had to be mounted in the garage (much like the Harley receiver) which would accept the signal from the Home Link in the CUV, and then that receiver transmitted a compatible signal to the new garage door opener. Guess what, the range for that system was about half of what it was before I installed the newer garage door opener. Adding that extra receiver made the Home Link system in the CUV just as short ranged as the system in my CVO. Find a way to transmit directly to your garage door opener if you want decent range. There may be modules you can buy to modernize the system in your bike, do some internet searches.
Jerry
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There's a thread on here somewhere that someone posted a while back where they actually created an antenna to increase the distance. I can't remember what the final results were though. Looked to be a someone involved project.
Would be nice to be able to just extend the antenna wires to achieve the longer range.
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I have my reciever up in the attic of my garage and can open the garage about 75 feet away. I also do a delayed high. / low
You might try to find a place above the garage like I did to see if it helps.
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There's a thread on here somewhere that someone posted a while back where they actually created an antenna to increase the distance. I can't remember what the final results were though. Looked to be a someone involved project.
Would be nice to be able to just extend the antenna wires to achieve the longer range.
I actually tried extending the antenna outside the garage door. It didn't help.
Jerry
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I have my last two HD receivers that came with the bike still in the wrapper at the house if anyone needs one. Because of what Jerry stated, I never used them. I keep a spare actual receiver in one of my cubby holes on the bike...works great.
Not telling tales out of school here but the other motorcycle company that I'm currently involved with does have the homelink receiver module as a plug and play, even made a small space for it (with a rubber plug over it if you don't have it) in the bottom right of the fairing. It's a bit pricey ($200) so I still use the storage space at the top of the instrument cluster for my old reliable remote. It really wouldn't take a lot for Harley get with the program, so to speak...
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I actually tried extending the antenna outside the garage door. It didn't help.
Jerry
x2. Also tried moving the receiver higher up. Nothing.
On other bikes the transmitter worked from about the same range as the other vehicles, am guessing on this bike the signal is just weaker. I have several extra remotes & could carry one but if I hit the hi/lo switch at the right spot & ride slow can ride into the garage just as the door has opened fully. One of those weird things I have gotten used to, only time I get aggravated about this is when it is raining cats & dogs.
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I have my last two HD receivers that came with the bike still in the wrapper at the house if anyone needs one. Because of what Jerry stated, I never used them. I keep a spare actual receiver in one of my cubby holes on the bike...works great.
Not telling tales out of school here but the other motorcycle company that I'm currently involved with does have the homelink receiver module as a plug and play, even made a small space for it (with a rubber plug over it if you don't have it) in the bottom right of the fairing. It's a bit pricey ($200) so I still use the storage space at the top of the instrument cluster for my old reliable remote. It really wouldn't take a lot for Harley get with the program, so to speak...
True. And if pigs could grow wings they might learn how to fly.
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I have the HD opener. Nothing I have done has improved the range. The transmitter on the bike I believe is what effects the range. My road glide it will open the door 150 feet away, my road king about 60 feet away and my fatboy has to be with in 10 feet.
My wife's Heritage is like the fatboy, has to be right at the door, and her Road glide is good at about 120 feet.
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As mentioned by Dave it's the bike. My 15 CVO RG opens it 4 homes down. My 16 CVO Limited has to be 2 feet from the door. The same with my friends 17 limited.
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Another possibility to explain why the range varies by bike: the transmitter inside the fairing is in a bad position relative to the receiver at the garage. On my '08 SEUC and my '11 SERG, the transmitter was low on the left inside of the fairing. Depending on whether your house is on the left or right side of the road as you approach, the radio/SXM/CB/NAV/amplifier modules could be blocking the transmitter signal.
OTOH, it could just be the transmitter is weak and doesn't have a decent any antenna. It's not connected to the bike antenna.
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Another possibility to explain why the range varies by bike: the transmitter inside the fairing is in a bad position relative to the receiver at the garage. On my '08 SEUC and my '11 SERG, the transmitter was low on the left inside of the fairing. Depending on whether your house is on the left or right side of the road as you approach, the radio/SXM/CB/NAV/amplifier modules could be blocking the transmitter signal.
OTOH, it could just be the transmitter is weak and doesn't have a decent any antenna. It's not connected to the bike antenna.
I wouldn't be surprised if that is at least part of the problem, but I'd be more inclined to believe it's just a weak transmitter. The reason I say that is that I stopped using the Harley system several years ago and installed one of the transmitters that came with the door opener inside the faring on the right side opposite the factory unit. I soldered two wires to the contacts for the push button on the transmitter, which I then ran to a simple push button on the dash. The range went from less than 50 feet with the Harley system, to over 100 feet with my jury-rigged system. I assumed at first the improvement was due to eliminating that Harley receiver, but the more I thought about it the more I started to believe it was also a difference in the actual transmitter power. In other words, the entire Harley system just sucked.
JMHO - Jerry
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I wouldn't be surprised if that is at least part of the problem, but I'd be more inclined to believe it's just a weak transmitter. The reason I say that is that I stopped using the Harley system several years ago and installed one of the transmitters that came with the door opener inside the faring on the right side opposite the factory unit. I soldered two wires to the contacts for the push button on the transmitter, which I then ran to a simple push button on the dash. The range went from less than 50 feet with the Harley system, to over 100 feet with my jury-rigged system. I assumed at first the improvement was due to eliminating that Harley receiver, but the more I thought about it the more I started to believe it was also a difference in the actual transmitter power. In other words, the entire Harley system just sucked.
JMHO - Jerry
Sad, but that's always the most likely explanation with HD. As the saying goes, they could
F-up a (certain type of) dream.
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I've been using one of these for years with no issues whatsoever.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Chain-Sears-Remote-battery-Door-newer-3-Mini-Garage-390mhz-1994-Button-Craftsman-Liftmaster-Chamberlain-315mhz-890MAX-included-Key-Opener/103211404?athcpid=103211404&athpgid=athenaItemPage&athcgid=null&athznid=PWVUB&athieid=v0&athstid=CS020&athguid=9211a9e3-13a-16d4102907669b&athancid=null&athena=true
I just use a simple clip and put it on my belt loop. Cheap, easy and totally trouble free.
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Any thought given to the type of headlight? I switched from halogen to LED and the door now never works on 2 bikes. Wondering if the headlight is giving off some type of interference
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Two of our five bikes have LED head lights, both her road glide and mine. These are the two bikes that it works best in..
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LED in my Road Glide with no issue. Fair bit of real estate for separation there. LED also in the Road King though. Inside the nacelle the GDO transmitter and headlight are likely in intimate contact with each other.
Of course the obvious difference is both of mine are the far less expensive eBay purchased aftermarket options. They don't cost enough to be able to generate the extra Screamin' Eagle Radiation that the HD branded units offer so, therefore, can't impact the GDO transmitters.