Adam Busey's Web Log

Update - I got a better camera and recreated the experiment

I recently acquired a garage parking space with a remote opener. It's been about ten years since I've had such a luxury, so you can imagine my (slight) disappointment when I found out what horrible range my remote had. I had heard stories of people extending the internal antenna, but that's no fun, and it increases the range that your opener will receive a signal from, which is never good. I decided that the same antenna extension technique must be applicable to the remote just as much as it is to the actual device.

What I found was actually much simpler than I expected, and depending on your remote type, this might just work for you too. Once the unit was open, it had the usual bunch of diodes and such, but there was one strip of copper that didn't seem to serve a function, so I thought logically is must be the antenna, but I wasn't about to get started until I was sure.

Every device in America that transmits a signal must be approved by the FCC and issued a FCC ID. Using this FCC ID I tracked down two models of my opener. One was manufactured in 1989 (which is mine) and the other was made in 2001. Unfortunately the schematics for the 1989 version were unavailable, but the 2001 version was fully documented, and to my delight it was the exact same circuit board manufactured by a different company. I'm sure the software in the chip may have changed, but that antenna was clearly labeled, and just where I originally guessed it was. Off to work!



For my antenna extender I thought I should be safe and get a hold of material that had already been used as an antenna, and was made of copper just like the antenna on the circuit board. So I cut off a 4" piece of flexible radio antenna from an unused stereo system, stripped the plastic coating, and I had my extension.

The first try at soldering proved unsuccessful. I won't go into detail, but at one point a bead of liquid metal was cooling on my thumb. For the second round I decided to play it safe and get glasses and a clamp (something I should have started with).



The second try was a charm and I had my extender. I proceeded to re-assemble the unit, but first I decided to carefully coil the extension around a plastic support column on the outer chassis. This should increase range, and provide a secure spot away from the other circuitry.



Before I had started this project I tried testing the remote from two walls thickness with no result. After it was completed, the same test resulted in success. I have yet to test the extent of the remote's range, but I am definitely pleased with the results.



 

The following will make little sense if you haven't seen farscape or firefly.

I was never a fan of Babylon 5, but from what I understand it went off the air for some time, and then fan support brought back the show they loved. From what I can tell, this is the last time that a sci-fi show comeback has been successful.

Farscape was an awesome show. At the time, I considered it to be on par with the next generation as the greatest sci-fi show of all time. When it was prematurely cancelled, I was devastated. I kept up with savefarscape.com from the time when the cancellation was announced. I was even lucky enough to receive a Nielsen ratings form, and I of course filled it in to reflect my nightly farscape rerun viewing on the sci-fi channel.

Farscapes resurrection was a little mini series called the peacekeeper wars. I anticipated it so much that I even watched as the sci-fi channel ran a marathon of all the episodes up until the premier of the mini. When the air date finally arrived, I actually watched it live instead of downloading it later, something I rarely do with prime time shows. The first thing I noticed that seemed off was after chiana jumped out of the ship to hug dargo, her voice seemed off, and it had a weird echo to it. The doctor had always been a gentle and graceful creature, but his entrance was a cheap laugh falling down stairs. Dargo also seemed a little too light and happy for a luxon warrior. John and Aeryn went from a complex relationship into something more light hearted, but in a way, not in character (for aeryn anyways). Rigel didn't change too much, but with everything else I was disappointed with, he just seemed less realistic.

I came to realize over the two nights of the mini that when people are making a show, they get into the characters, and in a way are living their lives alongside the characters. When you separate the two, then bring them back, they tend to lose touch with who those characters were.

Firefly is another example of this concept in action. The TV series represented a new breed of sci-fi. It was realistic and nonchalant about everything technological. I don't necessarily agree with the idea of people in space acting like early Americans, but the way that those people integrate with their technology is so real that, when viewed in proper order, it can be difficult not to believe that this show could happen.

It was a confusing show when I caught a few of the episodes that aired. I remembered liking it, but not feeling like it had a clear overall lineage. Then I found out that it was aired out of order and chopped to hell, so I had to watch it in the proper order to truly appreciate the show. Overall, it was way too brief of series, but still somehow satisfying. Hearing about the movie was very exciting, but once again the end result was not as good as the show. Fireflys comeback was an actual theatrical movie, which might have been part of the problem. The creators of farscape said they packed an entire season into their four hour mini, and I have to wonder if the firefly movie (serenity) tried to do the same.

First River. O.K., she's an ass kicking assassin, I can handle that, especially based on her weapon skills in the series, but to have her somehow cured because she revealed the evil doings of the people that played with her brain is just ridiculous. Simon spent the whole TV series being a mild mannered doctor and developing a relationship with the crew, and developing a criminal mind. The recording at the beginning of serenity completely contradicts this growth, and makes it seem as if Simon was always a bad ass. I guess I just assumed that he snuck river out, not that he did it with force. Book was apparently a dead end, because they'd rather kill him than deal with his story line. Killing wash was another pointless death, otherwise I thought his character was great. Jayne seemed way too friendly, but there were story arcs leading up to that in the series.

Now that I’ve vented, you should know that I enjoyed the farscape mini-series, and I enjoyed the firefly movie. They were both excellent pieces of entertainment, just not nearly as good as their predecessors.