TECHNOLOGY

Spider Webs and Garage Doors

Not a good combination

I don’t like doing this, but I did warn you. Photo by and of author.

Do you have a garage? Does it have a motor for the door and a remote control letting you raise and lower the door from the privileged comfort of your fancy car? The damn door is noisy, but your car windows are up because you have climate control in your car, so it’s muffled.

Yeah, I have all that too.

But sometimes the remote doesn’t work. If it doesn’t work at all, its batteries are probably dead, but sometimes the door starts to close and quits part way down, retreating then to its open position.

This is not supposed to happen to those of us living in Pamperederica.

My garage door has safety sensors that use infrared beams to ensure a rabid wolf isn’t standing under the descending door. Apparently, if anything prevents the beam from reaching the other side, something that could be a rabid wolf is in the way, so the door should brake hard and quickly hurry back to the open position.

I know, you’d prefer that it chop the rabid wolf in half, but this is an iron-clad rule: broken beam means go back up. With some systems, you can hold the button down and force the door to close, begrudgingly. Mine will only do that from the wired controls, not the remote.