Other uses for Homelink buttons?

[bueller555]

I don't have a garage door, so the immediate usefulness of the Homelink buttons on the rearview mirrow is lost on me. Anyone else have creative or hacked uses for these buttons? The thought of using it to turn on a lamp in my house just doesn't thrill me.

 

[ShoNuff]

I guess you could use it to turn on the outside lights on your house when you pull up at night (presuming you had compatible light fixtures).

 

[jwaters943]

I live in a condo so they come in handy for our gate and my garage door. I've been thinking about getting a remote light switch/recepticle to turn on the lights when I get home and it's dark. Other than that, there's not much else you can do with it that I'm aware of.

 

[dataguy]

If you have a home security system that will arm/disarm via a keyfob, you might get the Homelink to do that. YMMV.

 

[Mark_888]

I am a little nervous about the built-in homelink controller and have not programmed it to open my garage door opener. I want to be able to take my regular controller with me in certain circumstances where I have to leave my car parked somewhere for awhile. I don't like the thought of someone stealing my car, finding out where I live, and driving right into my garage (double whammy).

When I programmed my home location on my GPS (not built-in but stored in my car) it is only an approximation of where I live, not the actual location. More paranoia I guess.

 

[MattG]

I hadn't really given a lot of thought to the homelink buttons, but the RF hardware on the receiving end (basically garage door control units) is small, cheap and ubiquitous, so I imagine that just about anything electrical could be put in the trunk (or anywhere else inside or out of the car as long is it was in fairly close proximity) and turned on or off with the homelink buttons as a fairly easy hack.

For Mark, I would suggest some sort of Taser like device mounted in the driver's seat, so that when someone steals his car, and drives into the neighbor's driveway, they will shock the crap out of themselves trying to open the garage door.

I imagine that there might be some conceivable photographic applications - a lot of cameras can be rigged for remote triggering, and using a homelink button to trigger a series of rapid fire shots would be pretty slick, although I am hard pressed to think of how that would actually be useful.

When I get mine, my plan is to have one for the gate, and one for the garage. Turning on the lights isn't a big need of mine, so perhaps I'll have to think about what to do with the third.

 

[enjoyingsilence]

If you have a home security system that will arm/disarm via a keyfob, you might get the Homelink to do that. YMMV.

that's what I use mine for - security system arm/disarm.. I have a garage, but don't park in it

I imagine that there might be some conceivable photographic applications - a lot of cameras can be rigged for remote triggering, and using a homelink button to trigger a series of rapid fire shots would be pretty slick, although I am hard pressed to think of how that would actually be useful.

paranoid significant others, wanting photo, video, or "audible" proof/notice when their other half comes and goes... sequenced with a garage door opener, it's conceivable.

 

[dataguy]

I am a little nervous about the built-in homelink controller and have not programmed it to open my garage door opener. I want to be able to take my regular controller with me in certain circumstances where I have to leave my car parked somewhere for awhile. I don't like the thought of someone stealing my car, finding out where I live, and driving right into my garage (double whammy).

I know someone who doesn't use his HomeLink for that reason, but he never remembers to take out his transmitter from his car, so it's permanently clipped to his visor.

As for the home address, unless you're good about keeping your glovebox locked or your registration out of the car (or can register your car to some other address than your home), I think it's pretty trivial for a determined thief to find it and break in, HomeLink or not.

 

[Pahaska]

Fortunately, my garage is connected to the house by a breezeway, so that the Homelink does not give access to my house. I have both of my vehicles programmed for the garage door.

 

[Mark_888]

I know someone who doesn't use his HomeLink for that reason, but he never remembers to take out his transmitter from his car, so it's permanently clipped to his visor.

As for the home address, unless you're good about keeping your glovebox locked or your registration out of the car (or can register your car to some other address than your home), I think it's pretty trivial for a determined thief to find it and break in, HomeLink or not.

I would only take my transmitter out if I left it parked for a long period of time somewhere, such as an airport parking lot for a week or more. Even then, I might just hide it somewhere in the car where it would not be obvious..

Given enough time, maybe someone could find my address, but being able to quietly drive into my garage and close the garage door behind them is not the same as knowing my address and forcibly breaking in where a neighbor might see it.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[GripperDon]

I have tried un-successfully to find a door lock that works on the home link. I have the gate on 1 (rolling code) the garage door on #2 and wanted to put the door to the house on #3. I have had homelink on cars for the last few years and have not found one. The homelink people say that the last company making them is out of business. Sad. Personally I have no security worries of any kind. ( they should see my pets )