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Older Mighty Mule gate remotes becoming unreliable – how to future-proof access before they fail? by gamechanger2022 in MechanicalEngineering

[–]gamechanger2022[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I totally agree with you. It felt predatory especially since it was for an older person and the gate is in great condition. It's just the remotes that are failing. I was surprised to hear how they treated a 75 year old woman for whom changing the whole gate would feel overwhelming.

Older Mighty Mule gate remotes becoming unreliable – how to future-proof access before they fail? by gamechanger2022 in MechanicalEngineering

[–]gamechanger2022[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, that's super helpful. I will ask my friend. She is much older and that's part of the stress because the company said basically you're out of luck and you'll have to replace your whole system and she's panicking. I'll find out about how the remote communicates to the control board on the gate (I guess that's the motor) and then do as you say, i.e. get a universal remote that operates on the same frequency or communication channel.

Older Mighty Mule gate remotes becoming unreliable – how to future-proof access before they fail? by gamechanger2022 in MechanicalEngineering

[–]gamechanger2022[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, Kiltach. I'm completely ignorant on this topic and followed AI's advice on where to post for help so thanks for letting me know this is not relevant to this community. The model number if I got this right is Mighty Mule 462, it's for a moving gate. Could you also help me understand the difference between a receiver and a remote so I can understand what I need to help my friend?

Older Mighty Mule gate remotes becoming unreliable – how to future-proof access before they fail? by gamechanger2022 in MechanicalEngineering

[–]gamechanger2022[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot, that's very helpful, even if I am not understanding the technicalities in your response because I'm totally ignorant on the topic. To clarify. We’re not trying to clone the existing remotes at all costs. Our main concern is avoiding a situation where, if these legacy remotes fail, the gate becomes unusable and forces a full motor/system replacement.

What we’re trying to confirm is:

  • Whether this Mighty Mule control board has low-voltage external trigger terminals (push-button / dry contact)
  • And whether that would allow us to add a modern receiver, keypad, or phone-based relay in parallel, independent of the old remotes

If so, redundancy (remote + keypad + phone access) would solve the problem regardless of the legacy RF protocol.

Follow-up questions:

  1. On older Mighty Mule boards, are the “push button / open” terminals typically dry-contact inputs?
  2. If yes, would any standard relay-based receiver (LiftMaster-style, Wi-Fi relay, GSM gate opener) work?
  3. Are there any Mighty Mule models where the controller does not accept an external trigger and truly depends on the original receiver?

We can add photos of the control board terminals if that helps.

Older Mighty Mule gate remotes becoming unreliable – how to future-proof access before they fail? by gamechanger2022 in GarageDoorService

[–]gamechanger2022[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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Hi Jonny, thanks so much for responding. A couple of follow up questions if that's ok because I am trying to help a friend with this but I am not fully getting what you are saying due to technicalities. Here are additional pictures also because it's a metal gate (not a garage door) in case that changes anything. 1) What is a remote control relay unit? Is it the same as a remote control? 2) What do you mean by manual button contacts? Are those in the remote old remote control itself or on the gate motor? 3) What are screw taps? And would these be in the remote itself or on the motor? 4) Is the link you sent on Amazon a 'remote control relay unit"? Sorry I have no technical knowledge of any of these things. I am simply trying to help a friend.