Long-Range Gate/Garage Opener with Custom Bat Cave Sounds

The chain

1. A Flic button in the car, talking Bluetooth to the phone.
2. The phone, running the Homey app, sends the command over 5G.
3. The command travels over the internet, with Starlink in the path, to the Homey Pro hub at home.
4. Homey Pro passes it on over the home network to the main router.
5. A long run of Ethernet over telephone wire (100 m or more) carries it toward the gate.
6. A dedicated Wi-Fi access point at the gate picks it up.
7. A Shelly relay closes a low-voltage contact on the gate opener.

The diagram counts 8 distinct hops across 5 different kinds of connection.

The Bat Cave sounds

The Flic app can run several actions from one button press. Along with the gate command, it plays a sound through the car speakers over CarPlay, so the car announces what it's doing. Each action can have its own sound. The current lineup:

• A randomized fart sound (a family favorite)
• A bicycle horn
• A cruise ship horn
• A doorbell
• A custom Batman clip from The LEGO Batman Movie, for when only "I'm Batman" will do, with a Batcave sound coming next

One button, three configurations

Each Flic button supports three press configurations. One is set up for the gate, each with its own sound. The garage door is the next project, and it will work the same way. The buttons are black Flic buttons from a three-pack.

Parts and products used

• Flic buttons (black three-pack) and the Flic app
• Apple CarPlay, which plays the sounds through the car speakers
• Homey Pro smart home hub, and the Homey app on the phone
• Starlink internet at home
• Ethernet-over-telephone-wire converters, one at each end of the long run (model to be added)
• Dedicated Wi-Fi access point at the gate, plus mesh access points around the house (models to be added)
• Shelly smart relay at the gate (model to be added)

More details to come.