In last week's Hacker Challenge, we asked you to hack your garage or carport. We received some great entries, but the winning hack shows us how to build DIY garage door controller that you can operate and check the status of using your smartphone.
Check out the description of the winning entry below and read about some of our other favorite entries.
Winner: Check Your Garage Door's Status With a Smartphone
MidnightMaker was sick of not being able to remember whether he or other members of the family had remembered to close the garage door, so he decided to address the problem Lifehacker-style. He designed a WiFi-enabled system using the Electric Imp that lets him operate and also check the open/closed status of the garage door from his iPhone. Plus, whenever the door is opened or closed, it sends him a text message to let him know. While similar commercial solutions are available, MidnightMaker's solution cost much less and also looks like more fun to build. You can read all about the details on his Instructable.
Garage door opening was a popular topic for this week's contest. Another reader, Stefan, sent us entry that accomplishes the same tasks using an Android app and an Arduino-controlled sensor. The sensor itself uses an optical encoder from an old mouse scroll wheel along with a leaf switch to detect changes in the garage door's status. And you can even control or monitor the door on multiple phones. You can read more about Stefan's solution on his blog.
And finally, if you're interested in having your garage door notify you of its status, but don't want to build something quite as complex as our winning entry, Curt shows us how you can do just that by hooking up a WeMo Motion sensor on top of the garage door's original trip sensor.
Honorable Mentions
We got a lot of great entries and we'd be remiss if we didn't share some of our favorites. Here are some of the entries that really impressed us.
Create a Bouldering Cave in Your Garage for a Fun Workout
Daveyc wanted a fun, accessible way to practice his rock-climbing hobby. The solution seemed obvious. He turned his garage into a bouldering cave. Now, he and his family can get a great little workout whenever they want.
A big thanks to everyone who took the time to send us entries! Be sure to check back every week for a new challenge.