Driveway Gate

I'm going to test that.

Learn the difference between a U turns and a 3-point turns, and buy some better curtains.

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This email has not been checked by half-arsed antivirus software

Don't you hate that, I live where, people seem to turn around, they don't use the neighbor across the street, they always use mine. I've thought about putting a collection pot out with a sign that says $1 turn around fee. You're on video. Mikek

Hmm, They make livestock gates with motors I think. I've got a couple big (10-12') manual cattle/ horse gates that I use to keep the dogs in the yard during (deer) shotgun season.

George H.

MotorMouth wrote on 12/16/2017 4:44 PM:

Why not get one of those things with spikes that punctures tires if it's not retracted? That would be much more interesting.

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Rick C 

Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms, 
on the centerline of totality since 1998

Junkyard servo motor from corvette retractable headlights.

Since this is a design newsgroup, I assume you're planning to design your own.

Light weight? Well, I think you can probably have an inflatable gate or fence made to order. Something like one of these but smaller: This one looks about right: or maybe something like these: or maybe something solid:

With an inflatable gate, you don't need a post.

No problem. Just have them make it with aluminized mylar: It's quite reflective, but you might have problems keeping it clean. Also, there are regulations against excessively reflective surfaces and blinding lights near California roadways.

I know the feeling. Northern California temporary employees have also hit an all time low.

The small air compressor needed to inflate the gate can be powered by a LiIon battery and charged by a solar panel with a charge controller. You can see those by the sides of highways powering traffic signs. However, LiIon is rather expensive. I suggest a large gel cell (VRLA) or flooded deep cycle battery instead.

Suggestions:

1. Give up on the light weight idea and provide some numbers as to how heavy, how big, how often it needs to cycle, etc.
2. Give up on designing your own and see what you can do with what's available in the way of commercial gates and mechanisms. Mighty Mule makes do-it-thyself gates:

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

Right, so instead of headlights you have an angry crowd at your door in the middle of the night. Brilliant!

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

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Dr Philip C D Hobbs 
Principal Consultant 
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics 
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics 
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 

http://electrooptical.net 
http://hobbs-eo.com

You have some really dumb dogs if a cattle gate keeps them in.

Treated lumber is anything but light weight, not a good choice. If it's bat tery operated, and you don't need a high capacity battery for this, a solar trickle chargers on the order of 100-200mA will be good enough. The Schuma cher line sold at places like HomDepot are actually on the excellent side.

And maybe manually opening the gate d uring daylight and manually closing at night is materials conserving option , especially looking at these ridiculous estimates ts/driveway-gate-install

I'm pretty sure no one is going to the door of that house in the middle of the night!

I remember looking for my first house in a particular neighborhood that I really liked. One house that was the model I wanted was at a tee intersection. I drove there at night and realized that every car coming to the stop sign would be shining headlights in the windows. I passed on that one in favor of one on a cul-de-sac. But then one of my neighbors decided to turn his back yard into a Santa's Workshop and had hundreds of visitors each Christmas. It got so bad they had remote parking and shuttle buses. I seem to recall that was the last year they had it. Something about waking up to find a horse's head in their bed.

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Rick C 

Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms, 
on the centerline of totality since 1998

Tractor Supply and Northern Tool both carry various sizes of gate openers. Most have a solar panel to help keep the battery charged.

If you dont mind manual operation the cheap way is a couple of 2ft or so post and a piece of chain with some reflective tape on it. Kind of like what some car dealers do when they close shop for the day.

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Chisolm 
Republic of Texas

A solenoid valve, made for a lawn sprinkler system, fills a bucket that pulls a cable. That might work better than a motor that needs to turn off when it encounters a little resistance. The bucket would simply fill to the top and build up more force which might overcome the resistance.

I wonder how well it would work on a cold winter night at 20 degrees?

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Rick C 

Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms, 
on the centerline of totality since 1998

That's where the heater comes in...

Lol!

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Rick C 

Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms, 
on the centerline of totality since 1998