Intercontinental Dynamics ESP Micom garage door remotes

Garage Door Co Repair Pros receives calls on a regular basis from customers seeking a new remote for their Intercontinental Dynamics ESP Micom remote control transmitter (usually model T-9) and occasionally a M-9 receiver. The manufacturer has been out of business for over 20 years. There has been one after market clone transmitter but we have found it to be highly unreliable and poor quality. The universal remote controls (ie Clicker Corporation or Liftmaster 385LM) will NOT work with an ESP Micom receiver.

Genie garage door opener recalls 18,000 units 02/25/2014

Garage Door Co Repair Pros has learned that nearly 18,000 Genie garage door openers have been recalled. This is the first recall for a garage door opener in many years. None of the affected units have been sold by Garage Door Co Repair Pros. According to CPSC recall link here

Liftmaster discontinues model 3280 belt drive - new 8355 MyQ is the replacement

Garage Door Co Repair Pros has received an official announcement from Liftmaster (by Chamberlain) that the model 3280 1/2hp belt drive garage door opener has been discontinued. Rumors of this have been circulating for awhile but as seen below it is not official. In a move towards expanding the MyQ product line Liftmaster has replaced the model 3280 with the model 8355 which is a 1/2 hp belt drive with MyQ. The model 3280 was our most popular model since it was quieter than the chain drive (ie model 3255 or 3265) and was priced competitively.

Chicago area flooding damages garage door safety eyes

The recent flooding in the Chicago area (especially near our Park Ridge, IL office) has damaged many garage door safety eyes (aka ir sensors). These sensors are mounted on both sides of the garage door opening and within 6 inches of the floor. All openers manufactured after 01/2003 are required to have these sensors per UL325. They are designed to reduce entrapment risks by sending an infrared light beam from one side of the garage opening to the other. If the sensors are not working properly then the garage door opener will NOT close from a remote control.

Watch our garage door "accident" on NBC's Chicago Fire 4/3/13

We were glad to provide and install  2 Amarr Stratford 3000 pinch resistant garage doors for NBC's hit series Chicago Fire recently. Filming was performed on location on Chicago's north side. We are told the episode featuring these garage doors will air 04/03/2013. Without giving away the plot we can reveal that an individual is severely injured by one of the 2 garage doors and is found hanging from the garage door track. Maybe he should have followed all of those safety warnings on the label!

Limited service in Chicago due to NATO summit

Due to the NATO summit Garage Door Co Repair Pros will be providing limited (and perhaps no) service (including emergency service) in parts of Chicago downtown and south loop areas from Friday 5/18/2012 through Tuesday 5/22/2012. If you need service in these areas please contact us at 847-329-8300 for current scheduling status. Service on garage doors and electric openers in the N/NW Chicago and suburbs is not affected at this time. UPDATE: 05/22/2012  06:22 Service has returned to normal in Chicago as of this morning. NATO Summit is gone.

NEW Liftmaster battery backup models available - control from the internet

Liftmaster has announced the release of several new models 8550 battery backup belt drive and the 8360 battery backup chain drive garage door opener 08/2011. These garage door openers support MyQ technology and can be controlled from an internet connection (ie smartphone, computer, etc) to check open/close status, turn on lights (separate module) in our house/yard, check cycle count for preventative service, close automatically after a time delay, and Security+ 2.0 enhancements for tri-band radio controls.

It's HOT outside - don't overheat your garage door opener

With the excessive heat in the Chicago area it is important to not run your garage door opener excessively. Residential garage door openers are not designed to be used multiple times consecutively without overheating. In order to meet UL safety requirements your garage door opener (mfg after 1980) should contain an automatic thermal overload in the motor. If the motor is run too many times in a short period of time the thermal overload cuts in and turns off the power to the motor.

Massive power outage in Chicago Area - How do I use my garage door?

A massive power outage has hit the Chicago and suburban areas due to the storms last night. We are already getting the panic calls from those who cannot figure out how to get out of their garage. All garage door openers sold in the U.S. since the 1970's MUST have a manual release by UL requirement. This is usually a red string (a chain on some old units) located near the connection of the garage door opener arm to the garage door. In openers made after 1982 you simply pull down on the release sting and lift the door manually.

Do you have "rolling code" garage door remotes?

Many homes have been broken into and burglarized by thieves using universal controls that open the garage door by reading the access code in the opener. Rolling access code technology is one way to protect your home, family and belongings against thieves and intruders. Rolling access code technology changes the code of your automatic opener after every use, so the thieves' universal controls are rendered useless. All new residential garage door systems which we have installed in the Chicago, IL area have been rolling code since 1997.

Subscribe to Safety