LiftMaster850LM Universal Gate and Garage Door Opener Receiver

I bought an 850LM to solve a reliability/spotty coverage problem with the receiver built into my circa 2002 Chamberlain Model 8220 garage door opener. Using the Homelink built into our 2017 RAV-4, sometimes the remote wouldn't trigger from the driveway, but other times it would trigger fine from three houses down the street.It took a couple tries to get a good configuration. The easiest install method is to power the 850LM from the existing garage door opener. I could not find an explicit opener/850LM compatibilty guide. You will need some hookup wire and wire nuts to splice in. The voltage levels looked OK, but 850LM respond to its buttons after I powered up. I disconnected the power wires and plugged in a wall plug power supply from some computer peripheral. There's an input power jack on the 850LM, so no additional wiring or splciing required. You can also buy a Chamberlain wall plug specifically designed for the purpose.You will also need some wire to connect the 850LM Normally Open (NO) relay to the NO terminals of the garage door opener. Basically the garage door opener thinks the 850LM is just another doorbell-type switch. You can place as many doorbell swithes in parallel as you desire. The terminal space on my garage door opener was pretty crowded, so a little bit of splicing and wire nuts were called for again.Follow the internet instructions on setting up Homelink. To do it right, you need at least one additional remote (811M for example) to train you in-car Homelink transmitter.After completing the installation, my RAV-4 still had inconsistent spots in receiver coverge. Unlike the original garage opener receiver and antenna, the 850LM has a nice F-style antenna connector allowing you to remotely place the receiver antenna for better range. You'll need some TV cable with F-connectors and a F-union to connect the 850LM antenna to the end of the extending cable.After these tweaks, the 850LM is now working well, with good range and no need to disturb operation of the previous system. In addition to what was in the 850LM box, the job needed hookup wire, wire nuts, television cable, an F-type union connector, and an 811M remote. I would still consider this an easy installation job once you have the parts on hand.

I tried a clone of this device hoping to save some money and I ended up throwing the clone away and buying this one. The range on this unit is very good and programming new remotes easy. It came with a good printed manual too. It cost $30 more than the clone, but works so much better and just feels like a more quality unit. One tip is when you get it, the antenna looks bent. Nope, it is meant to be in a U shape and if you look really carefully at one of the pictures in the manual you can see that it bends back on itself. The manual does warn you not to bend the antenna but it is not clear (to me) that it was meant to bent by the factory.

This unit uses relays and can operate up to 3 operators. What this means is there is a mechanical switch inside and it'll run any garage door opener that can use a wall button. I opted to wire in a 12 volt transformer to power mine. Just connect the relay contacts to the operator where you would a wall button (you can keep the wall button as well). I'm using mine to run 2 garage door operators.This wireless system works separately from your garage door opener - so you'll be directly "learning" or teaching the 850LM your remotes - so if you have older remotes that don't work with the liftmaster yellow learning button you'll need to upgrade to a Security + 2.0 remote.You can mount it near your garage door operators where you have power available (If you choose to use a transformer for power) and you don't have to make long wire runs for the trigger wires to the operators. Couple this convenience with the ability to relocate its antenna to the exterior of your building (especially if you have a metal building that blocks the signal) and your range should improve drastically. Use a simple coax cable and put the antenna outside.Or you could opt to put the 850LM in a more easily accessible location so you can reach your learn buttons more easily... just run wires accordingly.

I was expecting the one that comes with a power adapter and mounting bracket. I had to get a power adapter and a mounting bracket. Other than that it looks like it will work, but I will have to report back on the usability.Okay, I have installed the device, and it works well. I was able to setup 3 different kinds of remotes and they all worked, so other than the no bracket and no power adapter the product works so I am relatively happy with it.