How to Stick This to the Garage Floor?

[misanman]

Quote:

Wouldn’t that be a different stopping point depending on who is driving? DW has the seat so far forward I can’t get in the car!

I'm sure that would be the case. I'm really the only one that parks in my garage's #1 space with the lawn mower and the work bench. DW parks in the roomy #3 space so it hasn't been an issue for us. Adding a second one is a possibility if we had the need.

I think TromboneAl said sometimes they pull in forward and sometimes they back in. Seems to me that would be an issue for almost any solution unless you just "safe side" it so that either way works.

[TromboneAl]

I think I used the wrong version (and too much) of Liquid Nails. I finally gave up, pulled it up, and will continue to use the hanging ball method for driving in forward, and watch the screen until it says 28" for backing in.

[travelover]

I’m tellin’ ya, check out the ceiling mounted laser parking aids. An ingenious application and no stubbed toes.

[NW-Bound]

^^^^ I have to say, the lasers are the least intrusive, and not too expensive either.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl I think I used the wrong version (and too much) of Liquid Nails. I finally gave up, pulled it up, and will continue to use the hanging ball method for driving in forward, and watch the screen until it says 28" for backing in.

Sorry to hear that. I have the same kind of floor bumper, and I drive over it every day. Hasn't budged in three years.
tire.jpg

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover I’m tellin’ ya, check out the ceiling mounted laser parking aids. An ingenious application and no stubbed toes.

I have had the lasers in my garage for years. Best and easiest.

[NW-Bound]

Spurred by this thread, I installed my own laser guide for parking inside my garage today. To add my post, I had a heck of a time finding this thread (had to use the search engine on Google Chrome), and it says the thread is 415 days old. Yeah, but my memory is longer than that.

I remembered seeing laser parking guides being mentioned here, and recently ordered some laser diodes on Amazon to make my own. It's just a high-tech equivalent of a tennis ball on a string, meaning to allow driving the car into the garage just deep enough to clear the garage door. This allows more space in front for walking.

The laser diodes are $6 for 10 pieces. It does not take long to concoct a ceiling mount for it, and to wire it to a 5V charger of an obsolete phone. I plug the charger into the lamp socket of the garage door opener, and this minimizes the on-time of the thinggy to save power, and to have the laser last longer. Of course, it is also a very convenient wiring. The diode can run directly off 5V, but I found that dropping the voltage and current a bit by a 100-ohm resistor in series still left plenty of beam brightness. This also helps it last longer.

The diode body is smaller than a pinto bean, and is hung on a piece of copper wire. The copper wire allows easy bending to point the laser onto a chosen spot on the car dashboard. I put a small sticker there on the dashboard as a reminder.

[mountainsoft]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I installed my own laser guide for parking inside my garage today.

You can park accurately, but it'll burn your eyes out!

Seriously, awesome creativity. I used to be able to do that kind of thing (associate degree in electronics), but it has been so many years I wouldn't know a resistor from a transistor anymore. It really is true, use it or lose it...

[NW-Bound]

If anyone wants to duplicate this, these laser diodes are class II (eye safe). They are the same type as used in laser pointers or laser levels used in construction.

For $6, you still have 9 spare laser diodes to play with when you are done with the parking app. Or you can buy the Chamberlain laser parking guide for $25.

PS. I just now learned that these diodes have an adjustable lens. The one I mounted happens to put out an acceptable beam as is, so I did not have to do anything with it. I will play with the remaining diodes to see what they do. Don't know what I will use them for.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Spurred by this thread, I installed my own laser guide for parking inside my garage today. ...

That is awesome! Got a link for those laser diodes?

We move in a few weeks, I just have to do this in the new house. I never got around to doing the tennis ball thing in the current home, but this is so much cooler, and nothing hanging around getting in the way. And so high tech!

Even with the class II rating, I know DW will freak out that we might burn out the g-kid's retinas, but since it is only on when the opener light is on, kids should be out of the area anyway.

-ERD50

[NW-Bound]

OK, I thought it would be easy to find on Amazon, so did not include a link.

This is what I bought: https://www.amazon.com/HiLetgo-10pcs...sr=1-1-catcorr

There are several other deals by different sellers, and they look like the same thing. For $9 instead of $6, you can get 20 diodes instead of 10.

PS. I just mount the laser diode at the end of a 14-gauge copper wire using a short piece of heat-shrink sleeve. The heat-shrink sleeve is clear, so does not show up well in the above photo. The other end of the copper wire is bent around a #6 screw to mount to the small L bracket. Two long screws mount the L bracket onto the gypsum ceiling. Can't be simpler than that.

The wires of the laser diodes are very fine. I used two pieces of very small heat-shrink tube to cover and reinforce the solder joints connecting the diode wires to the wires going to the phone charger, whose phone connector was snipped off.

The light socket adapter to which you plug the phone charger is available at Home Depot for $2.69.