Is there a circuit out there that will let me tell if our garage door is open or closed while in the living room, w/ no view of g d.?

 

A switch, a light bulb, and some wire?

 

Try something simple like a battery, a switch (could be a momentary button) connected to the garage door, some wire, and an LED with resistor or a buzzer. Or did you want to use something more exotic?

If simpler, run monofilament fishing line through eye screws from the garage door through the attic to the living room. The height of a weight suspended by the fishing line is indicative of how wide the garage door is open.

 

Magnet and reed relay...put the magnet on the door and the reed relay connected so that when the door is closed, the magnet will pull the reed relay closed and complete a circuit... or the other way around....



...or pay a neighborhood kid to tell you if you door is open....

 

Is there a circuit out there that will let me tell if our garage door is open or closed while in the living room, w/ no view of g d.?

You can always use another room in the house as a living room. And move the couch near the windows facing the garage.

Or.

Knock yourself out with some RF module, some LEDs, switches and uC's.

 

I had that same problem, I solved it by putting a couple of microswitches on the top of the garage door openings. The circuit is powered by a couple of AA batteries, and powers an LED drilled into the top of each door button in the house. Door open, light on. Limit the current to the minimum needed to see the light, and they'll last years.

 

If you have a garage door opener, the power source for a LED can be obtained simply by using the two screws on the back of the pushbutton switch. It is usually about 24VAC, so a diode in parallel with the LED and a fairly high value (1K) series resistor works well. My setup uses a reed switch over the top of the door and a magnet mounted to the door. The indicator ins inside. If you look at this thread..... http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/showthread.php?t=78495, you can see a description of my "automatic door closer."