Many of us have experienced and enjoyed the safety and convenience that an automatic garage-door opener provides - especially at night, when safety is of concern, or during foul weather.

Essentially, an automatic garage-door opener uses radio frequency (RF) technology to operate. This technology has two basic components - a transmitter (the push button in your car) and a receiver (located within the garage-door-opener motor housing). When you push the button on the transmitter, it sends a signal to the receiver, which, in turn, activates the opener motor to open the door. Once the door has opened fully and you are safely in your garage, you push a button on the transmitter again (or a hardwired wall button) and the door automatically closes.

While an automatic garage-door opener might be the best thing since sliced bread for many, it does little for folks who don't have a garage door, but who instead have an entry gate across their driveway, entry path or road.

In days gone by, a gated driveway was primarily found on farms and ranches or near elaborate homes in exclusive neighborhoods. Such is not the case today as more and more people look to gates as a means of improving security and to enhance the appearance of their property. Moreover, professionally installed decorative metal gates are more affordable than ever, and kits from local home centers make it an increasingly popular project for do-it-yourselfers.

People with large gates want the same security and convenience that folks with automatic garage-door openers are enjoying. Enter the automatic gate opener. It works essentially like an automatic garage-door opener. An RF signal is sent from a transmitter to a receiver that operates the gate opener. The opener also can be controlled by a push button keypad (wireless or hardwired) outdoors or inside the home.

Automatic gate openers have been around for years. Chances are you've encountered one in an apartment complex or parking garage. They traditionally have been large, costly and in need of professional installation. However, recent breakthroughs in technology have produced a new generation of automatic gate openers that not only are affordable, but also can be installed by a handy do-it-yourselfer.

One such product is the "Mighty Mule E-Z Gate Opener". It employs a variety of technological advances that make it affordable to more people.

Aside from cost, a concern that has kept many people from buying an automatic gate opener is their fear of being locked in or out during a power outage. Whereas, some gate and opener systems allow for manual operation, older systems leave you at the mercy of the power being supplied to the unit.

In contrast to traditional line-voltage electrically powered openers, the Mighty Mule system is battery operated using low-voltage power. The battery charge is maintained by either an AC transformer or by a solar panel. Thus, the battery acts as its own backup during a loss of power and will provide power for several opening and closing cycles before a recharging is needed.

Thanks to this low-voltage solar technology, an automatic gate opener can be used at locations where it previously was either impossible or impractical to operate because electricity was not readily available. Today, if you have a large swinging gate on a ranch or farm in the middle of nowhere without electricity in the immediate area, you no longer need to climb down from your tractor or get out of your car to open and close your gate. Simply press your transmitter button and the gate opens or closes automatically.

One of the features that is important to us is the built-in safety obstruction sensor that causes the gate to stop and reverse its direction if it comes in contact with an object during an open/close cycle.

For more information on the Mighty Mule automatic gate opening system, contact GTO, Inc in Tallahassee, Florida at 800-543-4283 or visit their website at www.gtoinc.com.