I was wondering what it will be used for, too. It sounds a lot like the water supply for a small hydro-electric setup.Thanks again for the info, Steve. Believe it or not, we're just attaching a hose to the assembly and we will use a speedometer type device with a little milling wheel on the end to see how fast it flows. This isn't anything spectacular.NEvertheless, it's a fun little project.
Regarding controlling the gate to stop in different positions, a crude method would be to drop all of the automated stuff and just have the gate keep closing while the button on the RF remote is pressed and stop when it's released. The problem with this is the potential for damage to the motor or mechanism at each end of the travel. This could still be semi-complex to difficult, too, depending on the type of motor used. Each has it's advantages and disadvantages.
In a nutshell, a servo is a little difficult to drive, has a fair bit of torque but can only turn a maximum of 360 degrees.
A DC geared motor is easiest to drive, also has good torque, can do as many turns as needed, but wouldn't stop immediately when the button is released, and would tend to overrun a bit as it slows down to an eventual stop.
A stepper motor is much harder to drive and control, can also do as many turns as needed, would provide good control and wouldn't overrun, but has low torque so a larger one would be needed to work properly.
'Manual' reset would most likely need circuitry and a button too, since a geared system can't be moved in either direction by hand. The gears prevent this, and the only way is to spin the motor in the opposite direction.
A couple of points to think about.
