erod Center Open Motorized Telescoping Drapery Rod, 68 to 120 Inch, Nickel

Wow! Why didn't I order this earlier? Today I received two of the eRod Center Opening Motorized Drapery Rods and I absolutely love them. They are very well made! I first installed them on a couple windows in my living room that were difficult reach in order to open and close the drapes. NOT ANY MORE.... These remote controlled motorized drapery rods were very simple to install. I was hesitate of ordering three of these since all of the pictures show the motor on the right hand side and I needed two of the three mounted on the left since that is where I have an outlet. Well I was happy to see that these are designed very well and can be easily mounted with the motor on either side.The directions are straightforward and larger print than most other directions so they were easy to read and simple to follow. However, at first I thought I was missing a "L" bracket since the instructions indicated that I should have received 3 of them. I could only find two, but quickly discovered that the "missing third" bracket was already attached to the center bracket assembly.They are fun to operate and I was able to use the same remote to open all three of the drapes in my room. The IR Remote has a good range and with a little "fun" practice and creative aiming I was able to open or close all three drapes on one wall at once or independently.They worked so well and were so easy to install that I just ordered some more for the rest of my windows!UPDATE: I've been using the eRod's now for a couple years without issues. I have since automated the operation of the eRods with the Harmony Hub (IR controller) and set up a macro to automatically close the curtains when I power up my TV. I have also setup activities on the Harmony Hub called, "Open Curtains" and another named "Close Curtains" which I can activate on my phone with the My Harmony App.However the coolest thing is to control the curtain rods by voice by adding an additional piece of hardware called IVEE Sleek. Using the "IVEE Sleek" - which integrates with and can control the Harmony Hub. I can simply say, "Hello IVEE Open Curtains" anywhere in my Living or Dining rooms and it will cause the Harmony Hub to start Activity "Open Curtains" which blasts the IR code to the eRod's to open all three curtains in the Living and Dining rooms. Of course I can close the curtains via voice command by simply saying, "Hello IVEE Close Curtains" - I no longer need to even use the eRod IR remotes anymore. I love the convenience of it and it always amazes my friends.

The media could not be loaded.  Recently got the smart home bug and wanted a motorized curtain rod I could integrate with my Google Home network. While this rod doesn’t have WiFi or Bluetooth capabilities on it’s own, I figured I could use an IR blaster. I read some terrible reviews on the Erod here and on other sites but with Amazon’s liberal return policy for Prime members, why not give it a try? It’s by far the cheapest motorized curtain option I could find at least for the large wall of windows that I have.PACKAGINGJust like some of the other reviews mentioned, the product arrived in a box that was beat to hell. This is more likely the shipping companies fault and not Amazon’s. Luckily for me, everything was in order and all the parts were still enclosed.BUILD QUALITYOne of the video reviews that I saw on this unit mentioned that it had a poor build quality. I found this to be inaccurate. Yes, if you shake it in your hand it will make noise but that is only because there are lots of moving parts. Once mounted (properly), it was quite a bit more sturdy than my existing static rod.INSTALLATIONI found the installation to be extremely easy. I did have an existing rod that I was replacing so I had an idea of where to place mounting brackets.NOISEOne of the two reasons I can’t give the Erod 5 stars is the noise. It is not quiet. Any louder and I would have returned it. The noise comes out of the motor and also the moving part that pulls the curtain closed.OVERALLGood build quality, attractive enough and the installation is easy installation if your somewhat handy. The only cons would be the noise and the fact that only one end of the curtain is being pulled (one end in each direction) while the rest of the hooks catch the ride. If your curtains are wide you may end up with one side of the curtain bunched up a bit because it didn’t get pulled evenly. It doesn’t really bother me because I only close my curtains before bed.TO INTEGRATE WITH GOOGLE HOMEBuy an IR Blaster. An IR (infared) blaster is a small device that acts as a universal remote that usually has WiFi and/or Bluetooth connectivity. I bought the Broadlink Mini from New Egg for $13. I followed their easy instructions to program the Erod remote control into the device using their (Broadlink’s) app called IHC. I created an open, close and stop curtains routine (separately) linked the app with Google Home and created a custom named routine in Google Home. The last step allowed me to just say “Hey Google, Open the Curtains” instead of having to say “Hey Google, Activate the Open the Curtains.” The IR blaster is sitting behind the large planter and completely out of site.

Great rod for the extra wide drapes in my MBR. Keeps hands off the ivory linen, so they don't get soiled. I open them from bed in the AM and they work perfectly. Noise and speed not a problem - our cat is fascinated with them - like watching a cat video for her. Hilarious.Installation is straightforward if hung a few inches below the crown molding. BUT, I butted my mountings up against the crown molding so had to drill a few holes in the sleeve that slides onto the mounting and put the whole assembly in place all at one go. Molding prevents you from sliding the bracket down on to the mounting. It was no problem with a titanium bit (a few dollars at Home Depot). I bought the longest rod, so needed someone on the other end just to hold it straight while I screwed it in. Used 75 pound plastic screw-in drywall anchors and the whole thing is up solidly. I am a 69-year-old woman, not a handyman, and my only problem was the RH drapery panels were not consistent in length, so had to hem after they were hung.Rods are heavy and solid and I sewed a tape into the back of the heading that hides the clips, so they hang ceiling to floor and look beautiful. It took lots of steps, sewing, hanging the rod, getting the clips into the heading and re-hemming the drapes, but it was well worth it.PS Google Erod (the manufacturers) to get their phone number and get all of your questions answered.