Posted on 12/06/2004 6:06:04 AM PST by mollynme
WASHINGTON - Coming soon to dozens of military bases around the country: radio signals strong enough to jam nearby garage-door openers.
Between now and 2008, the military is supplying a new radio system to roughly 125 bases that uses the same frequency as the one relied upon by more than 90 percent of the remotely operated openers, Pentagon and industry officials say.
The military radio signal is sometimes so strong that it overpowers the opener's signal, preventing the door from opening. Or it can also vastly reduce the opener's range, forcing the user to walk close to the garage before it will open.
snip
Linton Wells II, Pentagon acting chief information officer, predicted the effect will only be noticed within 10 miles of a base.
But Karasek said interference may be felt as far away as 50 miles. He estimated that at least 50 million garage-door openers in the United States use the same frequency as the new radios.
Beyond issues of convenience and cost, his group raises safety concerns about people who don't carry house keys being locked out of their homes.
The garage-door opener frequency at issue - 390 megahertz - has belonged to the military since around 1950. Openers have legally operated at that frequency since at least the early 1980s, Karasek said.
snip
The radios are coming online in at least two more places: Fort Hamilton in New York City and Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The Defense and Commerce departments, the Federal Communications Commission and industry are starting discussions. Base commanders will be instructed to inform nearby communities the interference is coming.
Karasek said a solution may be for the military to program its radios to skip the garage-door opener frequency.
Entire article here.
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
this has been a problem for some time now here where I live next to Eglin AFB in Niceville, FL.
The military will lose and will be forced to shut down these transmitters if the effect is as described. The law on frequency allocation pretty much says the military must yield if there is a conflict unless there is no other military option. Yeah, I read the part about these garage door openers operating in a military band and I still believe the miliary will lose this one.
Your government at work.
I live in Ft. Walton and my BEEBER won't stune anymore.....
Yep -- and you can thank ANOTHER scumbag lawyer for trashing our military and destroying more of our power to defend this country.
What's next for these anti-American whores? Sue the military for killing the enemy? Oh! I forgot, they already are!
Yes, I've not been able to get into my garage since the springs broke.
Can I blame the Army and send them a bill?
I remember a Joan Rivers routine from yrs. ago.
It was when IUDs were new.
She said every time she crossed her legs the garage door would open. LOL
Happened here in FL several months ago, for several days in a row.
A malfunctioning GDO could ruin your whole day.
If this radio is required for national defense, then change the law, and change the frequency on garage door openners.
"his group raises safety concerns about people who don't carry house keys being locked out of their homes."
We need to convene a panel of the brightest intellects known to man in order to devise a plan to overcome such a mighty challenge.
</sarcasm>
"All your garages are belong to us!"
Why on earth should the military yield to frequency interlopers?
I have visions of some poor schnook in his pajamas going out of his garage to pick up the morning paper only to have the door shut behind him.
"The military will lose and will be forced to shut down these transmitters if the effect is as described. The law on frequency allocation pretty much says the military must yield if there is a conflict unless there is no other military option. Yeah, I read the part about these garage door openers operating in a military band and I still believe the miliary will lose this one."
Actually, probably not. depends on who is the primary licensee, and the article implies it's the military. All other users are considered "secondary" and have no recourse when interference occurs.
Which law is that? I think you may have that backwards. I believe the military has primary access to the frequency while the garage door openers operate under a section of the Communications Act that gives them secondary rights (i.e., they can use the frequency as long as they dont cause interference to the primary user).
That said, it is dumb after not using the frequency for such a long period to suddenly piss off such a large number of citizens. There are millions of other frequencies. I wonder what makes this one so necssary?
As I said, I realize that it is a military band. But, politics and not law usually determines the winners in cases like this. It simply isn't good politics for the military to inconvienience a bunch of civilians. Bad for budgets. Unless there is a compelling reason which I doubt, the military will yield. Too bad, but the frequency management folks should have seen this coming and selected another band.
Golly! I hope we don't have to get out of our cars and open them by hand. Would that also cause the cables to break as mine did several weeks ago?
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