Bolt_Gundam510 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 QUANTICO, Virginia (AP) -- For many suburbanites, life without garage door openers is unimaginable.But neighbors of the Marine base here have been reduced to just that after a strong radio signal coming from the facility began neutralizing remote-control openers.Residents have had to spend hundreds of dollars on new systems."I feel there should be some kind of compensation," said Queen Carroll, who is in her early 70s and was forced to buy a new receiver and remote. "I am a struggling widow, if you will, and I praise the Lord I'm still here, but I am on a budget. When things like this come up totally unexpected, it is very upsetting."Repair shops started getting a flurry of calls when the base began using the frequency in late December.Last fall, residents around an Air Force facility in Colorado Springs saw their garage-door remotes stop working when the 21st Space Wing began testing a frequency for use during homeland security emergencies or threats. Two years ago, testing of a similar system in Fort Detrick in Maryland resulted in similar problems.For decades, the military has held a portion of the radio spectrum, from 138 to 450 megahertz, in reserve. That part was borrowed by remote-control manufacturers, with the understanding that the signal be weak enough to be overridden by the military.The reserve frequencies became active after the September 11, 2001, attacks, when officials discovered that first responders could not communicate with one another because they were operating radios on different frequencies. The Defense Department is using the mothballed frequencies in a system that eventually will link military and civilian emergency responders."Consumer wireless devices, such as garage door openers, operate on an unlicensed basis, meaning they are required to accept any interference from licensed spectrum users, including the Department of Defense," said Lt. Brian P. Donnelly, a spokesman for the Quantico base.Source: CNN News Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROMANTICGUY50 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 I agree that people with this problem should be compensated for this but but with the way things are in Washington I dont think in will happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lammster Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 yeah it makes perfect sense to give the people compensation. I imagine the best solution would be a recall from the manufactures, considering they issued the garage door openers on already allocated military frequencies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q Can Fix IT Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 the companies can be smart about it and simply adjust the frequencies to the edge of the spectrum, look for the ones least used by the military guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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