I
Igor The Terrible
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
OK...here is an example of what NOT to do when testing RF equipment.
So if you were one of the unfortunate souls that had to open your
garage door manually, be happy it wasn't in the middle of a hail
storm!!
Military radio signal jams garage doors By ROBERT WELLER, Associated
Press Writer
Sat Dec 2, 5:03 PM ET
DENVER - What do remote-control garage door openers have to do with
national security? A secretive Air Force facility in Colorado Springs
tested a radio frequency this past week that it would use to
communicate with first responders in the event of a homeland security
threat. But the frequency also controls an estimated 50 million garage
door openers, and hundreds of residents in the area found that theirs
had suddenly stopped working.
"It would have been nice not to have to get out of the car and open the
door manually," said Dewey Rinehard, pointing out that the outage
happened during the first cold snap of the year, with lows in the
teens.
Capt. Tracy Giles of the 21st Space Wing said Air Force officials were
trying to figure out how to resolve the problem of their signal
overpowering garage door remotes.
"They have turned it off to be good neighbors," he said.
The signals were coming from Cheyenne Mountain Air Station, home to the
North American Aerospace Defense Command, a joint U.S. and Canadian
operation set up during the Cold War to monitor Soviet missile and
bomber threats.
Technically, the Air Force has the right to the frequency, which it
began using nearly three years ago at some bases. Signals have
previously interfered with garage doors near bases in Florida, Maryland
and Pennsylvania.
In general, effects from the transmissions would be felt only within 10
miles, but the Colorado Springs signal is beamed from atop 6,184-foot
Cheyenne Mountain, which likely extends the range.
Holly Strack, who lives near the entrance to the facility, said friends
in the neighborhood all had the same problem.
"I never thought my garage door was a threat to national security," she
said.
David McGuire, whose Overhead Door Co. received more than 400 calls for
help, said the Air Force may be able to slightly adjust the
transmission frequency to solve the problem. If not, it will cost
homeowners about $250 to have new units installed.
"The military has the right to use that frequency. It is a sign of the
times," he said.
So if you were one of the unfortunate souls that had to open your
garage door manually, be happy it wasn't in the middle of a hail
storm!!
Military radio signal jams garage doors By ROBERT WELLER, Associated
Press Writer
Sat Dec 2, 5:03 PM ET
DENVER - What do remote-control garage door openers have to do with
national security? A secretive Air Force facility in Colorado Springs
tested a radio frequency this past week that it would use to
communicate with first responders in the event of a homeland security
threat. But the frequency also controls an estimated 50 million garage
door openers, and hundreds of residents in the area found that theirs
had suddenly stopped working.
"It would have been nice not to have to get out of the car and open the
door manually," said Dewey Rinehard, pointing out that the outage
happened during the first cold snap of the year, with lows in the
teens.
Capt. Tracy Giles of the 21st Space Wing said Air Force officials were
trying to figure out how to resolve the problem of their signal
overpowering garage door remotes.
"They have turned it off to be good neighbors," he said.
The signals were coming from Cheyenne Mountain Air Station, home to the
North American Aerospace Defense Command, a joint U.S. and Canadian
operation set up during the Cold War to monitor Soviet missile and
bomber threats.
Technically, the Air Force has the right to the frequency, which it
began using nearly three years ago at some bases. Signals have
previously interfered with garage doors near bases in Florida, Maryland
and Pennsylvania.
In general, effects from the transmissions would be felt only within 10
miles, but the Colorado Springs signal is beamed from atop 6,184-foot
Cheyenne Mountain, which likely extends the range.
Holly Strack, who lives near the entrance to the facility, said friends
in the neighborhood all had the same problem.
"I never thought my garage door was a threat to national security," she
said.
David McGuire, whose Overhead Door Co. received more than 400 calls for
help, said the Air Force may be able to slightly adjust the
transmission frequency to solve the problem. If not, it will cost
homeowners about $250 to have new units installed.
"The military has the right to use that frequency. It is a sign of the
times," he said.