Several weeks ago, residents of southeastern Connecticut complained about their garage doors failing to open or close. The firm that serviced the doors said nothing was wrong with their mechanisms. The culprit turned out to be the presence of a submarine base not far away from the affected homes.
While this was taking place, Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, CT was sending out radio signals as part of its system maintenance tests. As reported by a local daily, the signals sent out by the submarine base blocked the signals sent out by the remote systems of the garage doors. Service firms, as a result, offered clients to switch to a different frequency. It raises a fascinating question: can garage doors Utah homes use really be affected by different radio signals?

Not the first time

This isn’t the first time the country has experienced this phenomenon; an earlier incident took place in 2005. In Frederick, MD, residents saw their garage doors failing, which was reportedly caused when a nearby military base tested a radio system to be used for homeland security emergencies.

A year later, the same thing happened with garage doors in Colorado Springs, CO. It occurred when a nearby air force base tested a similar system as well.

Unlicensed device

Security firms say that interfering signals could really be a problem with garage doors Salt Lake City residents have at home. The unfortunate thing is that civilians can hardly do anything about it because garage door openers, compared to military systems, are not licensed devices.

Speaking for the submarine base, Chris Zendan said garage door openers aren’t protected from interference caused by licensed devices such as the military’s radio system. He said that base commanders have no authority to change the frequency band on the radio system and cannot offer compensation for those affected by the problem.

Change frequency

Fortunately, service firms’ efforts to find a solution have paid off. Residents can now opt for a change in the frequency band for a garage door Utah security companies offer. It will cost more or less $300, but firms see it as the most viable option to avoid getting caught up in the military’s radio network. Moreover, a number of service firms may offer a free replacement for the trouble.

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