New military radio system battles garage-door openers

New military radio system battles garage-door openers

By Lisa Hoffman
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE

December 8, 2005

For a time, it seemed as if garage doors at homes near certain military bases had been possessed by mysterious spirits that caused them to open or shut on their own, or otherwise go blooey.

The culprit actually was a new military radio system, which, as it was being deployed at various sites this year, was elbowing out garage openers from the radio frequency on which they had squatted for some 20 years.

This caused quite a stir in communities near Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and the Susquehanna defense depot near New Cumberland, Pa., which were among the first to field the new Land Mobile Radio systems. Reports of balky openers streamed in. As many as 10,000 complaints about malfunctioning devices were fielded from one major door-opener manufacturer since the radio rollout began in late 2004, according to a Dec. 1 Government Accountability Office report.

The cause was the installation and testing of the radio system, part of an $800 million effort to enhance communications for homeland-security and operations reasons. The Pentagon plans to set up the systems at 137 installations in 28 states over the next five years.

(snip)

Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051208/news_lz1n8readthis.html

if the intended frequency was already being used? :eyes:

First, the garage openers were already in use by the time this system was deployed, so, well hell, that's my entire argument right there.

contractor developed the military system for a designated frequency not knowing the mfg of garage door openers was using the frequency illegally.

ON EDIT ADD
GAO report Potential Spectrum Interference Associated with Military Land Mobile Radios confirms garage door openers were illegally using the frequency.
QUOTE
Because DOD is the authorized user of the 380 MHz-399.9 MHz spectrum, it was under no obligation, according to the FCC, to identify or mitigate potential interference with Part 15 devices that may also be operating in that spectrum. Even if DOD had attempted to identify Part 15 devices, there is no documentation available as to where such devices operate. Users of Part 15 devices are not tracked by federal agencies in the way that licensed users are tracked. DOD chose to operate the new Land Mobile Radio system in the 380 MHz-399.9 MHz spectrum range because other bands of spectrum could not accommodate system requirements. DOD received NTIA certification in 2003 to operate the new radios in that spectrum. According to DOD officials, they cannot readily move off of this range of spectrum as it would necessitate costly technical changes and would negatively impact Land Mobile Radio capabilities.
UNQUOTE

...so everyone with an electric door now has a short-range jammer? How secure do you feel?

for setting off their IED's. Coincidence? I'm just saying...:shrug: