Foothills resident has garage door problem

Foothills resident Paul Wilton was aware that radio signals from a new communications site at Telegraph Pass now in use by Marine Corps Air Station Yuma could interfere with his automatic garage door openers.

“(The Marines) have to have their communications, so it's not their fault,” Wilton said.

Wilton, who lives near County 14th Street and 55th Lane, hadn't been experiencing any problems until earlier this week when all four of his automatic garage door openers suddenly stopped functioning properly.

“I locked myself out. It will let me out but not in. I can use them inside the garage to open the door, but not from outside the garage.”

Wilton said he has four different openers: one he keeps in a car in the garage, one in his vehicle, one for his wife's vehicle and another he gives to neighbors to get into the house when necessary.

Until this week, Wilton said, he had been entering his home through a side door in his garage, but since he got locked out, he is now having to carry a key to his front door on his key ring.

Earlier this month, officials at MCAS Yuma informed residents in the Fortuna area of the Foothills that strong radio signals coming from the communications site, which was activated on Aug. 1, can override remote controls that move garage doors up and down.

“I read the article,” Wilton said of a Yuma Sun about the announcement. “I guess I'm in a direct line with them.”

Wilton said he did not install the automatic garage door at his home; it was done before he bought the house nine years ago, probably by the previous owner. His particular brand, manufactured by Genie, was specifically mentioned in the air station's announcement that it could be particularly affected.

He added that he thinks the manufacturers should pay for the retrofit to fix the problem, which would cost consumers $50 to $80, excluding installation, especially since they are basically unlicensed to use the frequencies they operate on.

Wilton went on to say has tried several times over the past few days to contact Genie by phone but says all he gets is an automated system and doesn't ever hear any options relating to the problem.

“I don't want to change garage doors,” Wilton said.

According to its public affairs office, the air station began using what is known as a Land Mobile Radio (LMR) system in other Yuma-area locations in early 2008. The two-way LMR radio system is used to consolidate military emergency communications for law enforcement, security, firefighters, medical personnel and other first responders on military installations.

As a result of the transition to the use of this frequency range, LMRs could cause some nearby garage door openers to reduce their operating range or cause the remote control to stop functioning and interfere with electronic gate openers and other wireless devices.

The Department of Defense is the licensed spectrum user specifically assigned to the 380-399.9 MHz frequency bandwidths that the LMR system has been using for many years.

Some consumer devices use frequencies on the spectrum not specifically assigned or licensed to them. This is permitted under Part 15 of FCC regulations, granted the manufacturer of such devices accepts the possibility that their products may be affected by interference caused by authorized spectrum users.

When consumers purchase these devices for use, they are also agreeing to accept any interference to these Part 15 devices. Chamberlain, Overhead Door/Genie and Johnson Controls (makers of HomeLink) are the three companies most affected by the problem.

Unfortunately for Wilton, he inherited the problem with his automatic garage door. He did not buy into it and said he wouldn't have if he would have been told by the manufacturer about the possible interference.

While the range of the LMR effects are unknown, the air station has said the high elevation of the site, coupled with the fact that there are no houses within a mile of the new communications site, may minimize the effect on garage door openers in the area.

Consumers who believe they are affected by LMR use are advised to contact the manufacturer of their garage door openers or the FCC at 1-888-225-5322.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.