thedrifter
03-01-07, 07:17 AM
When signals get crossed
By Timothy Dwyer
The Washington Post
Posted March 1 2007
WASHINGTON ý Users of one of suburbia's most basic conveniences -- the garage door opener -- are locked in an odd situation with the U.S. Marine Corps.
A strong radio signal coming from the Quantico Marine base in suburban Prince William County, Va., is neutralizing perhaps hundreds of the remote controls that move the garage doors.
The Marines are using a frequency that is also used by some remote controls. The powerful signal shuts down any remote in its bandwidth, no matter who is holding it. Nothing can be done but get a new system operating on a non-conflicting frequency.
Queen Carroll of Dale City, Va., a widow in her early 70s, shelled out a few hundred bucks to get a new receiver and remote. She would like to send the bill to the Marines. Before the new system was installed, the only way she could open and close her garage door was by using a switch on the wall of the garage. That is a pain at any age, particularly in the winter.
"I feel there should be some kind of compensation," Carroll said. "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 calls as soon as the Marines began using the frequency in late December.
Rob Roberts, sales manager at Cristar Garage Door & Controls Inc., said the remotes of hundreds of people have been neutralized.
"It is a big thing within the industry," he said. "They are taking their frequency back. It isn't just around Quantico; it is everywhere, anywhere there is any type of military installation."
Suburban residents who have experienced a disruption in their point-and-click lifestyles can blame it on national security, said a spokesman for Quantico.
"Marine Corps Base Quantico transitioned to a new bandwidth for land mobile radios in 2005 as part of a government-mandated, Department of Defense-wide conversion to narrow-band systems from wide-band systems in military bases around the country," Lt. Brian Donnelly said. "The transition was made to foster more efficient spectrum use, allowing a variety of military and government organizations to better protect national security."
Carroll, who has lived in the same house for 28 years, less than 10 miles from the base, understands military needs well: She worked at Quantico for years, and her husband, Eddie, who died three years ago, spent 29 years in Army intelligence.
"I'm always pro-government," she said. "But I feel very strongly that if this is something that is happening to seniors in the area, it may seem like a small amount of money to the government, but it is a lot to me."
Ellie
By Timothy Dwyer
The Washington Post
Posted March 1 2007
WASHINGTON ý Users of one of suburbia's most basic conveniences -- the garage door opener -- are locked in an odd situation with the U.S. Marine Corps.
A strong radio signal coming from the Quantico Marine base in suburban Prince William County, Va., is neutralizing perhaps hundreds of the remote controls that move the garage doors.
The Marines are using a frequency that is also used by some remote controls. The powerful signal shuts down any remote in its bandwidth, no matter who is holding it. Nothing can be done but get a new system operating on a non-conflicting frequency.
Queen Carroll of Dale City, Va., a widow in her early 70s, shelled out a few hundred bucks to get a new receiver and remote. She would like to send the bill to the Marines. Before the new system was installed, the only way she could open and close her garage door was by using a switch on the wall of the garage. That is a pain at any age, particularly in the winter.
"I feel there should be some kind of compensation," Carroll said. "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 calls as soon as the Marines began using the frequency in late December.
Rob Roberts, sales manager at Cristar Garage Door & Controls Inc., said the remotes of hundreds of people have been neutralized.
"It is a big thing within the industry," he said. "They are taking their frequency back. It isn't just around Quantico; it is everywhere, anywhere there is any type of military installation."
Suburban residents who have experienced a disruption in their point-and-click lifestyles can blame it on national security, said a spokesman for Quantico.
"Marine Corps Base Quantico transitioned to a new bandwidth for land mobile radios in 2005 as part of a government-mandated, Department of Defense-wide conversion to narrow-band systems from wide-band systems in military bases around the country," Lt. Brian Donnelly said. "The transition was made to foster more efficient spectrum use, allowing a variety of military and government organizations to better protect national security."
Carroll, who has lived in the same house for 28 years, less than 10 miles from the base, understands military needs well: She worked at Quantico for years, and her husband, Eddie, who died three years ago, spent 29 years in Army intelligence.
"I'm always pro-government," she said. "But I feel very strongly that if this is something that is happening to seniors in the area, it may seem like a small amount of money to the government, but it is a lot to me."
Ellie