Navy radio may be crippling doors in Conn.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A radio signal transmitted from a submarine base is probably behind reports of garage doors failing to open and close in southeastern Connecticut, the U.S. Navy said yesterday.

The signal is part of the Enterprise Land Mobile Radio system, used by the military to coordinate responses with civil emergency workers, said Chris Zendan, a spokesman for submarine base in Groton.

The problem, first reported by The Day of New London, is that the same frequency is used at very low levels by the manufacturers of garage door openers. The signals from remote controls to open or close the doors are blocked by the signal from the base.

Overhead Door Co. of Norwich Inc. said it has been receiving complaints and has found no problem with its equipment.

Sondra Tuchman of Montville told the newspaper she has to get out of her car, stand in front of the door and press the remote for the opener to work. She said an installation company told her she would have to pay about $300 to change her system to another frequency.

The garage-door companies do not need to be licensed to use the frequency because the remote controls transmit at low levels, Zendan said. But homeland security needs take precedence, he said.

Dave Osso of The Genie Co., a Mount Hope, Ohio, manufacturer of garage door opening systems, said the problem dates to the 1990s, when the military began using the same frequency used for door openers. The company sells dual-frequency openers that switch to a different frequency if interference is a factor, he said.

The military's portion of the radio spectrum came back into use after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in a system to allow civil and military first responders to communicate.