Garage Door Opener Mystery



Question:
I'm stumped, any ideas anyone? Here's the story. 2 garage doors, each with opener. 2 remotes for each in different cars, plus one of those wireless remote keypads mounted outside the garage. The usual pushbuttons by the inside passage door. A couple of days ago, *all* the remotes stopped working for *both* doors. Buttons still work as usual. Ok I think, the only thing common to all is the keypad remote, which is programmed with two different codes, one for each door. I remove its battery. Still, none of the other remotes work. Just for grins I change the battery in one of the remotes, even though simultaneous failure of 4 batteries seem unlikely. No change. After playing around I discover that if I hold a remote about 2 inches from its corresponding receiver antenna, it will work. Double check all the code settings (older openers with fixed codes). All is correct. Ok, since it works right next to the antenna, and the battery is fresh, maybe it's some kind of interference. Try changing the codes on one receiver and one remote. No help. Unplug the cable TV distribution amplifier and the phone switch which are in the garage in case one of them is radiating and interfering. No change. One other piece of information that is probably important although I don't see how. All of this started after a 2 hour power failure. I'm not sure it started immediately after, but it might have. But I don't see how two openers (different models and brands, even) would fail in the same way due to a power surge or the like. Anybody have any ideas?

Answer:
Are you near a navy base? The US Navy owns the frequencies used by many garage door openers. When they choose to use those frequencies, they will overwhelm most GDO transmitters and you have no legal recourse. If you are near the ocean, I suppose all you can do is try to find out if a ship came into port recently and how long this will continue.





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