Many automatic garage doors in Ottawa have suddenly, and strangely, stopped working, due to a powerful radio signal that appears to be interfering with the remote controls that open them. The signal is transmitted on the 390-megahertz band, which is used by virtually all garage door openers on the continent. That's the same frequency used by the U.S. military's new state-of-the-art Land Mobile Radio System.
Cleroux said operators have already been warned of this phenomenon by service updates from U.S. manufacturers, who started seeing the same problem around military bases last summer. The strong radio signals on the 390-megahertz band simply overpower the garage door openers. One technician likened it to a whisper competing with a yell. "From what we hear, it is the American Embassy that's operating on 390, and they're the only ones who can block it. But I'm not 100 per cent sure, because we're all kind of up in the air until we know exactly what's going on," said Cleroux. The U.S. Embassy denies any transmissions on that frequency. So does the Canadian military.
Isn't this covered by some treaty somewhere? We will not interfere with your garage doors, if you don't interfere with ours. Ratified in 1812, I believe. |