Army can interrupt garage door opener signals but Ingleside residents don’t have to worry

Lack of proper garage door maintenance is a far-more likely cause if you have problems

A story in a Savannah, GA, newspaper, from a few years ago, discussed a local problem for residents of the Ardsley Park area. Apparently, US Army radio signals were interfering with the operation of garage door openers for area residents.

The military installation to blame was the Hunter Army Airfield. They had upgraded equipment on a radio tower to produce a stronger signal. By chance, the signal transmits on the same frequency as garage door openers.

When the Army turned the transmitters on they started to receive calls from residents in Ardsley Park and as far north as Godonston and as far south as Bryan County. This means that the transmitter was making itself ‘heard,’ so to speak, for miles around. Of course, Hunter Army Airfield is 964 miles from Chicago. Once again, there’s nothing to worry about in Ingleside where your garage door opener will stop working because of the Army’s transmitter.

While military interference isn’t a real concern unless Great Lakes Naval Base adds a new and more powerful transmitter. Still, Great Lakes Naval Base is 20 miles away from Ingleside. But, there are other things that could interfere with the operation of your garage door opener.

You could kick a photosensor for your garage door opener out of position and cause a problem. Or, you could fail to properly maintain your garage door opener, and garage door, and you’ll have trouble.

In reality, it’s far more likely that a lack of maintenance will cause a problem with your Ingleside garage door opener than the US Army. But, you have far more control of avoiding a problem with your garage door opener in the prior case. If you do a good job of maintaining your garage door opener, it should work and keep working. And, if it doesn’t, you won’t be able to blame the U.S. military.