By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Steve Camarillo of H&H Overhead Door Co. makes adjustments
to the garage-door opener in the Aiea home of James Fukur.

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Radio signals
close garage doors

Leeward residents are convinced
the phenomenon has something
to do with ships and aircraft here
for RimPac exercises

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

The flood of Navy ships and aircraft here for a monthlong military exercise may be more than just about national defense.

Although the Navy won't agree, there are Leeward Oahu residents convinced that radio signals from the 50 ships and 200 aircraft participating in RimPac 98 are interfering with their garage-door openers.

Halawa resident Helene Shinjo said earlier this week that none of her three portable garage-door openers worked.

When she arrived at Moanalua High School, where she works, Shinjo found there were others experiencing the same problem.

Having a similar problem several years ago when there was a military exercise at Pearl Harbor, Shinjo surmised that the source of the problem was either Pearl Harbor or nearby Camp Smith, both of which are within sight of her home.

Valerie Okemura, office manager for H&H Overhead Door of Oahu, said her phones "rang off the hook on Monday and Tuesday" with complaints.

Trouble calls were coming in from Makakilo, Waipahu, Gentry, Mililani, Waikele, Pearl City, Aiea, Salt Lake, Moanalua Valley and Halawa Heights, she said.

Once Okemura was able to determine that the problem wasn't mechanical, she called the door systems distributor in Vancouver in Washington, who said it had similar problems in Everett, which is near a Navy complex.

The Navy in a June 15 letter to Overhead Door Co. of Everett said homeowners living within sight of Everett Naval Station could experience electromagnetic interference with their garage door opening systems.

"The EMI typically causes the remote opener to be ineffective outside of the garage, while the hardwire switch in the garage works correctly," the letter stated.

The Navy said the emissions causing the interference is probably coming a shipboard UHF system. "The problem is typically intermittent."

The statement adds: "The military is licensed to use the 225-400 mhz UHF frequencies, with transmitters typically using 25-100 watts of power. When ships are leaving or entering port, testing radio circuits, or performing communications drills, there will be interference with some . . . garage door opener systems with line of sight to the pier.

"Garage door opener systems are non-licensed devices which must accept any interference from any licensed electronic system, federal or non-federal."

Lt. Flex Plexico, a Pacific Fleet spokesman, said the Navy here and the Pacific Command at Camp Smith are investigating the complaint, but have not pinpointed the source of the interference.

Okemura suggests homeowners experiencing problems can determine if it is due to mechanical failure or electromagnetic interference by:

Trying to operate the garage door using their wall switch to see if the door opens and closes.

Testing their remote garage door opener within two to three feet of the transmitter.

Shinjo is hoping that this irritating inconvenience will disappear as soon as the last RimPac vessel sails out of Pearl Harbor on Aug. 6.