When the USS Carl Vinson pulled into port in Hobart, Australia last week, nearly every automatic garage door opener within 6 miles of the aircraft carrier went on the blink. The Carl Vinson uses the 310-320 MHz range of the wireless spectrum for communication, the same range that Australians use for short-range electronic transmissions devices. That's because the US government allocates spectrum differently than Australia.
Matched up against the mighty antenna of the US Navy, Hobart's rag-tag army of low-power garage door openers was simply no match. "We knew as soon as the calls started coming in," said a saleswoman at Tom Moore & Son, one of Hobart's major garage door opener retailers. "The same thing happened the last time the ship was here."
En route back to San Diego from duties in the Persian Gulf, the nuclear-powered carrier often passes through Hobart. It left Monday after five days in port.
Happily, no one was stranded in his or her garage, said Ian Fletcher, Tasmania area office manager for the Australian Communications Authority. Most electronic garages are fitted with a button for manual opening and closing of the door.
While most residents of sleepy Hobart welcome the arrival of ships like the Carl Vinson, Fletcher said one resident won't be anxious for a return visit. He lives so close to the docks that the ship's emissions penetrated the metal shielding around his car's security system. The man found his car security system immobilized by the massive Vinson, preventing his car from starting.
People living further away didn't have the problem, Fletcher said.
Related Wired Links:
Navy Software Dead in the Water
16.Jul.98
Naval Forces Get Some Tech Support
26.Aug.97
