Both my Genie opener remotes only activate the operator when they are very
close (10' or less) to the unit. Both my cars with factory installed garage
door buttons also only activate the operator when the vehicle is inside the
garage. This all happened overnight. I imagine changing batteries in the
hand held remotes might be a possible solution for these units, but the fact
that both cars buttons are now distance sensitive tells me something else is
going on.
Any suggestions? Radio interference? Gremlins? Sunspots?
I already try slightly repositioning the antenna wire, to no avail.
Any/all suggestions welcomed.
David

David Modine wrote:
Both my Genie opener remotes only activate the operator when they are very
close (10' or less) to the unit. Both my cars with factory installed garage
door buttons also only activate the operator when the vehicle is inside the
garage. This all happened overnight. I imagine changing batteries in the
hand held remotes might be a possible solution for these units, but the fact
that both cars buttons are now distance sensitive tells me something else is
going on.
Any suggestions? Radio interference? Gremlins? Sunspots?
I already try slightly repositioning the antenna wire, to no avail.
Any/all suggestions welcomed.

It is odd that they both failed over night. Water leakage? Sudden
large temperature change? Bad ground leading to noise on the power?
Did somebody monkey with the code settings? Are the transmitters tuned
to the receiver frequencies?

David Modine wrote:
Both my Genie opener remotes only activate the operator when they are
very close (10' or less) to the unit. Both my cars with factory
installed garage door buttons also only activate the operator when
the vehicle is inside the garage. This all happened overnight. I
imagine changing batteries in the hand held remotes might be a
possible solution for these units, but the fact that both cars
buttons are now distance sensitive tells me something else is going
on.
Any suggestions? Radio interference? Gremlins? Sunspots?
I already try slightly repositioning the antenna wire, to no avail.
Any/all suggestions welcomed.
David

The remotes in the car may have its own battery. Most batteries loose
energy when cold. I'll bet it just got cold around you area. Try new
batteries first. Next check the antennas, make sure they are connected and
not bundled up. It is possible that cold temps can cause a bad solder joint
to open up and if that was the antenna, then that could cause what you are
observing. However it is not likely two units would have the same problem.

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

Yes, the weather did get cold last night & today, but I never had the
problem last winter.

No water leakage, no recent rain. Don't know about the bad ground
possibilty. No settings have been tinkered with. All transmitters work when
in close proximity, so the codes must be right.

I guess I can open the unit up & check the connection of the antenna, but I
wouldn't know how to recognize a bad solder joint.

Verizon is in the neighborhood, beginning digging about 300 feet away for
new optical phone line installation along the street at the top of my
driveway. Workers have been in the area marking utility locations the last
couple days, maybe they used some kind of radio wave sensors to locate the
buried wires??

Perplexed,
David

Do you live near a military base? Yes, its a legit question. If so, see
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...tary+frequency

"David Modine" wrote in message
news:Y%1wd.6593$Qp.3130@trnddc01...
Both my Genie opener remotes only activate the operator when they are very
close (10' or less) to the unit. Both my cars with factory installed
garage
door buttons also only activate the operator when the vehicle is inside
the
garage. This all happened overnight. I imagine changing batteries in the
hand held remotes might be a possible solution for these units, but the
fact
that both cars buttons are now distance sensitive tells me something else
is
going on.
Any suggestions? Radio interference? Gremlins? Sunspots?
I already try slightly repositioning the antenna wire, to no avail.
Any/all suggestions welcomed.
David

That is one possibility or could be a TV satellite dish, ham radio,
police scanner, TV cable not grounded properly, cell phone tower, or
another garage door opener (would need to be fairly close like in same
garage or multi-family type buildings). The other possibility is that
something in the receiver is defective & no longer sending a very
strong signal.

How old is the unit? If parts are still under warranty you may want to
change the receiver first. Or to rule out any interference from inside
your home turn off all breakers except for the one that powers the
garage door opener to see if the problem goes away.

Outside interference is constantly becoming a problem & sometimes it
will also simply disappear in a couple of days & sometimes it becomes
permanent. There have been many installations where we have had to
install an external receiver on a different frequency to get proper
distance. However those may not be compatible w/ your built-in car
remotes.

We have some whole sub-divisions in our area where the range has been
severely limited for years. The more radio waves that are in the air
the greater the chance of interference becomes.
Doordoc
www.DoorsAndOpeners.com

wrote:
snip
Outside interference is constantly becoming a problem & sometimes it
will also simply disappear in a couple of days & sometimes it becomes
permanent.
snip

This is certainly true. Once in awhile, one or both of my garage doors
will start going up and down all by itself. I cure it by unplugging the
power to the motor unit for a few minutes. But it's not clear whether
that reset the receiver or the an interference source just left the
neighborhood.

Some have reported extending the effective transmitter range by
holding it under the chin and this has seemed to work for me. They
also reported neighbors asking less frequently to borrow tools.

On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 22:07:20 GMT, "David Modine"
wrote:

Yes, the weather did get cold last night & today, but I never had the
problem last winter.

On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 21:28:24 GMT, "David Modine"
wrote:

Both my Genie opener remotes only activate the operator when they are very
close (10' or less) to the unit. Both my cars with factory installed garage
door buttons also only activate the operator when the vehicle is inside the
garage. This all happened overnight. I imagine changing batteries in the
hand held remotes might be a possible solution for these units, but the fact
that both cars buttons are now distance sensitive tells me something else is
going on.
Any suggestions? Radio interference? Gremlins? Sunspots?
I already try slightly repositioning the antenna wire, to no avail.
Any/all suggestions welcomed.
David


Go here. If the FAQ doesn't have your answer, call them. They are very
helpful.

http://www.geniecompany.com/Support/gdobasictrouble.htm

Andy Asberry wrote:
On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 21:28:24 GMT, "David Modine"
wrote:


Both my Genie opener remotes only activate the operator when they are very
close (10' or less) to the unit. Both my cars with factory installed garage
door buttons also only activate the operator when the vehicle is inside the
garage. This all happened overnight. I imagine changing batteries in the
hand held remotes might be a possible solution for these units, but the fact
that both cars buttons are now distance sensitive tells me something else is
going on.
Any suggestions? Radio interference? Gremlins? Sunspots?
I already try slightly repositioning the antenna wire, to no avail.
Any/all suggestions welcomed.
David



Go here. If the FAQ doesn't have your answer, call them. They are very
helpful.

http://www.geniecompany.com/Support/gdobasictrouble.htm
GENIE used to be very helpful on the phone. They would send
replacement parts promptly, sometimes for free. However, I recently
had to replace the remote transmitter because it had stopped working.
All I got was the address of a local representative about 20 miles away.
It turned out to be an elderly woman who had a supply of parts in her
basement. I was able to purchase the replacement but it doesn't work
reliably.