People living within 50 miles of any of the nation's Air Force bases might find themselves running late for work because they can't get their garage door open, or because once open they can't get it to close again.

The culprit is the radio frequency that more than 90 percent of remotely operated garage door openers use. It is the same frequency the Air Force chose for the new radio system on its 125 bases.

At least 50 million garage door openers use the radio frequency the Air Force will use to communicate with first responders in case of a homeland security threat. A recent test at its secretive base in Colorado Springs, Co., jammed the garage doors of hundreds of area resident, the Hudson Star-Observer reported Saturday.

But the interference was first detected in tests at Air Force bases in Mechanicsburg, Pa., and Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. in 2004.

Consumers who don't carry house keys could have additional problems if they can't open their garage door. But living with the problem or paying $60 to $120 to have the opener altered to use a different radio frequency is the only recourse consumers have.

That's because the frequency, at 390 megahertz, has belonged to the military since the 1950's. Garage door opener manufacturers began using it in the 1980's. The law allows public use of the frequency as long as that use doesn't interfere with anything the military is doing.