Many of us take for granted the myriad of devices that work to make our lives forever more convenient. Well, until they stop working, that is.
Did you know, for instance, that the tiny gadget you use to open your garage door is actually a small radio transmitter? When you push that inconspicuous little button, you’re in fact activating a transmitter that sends code via invisible radio waves to the receiver (in this case, the receiver is either within the car or in the garage itself). The radio receiver is tuned to the same frequency as the transmitter (modern systems are typically 300 or 400 MHz), thus making it a distinctive signal programmed to only let your garage door open when you push the button, and not everyone else’s all up and down the street.
This wasn’t always the case though. In the 1950s when garage door radio transmitters were in their infancy, they were very simple. So simple that they sent out a single signal and the garage door (any garage door) responded… As you can imagine, when electronic garage door openers became increasingly more common and they all used the same simple frequency, the system underwent somewhat of a crisis… anyone could drive through any neighborhood with a transmitter and open any and all garage doors.
However, by the 1970s the kinks in the system were gradually being ironed out and a more sophisticated system was emerging. Enter a controller chip and a DIP switch. What is a DIP switch, you ask? It is a circuit board with eight small switches soldered to it. The pattern in which the small switches are arranged on the circuit board enabled people to control the code that the transmitter sent to the receiver. Thus, garage door security improved (slightly) as people could only open a garage door if their receiver’s DIP switches were set in the exact same pattern. I say “slightly” because if you do the math, you will realize that the varying patterns of eight DIP switches amount to only 256 different combinations.
Although remote-entry transmitter systems have since become extremely complex with rigorous security measures, there are yet more complex technologies that can be used to unravel these “tight” systems, thus creating more issues and an enduring headache. One such technology that has the power to override the security of someone’s remote-entry transmitter’s unique code is a radio scanner. A radio scanner can “capture” your transmitter’s code and easily re-transmit it to open your garage door.
But wait, there’s yet another solution to this security issue; “hopping” or “rolling” codes. To cut a long story short, modern transmitters no longer use a set pattern for receiver and transmitter, but rather a 40-bit rolling code. What does this mean? Well, a 40-bit rolling code offers roughly one trillion possible codes, and they’re continually changing (hence the name, “rolling”) while your transmitter and receiver work in unison to recognize the previous 40-bit code and generate a new one each time to communicate with each other. Therefore, with the constantly changing and randomized 40-bit codes, of which there are one trillion possibilities, there is no way for a radio scanner to get through all the codes as it would take years(!). Besides, a radio scanner’s “code capturing” abilities would be futile because instead of repeating the same 40-bit code back to the receiver, a new code needs to be generated each time for the receiver and transmitter to function in unison.
All technical jargon aside, Hudson Valley Overhead Doors and Operators are here to take care of all the complicated technology involved in garage doors and have been supplying satisfied customers with excellent garage doors for more than twenty years. With our help you can be sure we will supply you with the proper door that will add value and character to your home.
Hudson Valley Overhead Doors and Operators uses the highest quality products to assure the safety and longevity of your garage door. In a large industry with a wide selection of choices, let us help you choose a garage door that best fits your home’s style and functionality.
For more information or a free consultation contact Hudson Valley Overhead Doors and Operators for our following services:
Saugerties Garage Doors
Somers Garage Doors
Yorktown Heights Garage Doors
North Salem Garage Doors