Authorities say a new radio system being installed at a Georgia Army base is frustrating hundreds of homeowners in the Augusta area who have been locked out of their garages because of jammed remote-control signals.

The confusion began last week, when Fort Gordon upgraded its land-mobile radios to a 390 megahertz bandwidth, the same frequency used in automatic garage door remotes.

Since then, nearly 500 residents have called or visited the Overhead Door Co. of Augusta to complain about garage doors that fail to open and close on command.

Fort Gordon spokesman Buz Yarnell said in a statement Monday that the Army post intended to conduct widespread public notifications on the transition but testing began earlier than expected.

Tags: Augusta, Army, Fort Gordon, Fort Gordon Army Base, garage doors