FCC blames car alarm plague on radio tower

TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Federal authorities say a radio tower may be causing a mysterious plague of car alarms going off or not working at all in downtown Tampa, Fla.

The Federal Communication Commission said a radio antennae atop the Colonial Bank building that broadcasts oldies station WRBQ-FM 104.7 uses a radio frequency that emits a harmonic that could sync up with the frequency used by some car alarms, The Tampa Tribune reported Tuesday.

The FCC said the harmonic, which is not in violation of FCC regulations, might be the reason some people have reported their car alarms mysteriously going off or failing to work at all in the area of downtown surrounding the building.

"WRBQ is not in violation," the FCC case report said, "and the car alarms in question are required to be designed to accept/reject (the interfering frequency)."

However, some motorists have reported their engines failing in the area and then working perfectly once pushed or towed out of the small section of downtown -- a phenomenon that was not covered by the FCC's report.

Others theorize the possible culprit could be police squad car mobile transmitters or even wireless phone communications, the newspaper said.