My call is KB6NU, and I have an EMC problem

Although I have held an amateur radio license for many years, I was never very active. All that changed last summer after I took part in my radio club's Field Day activities. I had so much fun working 15-m CW that I decided to get back on the shortwave bands.

The first antenna I put up was a simple 20-m dipole, and I had pretty good success with it, regularly contacting stations in Europe and South America. I got a little bored with 20-m CW, though, and decided to put up a 40-m dipole. That's when the fun started.

After stringing out the antenna and tuning it up, I went down to my shack to put the pedal to the metal, so to speak. Almost as soon as I keyed down, though, I heard my wife open the door to the basement, and yell, "What are you doing down there?" Not only was my signal coming in loud and clear over the computer speakers, it also was activating the garage door opener.

I didn't have time to mess with it that day, so I just took down the antenna, and I've since put up a different 20-m antenna—this time a ground plane made out of wire. It works about as well as the 20-m dipole—if I can hear other amateur radio stations, I can work them—and the garage door stays shut.

I still want to get back on 40-m one of these days, though. Any ideas you have would be appreciated.