Yes, the floodcams do send out RF signals.
The most distance I've had the commander
from the cam is about 30'. If you have the
remote control, it is the easiest way to
program the commander. After you hold down
the play button and the light goes solid,
press the button on the remote that is the
same as the one on the cam. The light
should go out and you're done. If you do
not have a remote, you could try moving the
commander to the garage as you mentioned and
move in front of the floodcam after the
light goes solid. Make sure the floodcam
has had at least 30 seconds of inactivity
before doing this. If the light goes out,
but the commander still does not activate
from the floodcam, reset the vcr codes by
holding down the pwr button untill it goes
solid, let it go and it should blink about
13 times. Then reprogram the rec and stop
codes. IF it still doesn't work, or it
records when the floodcam has not been
activated, you may have recorded a signal
from another cam or sensor nearby.
Remember, the commander will run off of 4 C
batteries so you can carry it around to help
in the programming instead of looking for an
outlet for the adapter in the garage or
wherever.