New regs for electromagnetic radiation today

[Brian Gaff]

I was noting that Today, all Radio hams, and indeed anyone who sends out transmissions from Long wave to whatever have to comply with the fact that members of the public cannot be subjected to more than a certain field strength for a given period. Apparently there are various calculators out there to test the viability of aerials for these parameters at various wattages.

It occurred to me that if you lived close to a large commercial transmitter, you could be in a so called danger area. I say so called, as apart from microwaves, I don't think the research exists to suggest anything untoward will happen to you under normal conditions. It was also mentioned that in addition, high power chargers as for fast EV charging could be dangerous to those having heart pacemakers and other medical devices. Nissan in their Leaf manual state this.

So what of all these unbreakable wifi routers, and plug in internet over the mains plugs we see everywhere? Has anyone ever worked out about the exposure to those? In the latter case, they do actually use frequencies from about 4Mhz to 30 mhz, put through the inefficient medium of the house mains supply by more than one plug in device. Now I'm not saying any of these are dangerous, just wondering whether there is any real proof of these things being an issue for health. I once knew a lady who lived very close to the Vatican City radio station for various short wave frequencies, She lived there for years and lived till a ripe old age of 92. The field strength in her home was way more than current regulations would allow. I'm sure other stories are out there. Brian

[Jeff Gaines]

What about my exposure to my laptop which is on my lap all day and much of the evening?

[Andy Burns]

maximum 100 mW per device?

[John Walliker]

All those other devices have needed to comply for many years. The only difference is that radio amateurs now have to avoid exposing anyone outside the boundary of their property to higher levels than would be allowed for other users at close quarters.

John

[Andrew]

Surely, you're too old to worry about your nuts ?

[farter]

Thats why you can't get it up anymore and are sterile.

[Jim Stewart ...]

I ignored the whole thing as my G5RV runs along the boundary with my neighbour.....so I will say I run below the power limit...load of pish

[Tim Streater]

It might make you a minute fraction of a degree warmer as you absorb the radiation, just like being out in the sun. It can't harm you otherwise as all these frequencies are far too low to be ionising radiation. An exception is microwave frequencies, because water readily absorbs those frequencies as we know, but you'd need to be stood next to a leaky microwave for it to harm, and that's only because your eye lenses would possibly absorb the microwaves, and having no nerves in them you wouldn't notice them heating up. Might be more likely to get cataracts later, perhaps.

All ionising radiation is shorter wavelength than any visible light. So it's all bollocks, just like this 5G garbage.

[Jeff Gaines]

I agree they have no use nowadays but I don't want them to shrivel up and fall off!

[Brian Gaff]

I don't think this is much more than a mobile phone, which surprisingly, seem not to be a problem. The old inverse square law and all of that. It all sounds a bit like bullshit to me, I have to say. However, RF can be dangerous, as I know to my cost brushing my arm against an aerial with 100 watt transmitter on the end. The burn was real enough, but just standing near it? No ill effects, these two heads I have are perfectly normal. grin. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

I do recall, when I worked for Decca Radar, one engineer forgot a magnetron was on and the waveguide was not terminated. It started to cook a sandwich in his pocket, before the swr switched it off on a safety circuit. I never followed it up but that is the sort of thing you don't want near your nuts or leg for that matter. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

The point is, how close are you to its aerial. Apparently the reason for some of them having more than one aerial is to make it almost impossible to get dangerously close to all four, well mine has four. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

Its not just hams, since the extension to LF frequencies, it covers things like community radio stations, you know a scaffold pole on the roof of a care home etc as well, apparently. Luckily many now either use fm or very low power AM on Medium wave I suppose. I remember seeing one which had a guyed scaffold pole on top of what looked like a wine bottle as an insulator. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

Don't change the subject. I know its hard to prove a negative and all of that but if it were common you would see clusters of illness around high power transmitters surely? Brian

[Jim Stewart ...]

totly plus ssb is not a constant signal

[Andrew]

Well, that is how domestic microwaves were 'invented' when someone working on radar noticed that a choccy bar in his pocket had melted. (or so the story goes).

Andrew

[Rod Speed]

Nope, its so the router can be other than omnidirectional so that it can be electronically rotated so that the signal level can be directionally improved.

[Rod Speed]

Brian Gaff [e-mail] wrote

That was a JOKE, Joyce.

Don't laugh, see if I care.

And stop calling me Shirley, Bruce.