Safety

Working with RF

8D1 Recall that at 100W transmit power, especially with higher gain antennas, the EMF compliance distance can be several metres.

Should you have been operating your transceiver then you have been using electromagnetic radiation. In fact when you have been listening to the broadcast radio, watching the television or even cooking in your microwave cooker you have been using electromagnetic radiation one way or another. Electromagnetic wave is just a fancy way of saying radio waves but there are also many other wave that have names within the range of electromagnetic radiation as shown in the diagram below.

You can see now the change in frequency from say 1MHz at the radio to many many many Mhz at the gamma ray end. Note also the portion of the microwave just above radio and below infrared. Infrared is heat rays and microwave cooker do just that with slightly lower frequencies.

The only difference in the waves is their wave length.

So now you understand that electromagnetic radiation is the point here is to know that the main health effect of electromagnetic radiation is heating of body tissue just like you cook in a micro wave. Thus do not touch an antenna when in use and also do not get too near to them.

For EMF field safety reasons we now have a calculator in the form of a spreadsheet, available from the RSGB, where we can enter the type of aerial, its height, band, and the power transmitted to give us the emf field value at a certain distance. We also have to be able to prove that we know what is this safe distance by running the spreadsheet and saving the results. This is detailed on the very first page of our training website. So should your emf field be nearer to you or any of your neighbours than allowed, then you should not transmit until you satisfy the regulations.

Guidance on safe levels of RF radiation is available from government and international bodies (HPA - Health Protection Agency and ICNIRP International Committee on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection).

Booklets can be obtained that give information as to what are considered "safe" radiation levels. Such booklets are available from government and international bodies (HPA and ICNIRP).

The HPA Agency (Health Protection Agency) was established as a non-departmental public body, replacing the National Radiological Protection Board (HPA) and with radiation protection as part of health protection incorporated in what is has to control.

So be aware that this change may not have filtered through to all training courses.

Recall that, when mobile, pedestrians might be inside the EMF compliance distance.
Recall that in such situations, especially when stationary, transmission must cease.

When operating mobile, be aware that pedestrians can come and go and maybe enter inside your emf field. In order to prevent any safety hazard by them getting rf burns from touching your antenna or of them having any body tissue heating then you must stop transmitting until it is safe to do so again.

The origin of some of the text on this page is from the RSGB with additions by the web master