[Amps] RF exposure limits in reality

Vic Rosenthal vic at rakefet.com
Wed Aug 18 15:07:08 EDT 2004


jsb at digistar.com wrote:

> The thing i'm confused about is the difference, and I mean the REAL
> difference, between controlled and uncontrolled environments.  My dipoles
> are at around 35 to 38 feet off the ground and the shack is about 10 feet
> above the ground (split level house).  So i'm roughly 25 feet away from
> the center of the dipole - unsure if a 1KW CW signal qualifies as
> controlled or uncontrolled operation.

'Controlled' and 'uncontrolled' are lawyer-talk, not tech-talk.  A 
controlled area is one in which the station owner 'controls' who can be 
in it.  Your backyard is a controlled area, since anyone who goes in it 
presumably agrees to take the risk.  An 'uncontrolled' area is your 
neighbor's backyard, where he can be exposed without knowing it.

The whole business is just about covering butts against frivolous 
lawsuits.  Having said that, it was useful to me when my neighbor 
expressed fear that my antenna was harming her children, and I could 
point to having done the calculations and established that even the 
government thinks they are in no danger!

-- 
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco




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