Radiation

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Salvatorejrc

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I'm surprised no one has asked this yet, so I guess I am the first. Does anyone know if scanners produce harmful radiation if you're around them a lot?
 

mmckenna

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So what makes a cell phone different in that it does produce harmful radiation

Most radio receivers have a local oscillator that produces an extremely weak signal that is mixed with the signal you want to listen to and then separated out into the audio you hear. The local oscillator is very, very weak and often undetectable due to shielding. It's not enough energy to cause any issues.

Cell phones transmit, even when you are not talking on them. They periodically check in with the base station. They do radiate RF during these times, during phone calls, text messages and data network access. It's usually measured in the hundreds of milliwatts, and it would take a lot of very concentrated exposure to be an issue.

Also, keep in mind that there is a big difference between Ionizing Radiation ( nuclear ) and non-ionizing radiation, like RF, light, etc.
 

mmckenna

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There is no proof nor scientific plausible science that a cell phones does--just precautions, quackery, and phony products that are supposed to protect you and help lighten your pocket book.

There are studies that high levels of RF radiation for long enough durations can cause medical issues.
But, cell phones are measured in hundreds of milliwatts, and modern cell phones do not transmit 100% of the time, it's pulsed.
FCC has some very specific rules about exposure, time limits, etc.

Yeah, there is a LOT of quackery about the risks from cell phones and cellular base stations. A whole lot of bad information, science, and outright lies. I've had to deal with this at work, and the people that believe the lies will not listen to any science at all.
 

Salvatorejrc

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There are studies that high levels of RF radiation for long enough durations can cause medical issues.
But, cell phones are measured in hundreds of milliwatts, and modern cell phones do not transmit 100% of the time, it's pulsed.
FCC has some very specific rules about exposure, time limits, etc.

Yeah, there is a LOT of quackery about the risks from cell phones and cellular base stations. A whole lot of bad information, science, and outright lies. I've had to deal with this at work, and the people that believe the lies will not listen to any science at all.
I take it you work for a telecommunications company?
 

mmckenna

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I take it you work for a telecommunications company?

No. I work in the telecommunication field. I have to get involved in a lot of different projects and aspects of the field. We have a large cellular distributed antenna system at work for all the major carriers. We had to do radiation studies since we were placing systems on top of buildings and near residential buildings. We have radiation guys at work that know the science behind it, have the tools to measure it. We did our own studies and research since it was a carrier agnostic system. We did presentations to the public on the system. We had a few real nut jobs show up.
 

Salvatorejrc

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No. I work in the telecommunication field. I have to get involved in a lot of different projects and aspects of the field. We have a large cellular distributed antenna system at work for all the major carriers. We had to do radiation studies since we were placing systems on top of buildings and near residential buildings. We have radiation guys at work that know the science behind it, have the tools to measure it. We did our own studies and research since it was a carrier agnostic system. We did presentations to the public on the system. We had a few real nut jobs show up.
How do you get into that field of work? Do you just have to have the knowledge or is there some type of certification
 

mmckenna

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How do you get into that field of work? Do you just have to have the knowledge or is there some type of certification

30+ years of experience in various aspects of the telecommunications field. Lots of starting at the bottom in dirty jobs that others didn't want. College level courses, probably close to a year in various manufacturer training, commercial FCC license, amateur radio license, lots and lots of reading, research, trade shows, conferences, and a fair amount of "just having to figure it out".

And then of course being tossed into the middle of things and work and being expected to swim.

As they say, if you have a job you love, you never work a day in your life. It wasn't quite that easy, but you get the idea. I've had a lot of long days/nights, a few "36 hour work days" when outages required it. Lots and lots of late night callouts. Lots of dispatchers calling and waking up my wife. I've had to camp at remote radio sites quite a bit (hey, I get paid to camp! Trade off is having to eat out of gas stations or MRE's and going without a shower for a few days). The pay is excellent, but I work hard for every penny. A lot of responsibility that can weigh on you heavy.

And I know there are several others here on this site that get paid to have the same amount of fun I do.

I wouldn't have it any other way. I've got the best job in the world.
 
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