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Thread ID: 50412	2004-10-20 00:15:00	Need Data on effects of Wireless Networks	intelliagent (429)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
282852	2004-10-20 00:15:00	I could probably search the Internet for hours - but I can't afford to right now. I want to try a wireless network in a school situation, but a few parents have come back with concerns about the "radiation effects " of wireless technology I haven't got any technical data on how safe / unsafe it is - can someone point me in the right direction? If I can prove (beyond reasonable doubt) that it is safe - we can go ahead cheers B)	intelliagent (429)
282853	2004-10-20 00:22:00	Ask them if they use cellphones . Ask them if they let the kids use cellphones . Then tell them that wireless network gear radiates about 1/50th as much power . The brain damage by using "The Internet" is more of a problem . Especialy if they find chat rooms . :D	Graham L (2)
282854	2004-10-20 01:08:00	My thought exactly Graham - I even went as far as to presume that more radiation came from the computer screens that the kids sat in front of. Or that there would be more radiation if they put a microwave in the same corner of the room. Is there any technical data to prove their radiation output is safe? cheers B)	intelliagent (429)
282855	2004-10-20 01:41:00	The UK Government seem to be pretty calm about it . "wifi radiation" and "wifi radiation safety" to Google will find a fair number of useful looking links . There's one case in Illinois where paranoid parents sued the School board, but it seemed to have fizzled . (Lawyers are a threat to health?) . "microwave oven radiation" found an Australian Government document ( . arpansa . gov . au/is_mwave . htm" target="_blank">www . arpansa . gov . au) which gives a limit of 50 watts/sq metre at 50 mm from the box of a microwave oven . :D A WiFi device would be struggling to do that . For fun, have a look at Some amusing things to do with a microwave oven ( . amasci . com/weird/microexp . html" target="_blank">www . amasci . com) .	Graham L (2)
282856	2004-10-22 06:31:00	wireless technology is being taken up by a lot of schools now, it's very popular Here's a copy and paste from a wireless FAQ *snip* Most wifi hardware uses extremely miniscule amounts of power. About 20 times less power than a cellphone in fact. Quite often, the background radiation from the planet is generally regarded to be more powerful than the radiation from wifi equipment. (Please note: When we say radiation we mean travelling radiowaves, not glowing green tumour inducing nuclear rods) When a cellphone is transmitting, it's less than an inch away from your brain. A cellphone is almost always transmitting as well - ping/ponging the cells to keepalive on the cell provider's network. So when your cellphone is in your pocket, it's happily putting "radiation" into your thigh. Tinfoil hats unite. (Please note: wifi access equipment can be always on as well, however it can be setup to automatically disconnect or drop power consumption when idle) Wifi equipment on the other hand is, as previously mentioned, far less powerful than cellphones and is usually physically positioned some distance away from the end user. One product manufacturer puts it this way: "a user is probably in more danger talking on the car phone or cooking dinner than they are using wireless ethernet." And so, in comparison to other existing factors, wireless technology can be considered relatively safe. As a general rule of thumb however, stay at least a metre away from a high gain antenna, and about 30cm away from a smaller antennas such as those found in laptops or pcmcia cards. These are standard recommended distances. And finally, all equipment on the market must pass stringent FCC requirements, more reading can be found here: www.fcc.gov *snip* of course we in NZ don't answer to the FCC, we answer to the MED and you can find their requirements here: www.med.govt.nz	whetu (237)
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