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Mobile phone masts.

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  • 02-01-2010 2:50pm
    #1
    cards
    Closed Accounts Posts: 196 ✭✭


    My Dad was recently left a small cottage in a rural area. He's offered me rent free living there which is a rather nice offer but the problem is that theres a phone mast a couple of fields away.I'm not sure how far but its a 1/4 or 1/2 mile max and its on a hill so its beaming whatever downwards. I don't know how big they are either,there are two...but they are big! The nearest town is also 15 miles away so these may be more powerful than mobile phone masts in built up areas? I found this clip on radiowaves which seems rather appalling.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ugmzi-GRFc
    Is there any similar devices you can buy in Ireland or is there any where else one can go for advice? Like do the phone company have to publish any data about what kind of transmitter they are using etc..thanks.


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    #2
    cnocbui
    Registered Users Posts: 20,009 ✭✭✭✭cnocbui


    Why do you think a mobile phone mast would pose any danger to you?

    I would be far more worried about radon gas, personally.

    AFAIK, the only way to shield a house from radio waves would be to build a Faraday cage around it.


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    #3
    howiya
    Registered Users Posts: 3,266 ✭✭✭howiya


    A canvasser knocked on the door during the last local election campaign. As i did with all parties, gave the lad a chance to win me over. In the course of this he said that they were campaigning to get rid of a local phone mast.

    I asked him if he had a mobile phone. He said he did. I asked him how he proposed to use it if they did away with all the masts in the area and he was dumbfounded... His party didn't get my vote


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    #4
    Pineapple_Boi
    Closed Accounts Posts: 56 ✭✭Pineapple_Boi


    cnocbui wrote: »
    Why do you think a mobile phone mast would pose any danger to you?

    I would be far more worried about radon gas, personally.

    AFAIK, the only way to shield a house from radio waves would be to build a Faraday cage around it.

    radio waves due to their very nature are much more intense at the source


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    #5
    cavedave
    Registered Users Posts: 2,164 ✭✭✭cavedave


    radio waves due to their very nature are much more intense at the source
    But he is not at the source. Waves intensity reduces at a square of the area?

    So at 400 meters your one over 16 times of the emissions of someone at 25 meters. There are many people who live 25 meters from a mast. If something was wrong with this and they are getting 16 times the effect people would have noticed a problem by now.


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    #6
    Denerick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,488 ✭✭✭Denerick


    I can't believe you're even considering this an issue. We have a mobile phone mast a 1/4 mile from our house. Our reception is great! Honestly, they don't pose any serious health threat. The occasional bag of crisps are a lot worse for you than living near a mobile phone mast.


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    #7
    pljudge321
    Registered Users Posts: 1,129 ✭✭✭pljudge321


    Here's a post I wrote to another thread where someone was worried about baby monitors, still relevant though.
    The energy in an electromagnetic wave is directly proportional to the frequency. A baby monitor will use a low frequency, low amplitude transmitter and receiver thus extremely low energy.

    This sort of myth seems to be inspired by the same sort of misinformation that causes people to fear living close to phone towers due to the increased electromagnetic radiation. However living far away from a phone transmitter might be even worse in this regard. The power density of an electromagnetic wave follows an inverse square law i.e each time you double the distance from the source you quarter the previous power density.

    For example say the power density standing 1m away from a radio tower is 1. Then standing 100m away the tower the energy density will be one ten-thousandth of this value.

    For people living far away from a mobile mast the mobile phone must deliver more power to compensate, and having an inverse square law doesn't help much when the phone is being held directly beside your head.

    Of course I'm skeptical that electromagnetic radiation has tangible/negative any effect on human health. We've had mobile phones in one form or another for 20 years now and there hasn't been a mass wave of brain tumours or anything.

    In short OP rest easy.


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    #8
    cnocbui
    Registered Users Posts: 20,009 ✭✭✭✭cnocbui


    Pineapple_Boi wrote: »
    radio waves due to their very nature are much more intense at the source

    So is a flashlight, but it isn't going to kill you.


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    #9
    robtri
    Registered Users Posts: 5,473 ✭✭✭robtri


    op... where do you currently live right now?? do you have mobile phone reception??
    if you do have reception... well then you are already getting these masts waves.....
    so whats the big issue?


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    #10
    cards
    Closed Accounts Posts: 196 ✭✭cards


    op... where do you currently live right now?? do you have mobile phone reception??
    if you do have reception... well then you are already getting these masts waves.....
    so whats the big issue?

    the big issue is that they are likely to be more intense at their source.

    I can't believe the 'its ok stance'. Articles like this give me a lot of cause for concern.

    http://ghanabusinessnews.com/2009/08/21/mobile-phone-masts-are-dangerous/#commenting

    This company sells EMFields Measuring Equipment,
    http://www.emfields.org/equipment/overview.asp
    and I think that I will get one and see can that give me a more conclusive understanding about what I may be exposing myself to.


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    #11
    ArseBurger
    Registered Users Posts: 647 ✭✭✭ArseBurger


    cards wrote: »
    My Dad was recently left a small cottage in a rural area. He's offered me rent free living there which is a rather nice offer but the problem is that theres a phone mast a couple of fields away.I'm not sure how far but its a 1/4 or 1/2 mile max and its on a hill so its beaming whatever downwards. I don't know how big they are either,there are two...but they are big! The nearest town is also 15 miles away so these may be more powerful than mobile phone masts in built up areas?

    How do you know it's pointing at you? If the nearest town is 15 miles away, it may be focused at that, in which case it's azimuth will fall way over you. Other wise, it may be a boomer - in which case, nothing to worry about either.

    As a general rule of thumb, you are safer closer to a rural mast because they usually focused on large areas away from their location.

    The best place for masts is on top of schools - same reasoning.

    Also, I'd be more worried about the device you stick to the side of your head in a low signal area because that has to bump up the power to attach to the network. Rural sectors with extended cell turned on generally have amplifiers for return path because of the area they cover.

    Also, there are plenty more devices in your house that pose more of a risk with radiation than a mobile tower at 900/1800Mhz.

    Time to panic. Did you know that your WiFi and cordless phone uses the same frequency as your microwave oven...?


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