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To: Jock Hutchinson who wrote (20591)	11/10/1999 12:11:00 AM
From: DWB	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25814

In some ways I agree... but, do you carry a pager? Maybe a PDA? An electronic watch? A walkman or portable radio with earphones? You're already doomed.... ;-) One of the nice things about CDMA transmissions, are that they require a lot less power than other equivalent digital transmission technologies, are bursty in nature, and more closely resemble noise transmissions than anything else. There was a running joke on one of the QCOM threads a while back after the 20/20 low blow piece on cell phones an cancer a week or two ago. They only used analog phones (ugh), and only certain models. No digital phones were used, probably because it wouldn't have looked as SCARY! At the same time, there was a news item about the EDGE system upgrades for GSM operators (a 2.5G technology) and the problems they are having with heat generation. The running joke was that if you had an EDGE handset and got lost in the wild, it could double as a cookstove for any small animals you were able to capture. Just set it to broil (i.e autoredial)... Just remember, the amount of energy transmitted decreases in a non-linear fashion the farther away from a point in space, and digital handsets are orders of magnitude less power hungry than analog. And ignore those high voltage electrical power lines that go across your back yard... ;-) DWB

To: Jock Hutchinson who wrote (20591)	11/10/1999 10:21:00 AM
From: Tony Viola	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 25814

Jock, One nagging question that I have with the proliferation of all these wireless devices is the overall effect on mankinds health. It seems to me that we are taking an enormous risk with our health in allowing so much wireless transmission to take place without studying the long-term affects on our health. Good point. Be advised, however, that EMI (electromagnetic interference, or energy) goes down exponentially as you move away from its source. Some other points that immediately come to mind: 1. I don't downplay the possibility of harmful effects from cell phones, because they're right up against your head. The power levels are extremely low, however. Still, no-one knows, or isn't saying on this one. 2. I don't know that the "wireless boom" is going to introduce that much more energy into the air than we already have from TV, radio, etc. Interesting to find out what percentage of power distribution there might be across all the different sources. 3. The FCC in this country, VDE in Germany, and similar agencies around the world are, if anything, tightening their regulatory rules on all new electronic equipment that transmits EMI. Their main thrust has been to try to guarantee that any new electronic equipment won't jam air traffic control radar, police radio, etc. At the same time, a side effect is that they are helping protect us. That's about all I can think of. If I had to do a totally WAG, I'd say there is not much more danger, upcoming, than we've already had. Tony