KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

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Got any Field Day plans?

Posted: 30 Apr 2021 08:29 AM PDT
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This was posted on reddit to remind everyone that Field Day is less than
two months away. Im reposting it here, courtesy of K3CAN. Thanks, Adam!

So, what are you all thinking about doing for Field Day this year? I had
fun last year doing it solo, but Im thinking that this year, since many
people I know have been vaccinated, perhaps some kind of group effort could
be mounted. It may not be as big a gatheringÂ* as usual, but doing Field
Day, even with a small group, would be more fun than doing it alone.



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Presentation explains latest RF exposure regulations

Posted: 29 Apr 2021 12:26 PM PDT
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On Tuesday, April 27, Dan, W1DAN, ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section
Technical Coordinator, gave a Zoom presentation on the latest FCC
regulations on RF exposure evaluation. These are spelled out in FCC-1926A1,
Proposed Changes in the Commissions Rules Regarding Human Exposure to
Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields; Reassessment of Federal
Communications Commission Radiofrequency Exposure Limits and Policies. The
document is as long as the title might suggest—159 pages—but W1DAN boiled
it down, focusing on what these changes mean for radio amateurs.

A recording of the presentation can be viewed by going to
https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...7Dcu0UZuJO0t8F.

After explaining how RF exposure can be harmful, Dan explained how the
rules are changing: The biggest change, he notes, is that amateur radios
categorical exclusion has been eliminated. What this means is that now
every radio amateur will have to perform an RF exposure evaluation of their
stations. This now includes mobile and portable stations, including HTs,
SOTA/POTA stations, and Field Day and special event stations.

He noted that you must be able to prove that your station is safe. This
includes not only performing the evaluation, but also documenting these
evaluations, should this data be requested by FCC personnel.

One thing thats not changing are the maximum permissible exposure (MPE)
limits. These are spelled out in FCC OET Bulletin 65, Evaluating Compliance
with FCC Guidelines for Human Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic
Fields. The FCC published this document in August 1997, but its still the
Bible when it comes to RF exposure. If you dont have a copy, or have never
taken a look at it, you really should do so.

Be careful, though, when reading it. It contains a table (Table 1 on p. 21)
that contains a list of output powers at various frequencies. If your
station exceeded those limits, then you were required to perform an RF
evaluation. Now, however, all amateurs (and other radio services, for that
matter) must perform RF exposure evaluations if their output power exceeds
1 mW. We are no longer categorically excluded from performing these
evaluations.

OET Bulletin 65 goes on to give guidance on how to calculate or measure
exposure levels. Explaining how to do this is outside the scope of this
article, but again, youll want to refer to the bulletin for more
information.

Besides the elimination of the categorical exclusion for amateur radio
stations, what else is new is the dates on which amateur radio stations
must perform evaluations. They a

May 3, 2021(!!) for new and modified stations
May 3, 2023 for stations that complied under the old rules.


Having said all that, the ARRLs RF Exposure page has a lot of resources to
help you understand this topic and perform your own RF exposure evaluations:



An RF-exposure FAQÂ*to help hams understand the new rules.
Learning to Live with RF Safety, QST March 2009 pp. 70-71.
RF Safety at Field Day QST June 1999, pp. 48-51. A case study of Field Day
with NSRC in a public park
Â*RF Exposure StationÂ*Evaluation and Exemption Worksheets
RF Exposure and You. This 8 Mbyte PDF file contains the text of the entire
book by Ed Hare, W1RFI.
Chapter 5 References needed for filling out worksheet.


The page also has links to FCC web pages with information on RF exposure.

Im sure well all be hearing more about this in the days ahead. Hopefully,
someone will come out with a simple way to do the modeling or make the
calculations. As always, play safe.








The post Presentation explains latest RF exposure regulations appeared
first on KB6NUs Ham Radio Blog.