[Antennas] RF Exposure.. Hoooey....

[Art Clemons]

Jim Berry:

> All the retired people I ever knew who were around 50 kW
> transmitters, and under broadcast towers are all dead now.  They did
> not die of RF, they all died of booze!  Guess RF causes one to become
> an alcoholic then.  What a way to go.  Bring on the RF!  Sure beats
> having a tree fall on you, or having to wipe with an owl.


Sadly I can't make the same statement.  I know all too many broadcast 
engineers now dead, who died of cancer, and only know of one who died of 
liver failure.  I wouldn't guarantee that RF killed any of them, but it 
sure worries me about how much time I spent in high rf fields, and I 
sure don't want to spend a lot of time in one either.  I'm reminded of 
the diathermy machines which warm up tissue too, and they ran at about 
26.5 MHz or so with a whole lot less than 10Kw or more.